entry/exit permits for kids born in China

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entry/exit permits for kids born in China
« on: June 22, 2009, 08:53:19 PM »
Those of you who have kids who were born in China, but have passports from your country rather than China, when you took your kids out of the country for the first time, did you get them exit-entry permits or did you have to get them full on Chinese visas? And did you have to go back to where the kid was born to do so? We're getting conflicting information from different sources. Called up the PSB but they seemed confused by what we were asking. Can anyone point us in the right direction? I'd rather not waste an afternoon on a trip to the PSB in person, but it might be the only way to get a straight answer.  mmmmmmmmmm

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Raoul F. Duke

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Re: entry/exit permits for kids born in China
« Reply #1 on: June 22, 2009, 09:19:53 PM »
Children born in China and who have never left China are, for exit/entry purposes, treated as Chinese citizens, even if they have a foreign passport. Therefore, they have to get the same documents as Chinese citizens...passport and exit permit. Once the plane lifts off the ground, the Chinese papers immediately cancel.

If the child ever returns to China, they are treated as foreigners and will need the same documents you do. They'll need the foreign passport and a visa or residence permit; generally small children get visas/permits as sort of attachments to one of the parents' papers.

Remember: China does not allow dual citizenship. Once they get a foreign passport and leave the country, any identity as a Chinese citizen immediately ends...at least in theory.
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Re: entry/exit permits for kids born in China
« Reply #2 on: June 22, 2009, 09:27:32 PM »
Gotcha. Although I've been told that for the baby they'll issue just an entry exit permit rather than an actual Chinese passport (since he doesn't have an ID, hukou, etc. to apply for a passport with? And he has an American passport already?), that is good for one use, and then when he enters again he'll have to get a visa, like you said. We don't really need Chinese citizenship for him, and he already has his US passport anyhow.

But this PSB woman told us over the phone that we have to go to Kunming and get him a tourist visa before we can take him anywhere, which pretty much contradicts everything we've heard so far. I will probably take him down to the local PSB and see if I can't get the entry/exit permit without going back to Kunming. They did my visa here afterall.

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Mr Nobody

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Re: entry/exit permits for kids born in China
« Reply #3 on: June 22, 2009, 09:44:04 PM »
We did not have a Chinese passport, but we did have to have exit papers applicable.

We had an spanking new Oz citizenship and Australian passport for her, but these are not used until you LAND.

On return to China Little Miss N has to have visas etc like me, same price, only really easy to get.

NOTE THIS REALLY WELL: One really BIG issue is that you can't get a visa for your baby until she does leave (or so my FAO told us), therefore need to take all the paperwork for a visa to the foriegn country. Ensure, if you can, the paperwork for 'visiting family' and NOT a tourist visa.

If you only get a tourist visa, intending to fix it up when you get back to China, you are normally required to have a return air ticket for your child.


I didn't, thinking I could get a proper visa once here, as had been assured by my FAO. This was not accepted by the Australian emmigration. They wanted her to stay, or have a return ticket.

I did some really fast talking, and it worked, but it was touch and go.
Just another roadkill on the information superhighway.

Re: entry/exit permits for kids born in China
« Reply #4 on: June 22, 2009, 11:07:04 PM »
Very helpful info both, thanks! If we go, I'll be sure to bring the birth certificates, marriage licenses, etc. with us so Little TLD can get the visiting family visa (on a related note, I just found out yesterday that my parents got one year multi entry L visas for visiting family -- us --  on the strength of a letter from their son in law, my husband, despite all the October madness this year. Nice, huh?).

Two quick questions. Did you get the exit/entry permit in the same city where the young Miss N was born? I was able to get my spouse visa without going to Mr. TLD's hometown, but we have heard that for our son we may have to go back to Kunming. Also, do you remember how long it took to get the exit/entry permit? I'm hoping it is something that can be issued in a matter of a few days, since we're planning on traveling in July, but that may be wishful thinking.

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Mr Nobody

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Re: entry/exit permits for kids born in China
« Reply #5 on: June 23, 2009, 12:06:56 AM »
We are still in the town in which she was born, so I don't know if you can do it elsewhere.

I remember the exit thingy took 6 weeks, but there was some difficulty. I think the birth certificate was in teh passport office or some such. Mrs N isn't here right now, to ask.

I am sure you can see that they must be very very careful about letting kids get transported out of the country.
Just another roadkill on the information superhighway.

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Nolefan

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Re: entry/exit permits for kids born in China
« Reply #6 on: June 23, 2009, 01:10:04 AM »

you should also PM Decurso about this or lookup his old post on the topic. He's had to deal with last year i believe.
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Re: entry/exit permits for kids born in China
« Reply #7 on: June 23, 2009, 03:03:36 AM »

you should also PM Decurso about this or lookup his old post on the topic. He's had to deal with last year i believe.

Thanks for the heads up! I found the post in question and there was useful information there. My son has a Chinese dad, but no hukou or Chinese passport, as we decided long ago not to go through the whole hukou process (which is pointless anyhow if your kid has a foreign passport since they'd have to renounce the hukou to actually use the foreign passport from what I understand), so it should just be a matter of getting him an entry/exit permit. We are going to go down to the Beijing PSB and investigate this week and see if we can't get it done here instead of trekking back to Kunming for it.

Anyone know what the Chinese for the entry/exit thingy is? Is it a 通行证, like the same terminology as what you'd have to get to enter T'b't?

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BrandeX

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Re: entry/exit permits for kids born in China
« Reply #8 on: June 23, 2009, 07:49:17 PM »
My wife says (for our daughter based upon the psb in her hometown), the document our baby needs is the same little book that looks almost exactly like a passport, which my wife uses when going across the border over to HK and back.

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Raoul F. Duke

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Re: entry/exit permits for kids born in China
« Reply #9 on: June 24, 2009, 11:11:57 AM »
Yeah, as I think back on it, my case was a little different.
My ever-charming wife went out, without my knowledge or consent, and got our daughter a Chinese hukou...illegally, since she already had a US passport at the time. Therefore, she had to have more documents in order to leave.

If you married a relatively sane Chinese person, the exit permit should be enough.
"Vicodin and dumplings...it's a great combination!" (Anthony Bourdain, in Harbin)

"Here in China we aren't just teaching...
we're building the corrupt, incompetent, baijiu-swilling buttheads of tomorrow!" (Raoul F. Duke)

Re: entry/exit permits for kids born in China
« Reply #10 on: June 24, 2009, 11:39:54 AM »
That's IF, Raoul

Re: entry/exit permits for kids born in China
« Reply #11 on: June 24, 2009, 04:45:35 PM »

If you married a relatively sane Chinese person, the exit permit should be enough.

 ahahahahah Although they're a rare breed, I think my husband qualifies as a mostly sane Chinese person. He sees absolutely no point in going through the hassle of getting our son a hukou for a village in Yunnan with a population of about 5000.

This is something that anyone out there considering having kids in China with a Chinese spouse should keep in mind though -- make sure your spouse understands why NOT to get a Chinese hukou. I think some of them do it because they think they have to or do not realize that having a Chinese hukou does the kid no good if he/she has another passport.

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Raoul F. Duke

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Re: entry/exit permits for kids born in China
« Reply #12 on: June 24, 2009, 08:06:45 PM »
I think some Chinese parents want it for the kids, even with a Western passport in hand, because in many places kids with local hukou can qualify for some social benefits- cheap admission to preschools and so on. But it can bite you on the butt when it comes time to depart China...
"Vicodin and dumplings...it's a great combination!" (Anthony Bourdain, in Harbin)

"Here in China we aren't just teaching...
we're building the corrupt, incompetent, baijiu-swilling buttheads of tomorrow!" (Raoul F. Duke)

Re: entry/exit permits for kids born in China
« Reply #13 on: June 24, 2009, 10:45:00 PM »
I think some Chinese parents want it for the kids, even with a Western passport in hand, because in many places kids with local hukou can qualify for some social benefits- cheap admission to preschools and so on. But it can bite you on the butt when it comes time to depart China...

Yeah, I can actually imagine that a "good" hukou, like for Beijing or Shanghai or some nice city might be worth the hassle if you were going to raise the child in China, at least through primary school. The difference in school fees for locals and outsiders can be pretty significant, especially for the better schools.

Anyhow, we went down to the Beijing PSB today and they told us that we do indeed have to go back to Kunming to get his entry/exit permit. So I dunno, we're still thinking about whether we want to do this right now or not, since, while we were originally planning on moving back to Kunming, plans have changed and we were just planning a trip to Thailand for the summer. Not sure if the hassle is worth it for a family vacation at this point.

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BrandeX

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Re: entry/exit permits for kids born in China
« Reply #14 on: June 24, 2009, 11:22:24 PM »
My wife was told that after our daughter crosses the border, she may only come back with a Visa issued from her home country, no where else. Not sure how accurate that truly is though.