Canadian immigrants: what is "dual nationality"

Zhang Zhimin (not his real name), who is applying for Canadian investment immigration, asked a question-if he succeeds in getting a passport, how can he coordinate his business in China? He tilted his mouth and said, "If you get your passport smoothly, you can also have' dual nationality'." However, when asked about the specific operation and hidden rules of dual nationality, Zhang Zhimin smiled and said nothing. "It's not convenient to say this, but many Canadian investors and immigrants know very well that Article 9 of China Nationality Law stipulates that China citizens who have settled in foreign countries will automatically lose their China nationality if they voluntarily join or acquire foreign nationality. Nowadays, many rich people who choose to invest in immigration hide such a "secret"-they may also hold the nationality of two or more countries, including China.

Zhang Zhimin's immigrant destination, the United States, is one of the countries that allow multiple nationalities. According to a website that collects information about nationality laws of various countries, about 89 countries officially allow different forms of dual nationality or multiple nationality. Cao Siyuan, president of Beijing Siyuan Social Research Center, who advocates the implementation of the dual nationality bill in China, found that 76% countries in the world recognize dual nationality in different forms.

Tian, an entrepreneur who asked not to be named, told this reporter, "It is necessary to retain China nationality, which is also very helpful for us to do business in China. Obviously, owning another country's nationality also needs to bear too much unnecessary public pressure. "

Mr Tian currently holds China and Canadian citizenship. His enterprise is a manufacturing industry, which has a certain influence in the industry and has set up factories in many places in China. "When my son went to the University of Toronto as an undergraduate, he became an investment immigrant and let him sit in the' immigration supervisor'. After that, our family also immigrated to Canada, and went there for a period of time every year. We have real estate in Vancouver and there are relatively good private high schools around. "

Regarding the operation of dual nationality, he revealed, "In fact, the method is very simple. After getting a passport, I will use a Canadian passport every time I leave Canada from Hong Kong, and I will show my China passport when I return to China through Hong Kong to avoid suspicion and discovery. " It is reported that Mr. Tian has done this many times before going abroad.

In an interview with this reporter, Mr. Wang, a senior consultant of Guangzhou Branch of a large investment and immigration institution, said, "In fact, it is very difficult to do so, because it will inevitably be suspected. If you stay in those countries for so long with a tourist, business or study visa, you may be suspected by China whether you have acquired the nationality of other countries. " However, Mr. Wang also said that it is true that "some customers have done this, and there is no big problem."

The reporter investigated the matter to a number of investment immigration agencies, and many immigration consultants said in a low-key manner, "We do not recommend holding multiple nationalities at the same time. The first is the legal issue. The second is that if immigrants get passports from other countries, then the focus of life has actually shifted abroad, and it does not make much sense to continue to hold China passports. " However, "if the customer is very willing to do so, of course we can't refuse."

The reporter learned that the phenomenon of holding dual citizenship is common among immigrants from the United States and Canada, especially Canada. Mr. Wang said, "Canadian investment immigrants are very attractive in all aspects, not only because Canada is vast and sparsely populated, but the most important issue is that Canadian investment immigrants have a government guarantee to recover them within five years. As customers of Canadian investment immigrants, they generally have a certain industrial base in China. They are a group of people with the most capital and competitiveness in China. These people often need convenient identity conditions to handle domestic business affairs. Losing China passport means losing many investment opportunities in China, an economic hotspot. " Undoubtedly, regardless of the intention, it is an undercurrent of interests and risks to seek dual nationality at legal risk.