How do Chinese Canadians restore Chinese nationality and the restoration process?

There are various legends about how difficult it is to restore Chinese nationality, which is pure nonsense. I, a Bai Ding, also recovered successfully.

I tell you from personal experience: Chinese nationality can be restored and the procedure is very simple. It just takes a long time. Beijing takes 24 months. I don’t know about other cities, I only know that it takes about six months in Guangdong (the information is more reliable). You have to go back to your original place of residence to apply. Taking Beijing as an example, the steps are as follows:

1. Submit the application:

According to the "Instructions" in Figure 1, prepare all the materials in advance and go to the Exit-Entry Administration Office located in the small street. At the information desk No. 1 on the second floor, I told the staff that I planned to apply for restoration of Chinese nationality. The staff will contact the relevant person in charge using the internal telephone number and arrange for you to meet with the person in charge at the "Nationality Affairs" window No. 11. Nationality Affairs Window No. 11 is usually unmanned.

Fill out the application form, resume, etc. on site, handwriting, modifications are allowed, and then submit the application.

Note: The "Instructions" I scanned and uploaded are from the 2015 version. There may be an update now, please refer to the link below:

Initial review for joining, withdrawing and restoring Chinese nationality - Service Guide - Beijing Online Government Service Hall 1111

2. Wait patiently:

Waiting for 24 months, there is no need to call to inquire about the progress, let alone reminders.

Note: During this period, you are still a foreign national. You should apply for which visa, where you should go, and how you should live.

3. The application for reinstatement is approved:

The staff will call you to inform you of the result after 24 months. If you don't receive a call, go to the immigration and exit by yourself and bring your foreign passport. The procedure is the same as "1". First, go to the consultation window No. 1 and contact the person in charge of nationality affairs. If it has been approved, you will be given a copy of the "Certificate of Restoration of the People's Republic of China" (see Figure 2), and you will be asked to take this copy and your foreign passport to the east side of the entry-exit hall for about 100 Mi's "Shuangxiong Foreign Service Company" does translation and notarization. I got the notarial certificate a few days later.

Note: This only means that the application for re-citizenship has been approved, but it does not mean that the Chinese nationality has been obtained.

4. Withdrawal of foreign nationality:

Assuming that your foreign nationality is nationality A, you should contact the Immigration Bureau or relevant government departments of country A to handle the procedures for withdrawal of nationality. Go to the website of the Immigration Bureau or relevant government departments to research how to withdraw your nationality, send the materials (including the translation and notarization of the restoration certificate), and wait for the certificate of withdrawal. Taking Australia as an example, after the Immigration Bureau receives the materials, it will send an email within a few days and give a Ref No. With this Ref No, the progress can be tracked on the Immigration Bureau website. In about two weeks, you will receive a second email requesting that the original Australian passport and citizenship certificate be sent to them. Once they receive the original passport and citizenship certificate, they will approve it immediately and notify you by email. I have received an email from the Australian Immigration Bureau, saying that my application for denaturalization has been approved and the certificate of denaturalization (see Figure 3) was sent to me by registered mail.

Note: If denaturalization will result in statelessness, the denaturalization application will be rejected, so a Chinese "Certificate of Restoration" is required.

5. Restore the Chinese registered permanent residence:

After receiving the certificate of withdrawal, go to Shuangxiong Company, 100 meters east of the entry-exit hall on the small street, for translation. It takes 1 hour. Then go to the nationality affairs window and hand in the translation. After taking a photo and charging 250 yuan (Picture 4), you will receive the original "Certificate of Restoration of the People's Republic of China" (I will not upload it).

The immigration office will send a confidential letter to the Population Management Corps. One week later, bring the original certificate of re-registration, real estate certificate, marriage certificate and other materials to the Population Management Corps located in Chengshou Temple, South Third Ring Road, to handle household registration procedures. The Population Management Corps will issue a "Beijing Municipal Public Security Bureau Household Registration Notice" (Figure 5). With this slip and other materials given to you by the Population Corps, plus the original property certificate and other original documents, go to the Guanpian Police Station to register and apply for a household registration. and ID card. The ID number is the same as before.

(I have obtained the household registration book and ID card. Everyone has seen the household registration book and ID card, so I will not upload it)

After settling in and getting the household registration book, some online real-name Authentication failed. Until I got my ID card and successfully passed all online real-name authentications.

Some notes:

1. Don’t be intimidated by rumors in the society. It is not difficult to restore Chinese nationality. It does not require high-level talents to restore it. Ordinary people can also apply for restoration. , and according to the entry-exit nationality affairs staff, as long as there are no special circumstances, it can usually be approved.

2. The procedures for restoring Chinese nationality are very relaxed and user-friendly. They will not deliberately make things difficult. The service attitude is also very good and very patient. For example: the submitted materials are allowed to be altered, and some important materials are lost, but this can also be accommodated. I lost my Australian citizenship certificate. According to the "Instructions", I should provide it. However, the staff was very reasonable and said that you will have to withdraw from Australia in the future anyway, and it will be invalid after the replacement. Don't bother, just write a statement. That's it.

3. When you read this article, congratulations, you no longer have to hit the wall and take many detours. Generally speaking, there are relatively few cases of restoring Chinese nationality. People within the public security system may not understand. Several years ago, I went to the police station for consultation. The policeman told me seriously: Almost no one can succeed, and asked me to go to the Overseas Chinese Affairs Office for consultation.

At that time, I thought that he was from the public security system and what he said must be right, so I gave up and it was delayed for several years. It wasn’t until the end of 2015 that I didn’t give up and did some more careful research. I found out that what the police officer said was pure nonsense: the foreign Chinese had nothing to do with the Overseas Chinese Affairs Office! I am telling you this to remind everyone that you must go to the right department, that is, the immigration administration department, and do not trust anyone, even other departments within the public security system. Many people take things for granted and are completely irresponsible.

I have written so much, but in fact there are only two most important ones:

1. Know that it is not difficult to restore Chinese nationality; 2. Find the right department and take the right first step. The rest of the procedure is simple.

FAQ:

1. Why do you want to restore Chinese nationality:

The reasons for restoring Chinese nationality are just like what I wrote in the application for restoration of nationality. :

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I applied for restoration of Chinese nationality for the following reasons:

I submitted a skilled immigration application to the Australian Immigration Bureau in 200X and was successful. I was only 2X years old at the time and had endless longing for overseas life. I have lived in Australia for five years. Finally, he applied for Australian citizenship without careful consideration. As time goes by, my parents living in Beijing are getting older and need to be taken care of. In addition, we feel more and more that due to cultural reasons, living in a foreign country is far less happy and a sense of belonging than in Beijing, so I My wife and I returned to China in December 2010 without any hesitation and have never officially lived in Australia since. Our son was born in Beijing on May 8, 201X. We decisively gave up the opportunity for him to apply for Australian citizenship and chose to apply for a Beijing household registration★. This means that I am destined to live in Beijing with my wife, son, and parents for a long time, and my Australian nationality will not bring any convenience to my life, and may increase troubles. In addition, as a Chinese, I feel psychologically uncomfortable holding a foreign passport. Now that China is getting stronger and stronger, and its international status is getting higher and higher, I have a strong sense of pride as a Chinese. The above are the reasons why I applied to restore my Chinese nationality.

My application to restore Chinese nationality is completely voluntary and has the support of my family. I will live in China permanently and voluntarily abide by the Chinese Constitution and laws.

All the above statements are made voluntarily and from the heart.

★: Before and after the son was born, his wife held an expired Australian permanent resident visa, Chinese nationality, and a Beijing household registration, so the son had Chinese nationality and a Beijing household registration.

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< p>On the one hand, staying in a five-star hotel for a week still feels quite beautiful, but staying in a month makes me bored. Staying for a year must be crazy, but I still feel comfortable at home. On the other hand, China is developing rapidly and Western countries are stagnant. In many aspects, China has overtaken it. At the beginning, you will be intoxicated by the blue sky and white clouds, but as time goes by, the novelty will wear off.

2. Can I retain my Australian green card if I withdraw my Australian citizenship?

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You will cease to be an Australian citizen on the day we approve your application.

If you are in Australia when your application is approved, you will automatically become the holder of an ex-citizen visa. No visa application is required.

An ex-citizen visa is a permanent residence visa. It does not allow re-entry into Australia if you choose to leave . If you plan to leave Australia and want to return, apply for a Resident Return visa before you leave.

If you are outside Australia when your application is approved, and you wish to travel to Australia, you will need to apply for a visa that suits your circumstances.

If we refuse your application, we will send you a letter explaining the reasons for refusing your application. You have the right to ask for the decision to be reviewed by the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT).

Your letter will tell you where you can lodge an application for review and time limits for lodging your application.

3. Already a foreign citizen , the Chinese household registration has not been cancelled, can I withdraw my foreign citizenship first to retain my Chinese nationality?

No. Article 9 of the Nationality Law stipulates: Chinese citizens who have settled in a foreign country and voluntarily join or acquire foreign nationality will automatically lose their Chinese nationality. In other words, the moment you become a foreign national, your Chinese nationality is automatically lost. Although your household registration and ID card are still there, they are actually invalid. It is just that the Chinese government does not know about it or does not intervene for the time being. If you want to obtain Chinese nationality, you can only take the path of "restoring Chinese nationality". There is no shortcut. If you want to live steadily in China for decades, it is best to follow legal procedures.

4. If both husband and wife are Chinese and their children are born overseas and have foreign nationality, can the children apply to become Chinese nationals?

Yes, but both husband and wife must return to live in China, which is one of the prerequisites.

Note: This was an oral answer from the comrade in charge of entry-exit and nationality affairs in Beijing. Please make your own judgment on reliability. I was also asking for a friend at the time.

5. After becoming a foreign national, can I try to retain my Chinese nationality to achieve de facto dual nationality?

Article 9 of the Nationality Law: Chinese citizens who have settled in a foreign country and voluntarily join or acquire foreign nationality will automatically lose their Chinese nationality.

There are various strategies circulating on the Internet, teaching how to enter and exit China to ensure that your foreign status is not discovered by the Chinese government. I don't provide guides, please search for them yourself.

If you live overseas for a long time and occasionally come back to your country for a short period of time, that’s no problem. After all, before going abroad, you need to use your ID card to handle many things: bank cards, stock market, real estate, mobile phone number, Alipay, etc. If you don’t have a household registration or ID card, it is really troublesome, which is understandable. Even if the government discovers your foreign status, in fact it often does not force you to cancel your household registration immediately.

But if you live in China permanently in the next few decades, that is a different matter. Your Chinese nationality was automatically lost when you became a foreigner. Legally speaking, you have been illegally staying for decades. If your foreign status is discovered one day, you will die miserably.

You can search for an article on the Internet, saying that after becoming a foreigner, you can retain Chinese nationality according to the provisions of the Nationality Law. What that article said is basically nonsense. The case is not universal and is not realistic at all. Don't take it seriously.

6. After canceling the account and before obtaining a new ID card, what should I do with bank cards, driver’s licenses, motor vehicles, social security, medical care, and real estate that were previously issued in China using the ID card?

House property rights will not be lost due to change of nationality. I consulted the housing management department in Beijing, and the answer was: there is no need to change the real estate registration certificate, you can just continue to hold it. If you need to dispose of it, such as selling a house, you can go to the foreign embassy in China to apply for a "declaration of the same person". Note that the Australian Embassy can issue a "declaration of the same person", which is not a certificate. Handwritten by yourself, bilingual in Chinese and English, and signed by the consul. After that, go to the notary office to get the translation notarized. Many departments will recognize this material. With the notarized translation of this "Declaration of the Same Person", the house can be sold smoothly. Please consult yourself for information in other cities.

Bank account numbers will not be affected. Many bank services do not require going to the counter. When I don’t have an ID card, I personally think there is no need to change it. Try to use online banking or ATM machines instead of dealing with the counter. The situation of social security is similar. If you pay social security by yourself, you must pay the dues and there is no need to change. Once you get your ID card again, you can achieve seamless connection.

I personally changed my motor vehicle license and driver’s license. Because the traffic management department is part of the public security system, they must know that the ID card has been cancelled.

The medical system, I have never been to the hospital when I didn’t have an ID card, so I don’t know what to do. The online registration system will be unavailable due to the cancellation of the ID card. I guess I should use my passport to register at the hospital? Friends with experience are welcome to share.

I am the author of "It is not difficult to restore Chinese nationality, my application has been approved" on Zhi/Hu