Getting a Certified Copy of a Chinese passport

[Beachey]

I Found this on the Shenyang US Consulate We Site, this might be what you need:

 

Authentication

Please make sure the documents you bring to us have already been authenticated by the Notarization and Authentication Division of Consular Affairs Department of the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The telephone number of the Notarization and Authentication Division is (8610) 6588-9796.

 

http://shenyang.usembassy-china.org.cn/notary-services.html

[lhp]

Thank you, we will follow up on that.

[lhp]

To resolve this issue (for now): As of 2013, the only way to get an ITIN from within China is to go in person with your Chinese spouse. You must make an appointment at the US Embassy in Beijing with the IRS officer (make the appointment via email) and then go, taking along your completed tax return, form W7, and both you and your spouse's passports. I think it's also probably a good idea to take along photocopies of your passport info pages, just in case they need them.

 

I got this information directly from the Beijing IRS office. Hope it can be of help to others!

[Randy W]

To resolve this issue (for now): As of 2013, the only way to get an ITIN from within China is to go in person with your Chinese spouse. You must make an appointment at the US Embassy in Beijing with the IRS officer (make the appointment via email) and then go, taking along your completed tax return, form W7, and both you and your spouse's passports. I think it's also probably a good idea to take along photocopies of your passport info pages, just in case they need them.

 

I got this information directly from the Beijing IRS office. Hope it can be of help to others!

 

I don't believe this is correct. Yes, you CAN submit your original documentation at an IRS office and get it back the same day, and the office in Beijing is the only one in China.

 

OR - you can mail certified copies. The new regulations call for copies certified by Certifying Agents, which are available at some of the consulates. The W-7 and tax return can then be submitted by mail.

 

What you are saying would all but rule out an American with a Chinese spouse from getting an ITIN, except by making a special trip to China at tax time. The Chinese spouse should be able to get her passport certified at a consulate without the American spouse being present.

[lhp]

 

To resolve this issue (for now): As of 2013, the only way to get an ITIN from within China is to go in person with your Chinese spouse. You must make an appointment at the US Embassy in Beijing with the IRS officer (make the appointment via email) and then go, taking along your completed tax return, form W7, and both you and your spouse's passports. I think it's also probably a good idea to take along photocopies of your passport info pages, just in case they need them.

 

I got this information directly from the Beijing IRS office. Hope it can be of help to others!

 

I don't believe this is correct. Yes, you CAN submit your original documentation at an IRS office and get it back the same day, and the office in Beijing is the only one in China.

 

OR - you can mail certified copies. The new regulations call for copies certified by Certifying Agents, which are available at some of the consulates. The W-7 and tax return can then be submitted by mail.

 

What you are saying would all but rule out an American with a Chinese spouse from getting an ITIN, except by making a special trip to China at tax time. The Chinese spouse should be able to get her passport certified at a consulate without the American spouse being present.

I'm sure you're right that outside of China there are ways to get a certified copy of a Chinese passport. (For instance, in the US you can go to an Acceptance Agent, who will certify the passport and send a copy along.)

 

Applying from China, you must send a copy certified by the issuing authority, which in this case is the Exit & Entry Administration, Ministry of Public Security:

Forms W-7, Application for IRS Individual Taxpayer Identification Number, submitted during the interim period beginning June 22, 2012 through the end of the year must include original documentation such as passports and birth certificates, or copies of these documents certified by the issuing agency. During this interim period, notarized copies of documentation will not be accepted. (source)

However, the Exit & Entry Administration, Ministry of Public Security do not issue certified copies.

 

Thus, the workaround is to go to the US Embassy in Beijing. At the tax meeting they stated that couples from around China have been making trips to Beijing solely for the purpose of getting an ITIN.

 

Like I said in the post above, this is how to get an ITIN from within China. Perhaps Chinese consulates in other countries could provide a certified copy of a Chinese passport, which would be great…having to make a trip back to China for this would, as you say, be ludicrous.

Edited March 16, 2013 by lhp (see edit history)

[Randy W]

As has been said before, several of the American consulates in China perform this service. These procedures were only finalized as of this year, but the consulates had already provided the service.

 

From the Instructions for the W-7:

 

NOTE: As of July, 2012, notarized copies may not be used - Instructions for Form W-7 (dated Jan., 2013)

 

 

You can submit copies of original documents if you do any of the following:

• Have the copies certified by the issuing agency.
• Have the officers at U.S. Embassies and Consulates overseas provide certification and authentication services. Contact the Consular Section, American Citizens Services of the U.S. embassy or consulate in advance to determine the hours of operation for these services.