Travel doc for 4 year old (born in China)

[Avs81]

Hi

Hi All,

 

Havent posted in a while but had a quick question about my son. He was born in china and came back to the US to live. My wife is chinese and I am American, we live in Colorado right now. 

 

My question is , we want to have him visit China again in the near future but not sure on the process since he got a travel document originally that allowed him to come back to the states (that expired this past May). 

 

Do we really need to visit our Immagration office located in Chicago in person to get this done or can we fill out the forms and use a courier service to help bring it to the Chicago office? 

 

Thank you! 

 

Bill W 

All,

 

Havent posted in a while but had a quick question about my son. He was born in china and came back to the US to live. My wife is chinese and I am American, we live in Colorado right now. 

 

My question is , we want to have him visit China again in the near future but not sure on the process since he got a travel document originally that allowed him to come back to the states (that expired this past May). 

 

Do we really need to visit our Immagration office located in Chicago in person to get this done or can we fill out the forms and use a courier service to help bring it to the Chicago office? 

 

Thank you! 

 

Bill W 

 

My question is , we want to have him visit China again in the near future but not sure on the process since he got a travel document originally that allowed him to come back to the states (that expired this past May). 

 

Do we really need to visit our Immagration office located in Chicago in person to get this done or can we fill out the forms and use a courier service to help bring it to the Chicago office? 

 

Thank you! 

 

Bill W 

[Randy W]

 

If he has an American passport, you would apply for a visa at the Chinese consulate. Bring any documents concerning the travel document (which apparently was issued by the Chinese authorities?), especially any concerning his Chinese citizenship.

The visa service may be able to help you,  but my guess is that you would need to appear in person.

I'm assuming this is the first time you're applying for a visa for him. You may need another travel document if his Chinese citizenship wasn't renounced.

Edited December 16, 2021 by Randy W (see edit history)

[Martin B]

12 hours ago, Avs81 said:

Hi

Hi All,

 

Havent posted in a while but had a quick question about my son. He was born in china and came back to the US to live. My wife is chinese and I am American, we live in Colorado right now. 

 

My question is , we want to have him visit China again in the near future but not sure on the process since he got a travel document originally that allowed him to come back to the states (that expired this past May). 

 

Do we really need to visit our Immagration office located in Chicago in person to get this done or can we fill out the forms and use a courier service to help bring it to the Chicago office? 

 

Thank you! 

 

Bill W 

All,

 

Havent posted in a while but had a quick question about my son. He was born in china and came back to the US to live. My wife is chinese and I am American, we live in Colorado right now. 

 

My question is , we want to have him visit China again in the near future but not sure on the process since he got a travel document originally that allowed him to come back to the states (that expired this past May). 

 

Do we really need to visit our Immagration office located in Chicago in person to get this done or can we fill out the forms and use a courier service to help bring it to the Chicago office? 

 

Thank you! 

 

Bill W 

 

My question is , we want to have him visit China again in the near future but not sure on the process since he got a travel document originally that allowed him to come back to the states (that expired this past May). 

 

Do we really need to visit our Immagration office located in Chicago in person to get this done or can we fill out the forms and use a courier service to help bring it to the Chicago office? 

 

Thank you! 

 

Bill W 

When we were there a few years ago, BOTH parents needed to be there.  At the window next to us a guy drove down with his son and was turned away because his wife wasn't there to sign. 

 

You best bet is to call/email the consulate in Chicago to get this information, these things change quickly and the websites are usually not helpful.

[newacct]

If they issued him a PRC Travel Document, that implies that he must have been a Chinese citizen from birth (according to Article 4 of the PRC nationality law, a child born in China to at least one Chinese citizen parent is automatically a Chinese citizen). So he would not be able to get a PRC visa (unless you first renounce Chinese nationality for him), and should get a PRC Travel Document instead. The procedure for applying for PRC passports and travel documents is to use the Chinese Consular app, which you can find on US iOS/Android app stores under the name "中国领事". Here are some FAQ from the Chicago consulate on using the app, and a QR code to go to the app store page. Unfortunately, all this is in Chinese only.

[Randy W]

6 hours ago, newacct said:

If they issued him a PRC Travel Document, that implies that he must have been a Chinese citizen from birth (according to Article 4 of the PRC nationality law, a child born in China to at least one Chinese citizen parent is automatically a Chinese citizen). So he would not be able to get a PRC visa (unless you first renounce Chinese nationality for him), and should get a PRC Travel Document instead. The procedure for applying for PRC passports and travel documents is to use the Chinese Consular app, which you can find on US iOS/Android app stores under the name "中国领事". Here are some FAQ from the Chicago consulate on using the app, and a QR code to go to the app store page. Unfortunately, all this is in Chinese only.

Chinese citizens are normally not issued travel documents. To get one for a child born in China but who has an American passport, the procedure often includes renouncing his Chinese citizenship. If they did so, they may find it among the paperwork filed when they obtained the travel document.

If the renunciation was NOT filed, they may wish to do so on their next visit to the PSB on China.

Edited December 17, 2021 by Randy W (see edit history)

[newacct]

1 hour ago, Randy W said:

Chinese citizens are normally not issued travel documents. To get one for a child born in China but who has an American passport, the procedure often includes renouncing his Chinese citizenship. If they did so, they may find it among the paperwork filed when they obtained the travel document.

If the renunciation was NOT filed, they may wish to do so on their next visit to the PSB on China.

Children who have dual nationality (i.e. Chinese nationality under PRC law and foreign nationality under foreign law) are issued PRC travel documents by PRC consulates worldwide, and the documents say that the bearer is a citizen of the PRC. For example, all children who are born in the US, who are Chinese citizens at birth according to PRC law (because at least one parent was a Chinese citizen and neither parent was a Chinese citizen with a green card) are issued PRC travel documents. But it also applies to children who are born in China and who have dual nationality due to having one Chinese citizen parent and foreign nationality from the other parent. However, PRC travel documents are only issued by PRC consulates outside China; if the child was born in China, they first must have gotten an Entry/Exit Permit, and only after going to a PRC consulate outside China would they have gotten a PRC travel document for the next time they wanted to visit China. I am not sure which document the OP was referring to. But regardless, the document they would apply for now is a PRC travel document, as long as they have never renounced Chinese nationality for the child.

Edited December 17, 2021 by newacct (see edit history)

[Randy W]

8 minutes ago, newacct said:

Children who have dual nationality (i.e. Chinese nationality under PRC law and foreign nationality under foreign law) are issued PRC travel documents by PRC consulates worldwide, and the documents say that the bearer is a citizen of the PRC. For example, all children who are born in the US, who are Chinese citizens at birth according to PRC law (because at least one parent was a Chinese citizen and neither parent was a Chinese citizen with a green card) are issued PRC travel documents. But it also applies to children who are born in China and who have dual nationality due to having one Chinese citizen parent and foreign nationality from the other parent. However, PRC travel documents are only issued by PRC consulates outside China; if the child was born in China, they first must have gotten an Entry/Exit Permit, and only after going to a PRC consulate outside China would they have gotten a PRC travel document for the next time they wanted to visit China. I am not sure which document the OP was referring to. But regardless, the document they would apply for now is a PRC travel document, as long as they have never renounced Chinese nationality for the child.

That's a lot of verbosity that adds nothing. To get out of the travel document loop, they will need to go to the PSB in China and renounce citizenship, if they haven't done so already.

[Martin B]

BTW when my wife went to check on the process of renouncing citizenship it was not at all trivial. My wife's PSB didn't even know the procedure and had to call someone in Guangzhou for the details. I believe the processing time they quoted us was something crazy like 6-18 months, so we just decided it'd be easier to deal with the travel documents books. It's a huge PITA but I have a lot of family in the Chicago area, so we usually turn consular trips into 4-5 day family visits/vacations as well. Usually 1 day in Chinatown gaining weight, and another day doing something fun downtown.