Visa for my boy 4 years old to China... any ideas?

[Magnus1977]

Hey everyone. I always seem to come back here when I have questions.

 

Here we go.

 

My wife and I want to give our son an opportunity that I wish I had... at 4 years old to go to Shanghai to be with his grandparents for about 5-6 months to be immersed and live there. My father in law will be coming to the states to visit us for a month and the idea is that he would take him back to Shanghai with him. Do we need a visa for the boy? Which one? How do we get it? Is it time consuming? Money? How do we get our boy on the same flight as my father-in-law?

 

Anybody do this before?

 

What do you all think?

[dnoblett]

If boy is a US Citizen, then will need a visa to visit China, the Visa will be the normal tourist visa.

 

https://www.oasischi...urist_visa.html (Normally a visa allows for only a 90 day stay, however longer stays can be asked for, see this link for details)

 

Will need a US passport, which at that age requires the consent of both parents to apply for.

 

http://travel.state....minors_834.html

 

If Child is a Chinese Citizen, and has a Chinese passport, then no visa needed.

 

In any case the guardian traveling with child may be required to have a letter of consent from parents allowing travel.

 

http://www.childtravelconsent.com/ (Free)

http://www.singleparenttravel.net/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/Minor-Consent-Letter.pdf

http://www.myfamilytravels.com/travel_permission_letters.html

Edited November 29, 2011 by dnoblett
Links to free travel consent forms (see edit history)

[warpedbored]

There is also the issue of how long the child can stay. It may not be possible to get a visa for longer than 90 days. It may be possible to get a multiple entry visa with 90 day duration and have it renewed at the police station.