Lack of a birth certificate

[robhon]

My wife tells me that she has no birth certificate, that none was created when she was born in 1972. This concerns me greatly but I have no idea if it should. Anyone know how critical this might be? She does have a Chinese ID card, so we know she exists.

 

We were trying to translate her words and the only thing we came up with was "immaculate conception." Do you think the DOS will buy this?

 

(joking... but serious about the lack of a birth certificate.)

[Guest R2D2]

This would be a good Owen question, seems like Rose was in the same situation. Or, maybe some of the 001 gang can shed some light?

I, too, remember Owen mentioning this some time ago. Owen or Rose would be the best people to ask about this.

[robhon]

I'm sure there's a way to obtain some kind of documentation that will suffice to prove she was born. Hey, you can buy most anything in China! (and I would love to hear what other people here have done in this situation.)

 

My larger concern is that maybe what is slowing our case down at the DOS with our security check is this lack of documentation. But no one there will tell you anything about what's happening, being that would be a "breach of security." I would do triple back-flips through a dozen hoops to find documentation if that's what the problem was. But I have no way to know.

 

I've come to the conclusion that we are all living inside Joseph Heller's brain (re, Catch 22).

 

[Mick]

We encountered the same situation. Li is from a small town in Anhui Province and they never issued formal birth certificates like we have here in the U.S. Births, however, were recorded. All Li had to do was go to a local office and obtain a certified copy of the Chinese version of the birth certificate. I forget the name of the agency now, but they are all over China. I can get the name from Li if you like. It is the same place she obtained her police report, marriage eligibility, etc. etc. They also provide Chinese translations of all these documents. There is, of course, a fee. It seems this fee varies widely throughout China.

 

Just checked with my better half. The name of the agency is "Gong Zheng Chu".

 

I think if your lady goes to the local office she should be able to find what she needs.

[robhon]

Thanks Mick!!

[Jatuke]

Same situation with us. We went to the local police station and they processed all of the documents that we needed, including birth certificate, proof of residency, police record.

 

My wife didn't have an actual birth certificate, so they took the household register that is in a red booklet, and created a notarized and translated document stating when and where she was born.

 

Inquire with your wife's local police office, or PSB.