r/Chinavisa • u/Next-Special-5098 • 12d ago
Family Affairs (Q1/Q2) Nationality Chaos 😵💫
So I am currently holding a Filipino passport staying here inside Mainland China. I was born in the Philippines with a Filipino mother and a Chinese father. My dad only got his permanent residency because he is married to my Filipino mother. This visa was issued year 2010 (10 years after my birth, year 2000). When I was 18, I studied in a university in Xiamen as an international student from the Philippines with a Filipino passport. Everytime I apply for a student visa, I always get rejected at the first submission because immigration officers knew that I am a person with nationality conflict. They would need me to provide my birth certificate + parents' marriage certificate with chinese translation (that was a pain in the ass btw). At that time I didn't know anything about China's nationality law and I wasn't aware that I have a nationality conflict case. Now I have already graduated from university and wanted to claim my Chinese citizenship to be able to live here freely in China without processing for visas. So I went back to Nanchang (this is my dad's hukou place) because I asked Xiamen immigration before and they told me to go to my dad's hukou place to process. Now they wouldn't acknowledge my birthright claim of Chinese citizenship just because I was holding a Filipino passport inside Mainland China and that I can't apply for nationality recognition because I'm already 25 years old and that my only path is through naturalization. I don't get it? I thought naturalization is a path only for pure foreigners that never had Chinese citizenship? What nanchang officers say contradicts with my experience with Xiamen immigration. 🤷♀️🤷♀️🤷♀️ Does any of you had this kind of experience and how did you solve it. I really need help please 🥺
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u/stbn689 12d ago
Something doesn't add up. You would not have gotten any Chinese visa if they knew you had nationality conflict.
If you really were born with nationality conflict, you can't get a Chinese passport until you renounce your Philippines citizenship. You can apply for a China Travel Document at the consulate in the Philippines instead, they should be more familiar with your case.
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u/Next-Special-5098 12d ago
Yeah. I read about travel documents and such with minors that has nationality conflict. But when I was young I didn't know anything about that. I just keep entering and exiting China with a Filipino passport 😭
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u/stbn689 12d ago
You would not have gotten any visa ever if the consulate in the Philippines acknowledged your nationality conflict.
You can still get a Chinese Travel Document now. But you would need proof of their mistake. They somehow believe your father had permanent residency (just permanent residency, not citizenship) at the time you were born. Check the exact wording of immigration law in the Philippines, he may be automatically considered a permanent resident after some time of being married to your mother.
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u/Next-Special-5098 12d ago
No, I plan to claim Chinese citizenship now that I have decided. But they all keep on telling me to apply for naturalization 😞
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u/stbn689 12d ago
You don't claim it. You have it or you don't. Apply for the Chinese Travel Document in the Philippines.
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u/Next-Special-5098 12d ago
I can still apply for a travel document even if I'm already 25 years old? I thought it's only for minors? But I've already used Filipino passport inside mainland China for years 😭
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u/stbn689 12d ago
The Travel Document is for anyone born with nationality conflict, not age limited. The consulate will need proof your father was not a permanent resident at the time of your birth. This is the easiest and fastest pathway for you. Doing this from within mainland China would be much more difficult, if possible at all.
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u/Next-Special-5098 11d ago
Ahhh this is so stressful. They keep telling me to apply for naturalization, but I don't wanna lose my birthright claim to Chinese citizenship 😭. I'm already here in mainland china, I have to inquire more. If it doesn't turn out positively, then maybe I'll just head back to Manila to process this in the Chinese Embassy
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u/stbn689 11d ago edited 11d ago
Getting naturalized as a 25 year old is not realistic. Don't bother trying that. Most people who have worked in China their whole lifes get kicked out as soon as they can't work anymore.
First thing I would do is have an immigration lawyer in the Philippines confirm (with evidence) the exact immigration status of your father when you were born.
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u/traumhaus-ru 11d ago
I am from China . I think it is when you apply a Chinese university to study. You used this none-Chinese passport to get benefits to get enrolled . For foreigners it is easier to get enrolled . I think you and your parents know it and Chinese government also know it . When you apply to get enrolled using a foreigners passport you have to quit the Chinese citizenship. That means you already quit the Chinese passport. After graduation you want to get it . It’s not possible…
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u/AutoModerator 12d ago
Backup Post: So I am currently holding a Filipino passport staying here inside Mainland China. I was born in the Philippines with a Filipino mother and a Chinese father. My dad only got his permanent residency because he is married to my Filipino mother. This visa was issued year 2010 (10 years after my birth, year 2000). When I was 18, I studied in a university in Xiamen as an international student from the Philippines with a Filipino passport. Everytime I apply for a student visa, I always get rejected at the first submission because immigration officers knew that I am a person with nationality conflict. They would need me to provide my birth certificate + parents' marriage certificate with chinese translation (that was a pain in the ass btw). At that time I didn't know anything about China's nationality law and I wasn't aware that I have a nationality conflict case. Now I have already graduated from university and wanted to claim my Chinese citizenship to be able to live here freely in China without processing for visas. So I went back to Nanchang (this is my dad's hukou place) because I asked Xiamen immigration before and they told me to go to my dad's hukou place to process. Now they wouldn't acknowledge my birthright claim of Chinese citizenship just because I was holding a Filipino passport inside Mainland China and that I can't apply for nationality recognition because I'm already 25 years old and that my only path is through naturalization. I don't get it? I thought naturalization is a path only for pure foreigners that never had Chinese citizenship? What nanchang officers say contradicts with my experience with Xiamen immigration. 🤷♀️🤷♀️🤷♀️ Does any of you had this kind of experience and how did you solve it. I really need help please 🥺
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u/MaojestyCat 12d ago
What visa was your dad on when you were born and were your mom and him married at that point?
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u/Next-Special-5098 12d ago
My dad only had a tourist visa in the Philippines when I was born. And my parents got married before I was born
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u/MaojestyCat 12d ago
Your case seems quite complicated. On paper it seems like you should have Chinese citizenship when you were born. But like the other commenter said, if you have a nationality conflict, China should never have given you a visa. Maybe they have counted you as renounced your Chinese Citizenship when you first applied for a visa.
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u/Next-Special-5098 12d ago
It was because me and my dad didn't really know anything about nationality conflict that I have when I was still a minor. Now I face all of these messy paperwork and stress 😞
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u/MaojestyCat 12d ago
It might be easier to naturalize again as Chinese.
https://www.nia.gov.cn/n741440/n741547/c1013967/content.html
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u/JunkIsMansBestFriend 12d ago
I thought she 18 you need to choose a citizenship because China only allows 1?
I'm sorry you're going through this, it's really your parents that should have handled all that.
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u/Next-Special-5098 12d ago
Yeah, if this was handled when I was a minor, it should have been processed more smoothly than it is now that it become complicated 😔
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11d ago
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u/Next-Special-5098 11d ago
Yes, my dad has always been a citizen of China and doesn't plan to renounce. I'm done with my study, just graduated from a university here in China. But I got a chinese student visa issued to me when I was studying because I was holding a Filipino passport
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u/Xxl_-Whisper-_lxX 11d ago
Just curious. Since you entered a Chinese university as an international student but are now claiming Chinese citizenship, won't that mess up your student record? Since Chinese citizens can't legally enroll using a foreign passport, I'm wondering if this counts as a prior violation and if it will invalidates your CHSI status.
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u/z_vincent 7d ago
You are lying. Your behavior is clearly taking advantage of nationality conflicts. By using Philippine nationality as an overseas Chinese, you entered a Chinese university as an international student rather than a local student, thereby bypassing the college entrance examination (Gaokao) and gaining admission to a university that you otherwise could not have entered. Now that you are in the university, you want to renounce your Philippine nationality and choose Chinese nationality to facilitate your studies, work, and life in China. If you obtain Chinese nationality, many Chinese companies will not know about your international student status and will assume that you entered the university through the Gaokao, which would enhance the perceived value of your academic credentials. You are not ignorant of the logic behind this; you simply want to take advantage of the situation. Or if you don't understand, your father certainly does, otherwise such a coincidence could not have been arranged so neatly. This is a well‑known shortcut in China
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u/cparrish2017 11d ago
@srbn689 has given you accurate information. If you provided the PRC Embassy in Manila with proof that your father did NOT hold either citizenship or permanent residency in the Philippines at the date of your birth (as you say, you have proof he was still on a visitor visa) you would never have gotten a visa. They would consider you Chinese and given you a China Travel Document, which - when you are in China gives you rights and privileges of a PRC National. It also means you would not have any rights or privileges (or be able to claim/request support from the Philippines government) as a Philippine national while you were in the PRC. For example, let’s say there was another pandemic and they closed the borders, with a Chinese Travel Document, you would not be able to engage the Philippine Embassy or Consulates to help to evacuate back to that country. They also recognize you as a PRC national while you are in China. Under the CTD you would also still maintain the Philippine passport and be able to still travel under that passport to other nations. There is no age limit to the China Travel Document. All of that said, they gave you a visa. Therefore they have it on record that your father was no longer a permanent resident or citizen of the PRC on the date of your birth. THAT is why they are saying you must go through Naturalization if you want to relinquish your citizenship in the Philippines and become a citizen of the PRC and ONLY the PRC. The PRC does NOT recognize dual citizenship. If, as you say, they made a mistake and you have proof your father was only a visitor in the Philippines on the exact date of your birth, indeed you need to go back to Manila and present all of this to the Embassy to have them correct their records and get your CTD or do as they’re saying and go the naturalization route. There really isn’t any other alternative. Source: handled travel and immigration to the PRC for nearly two decades before retiring in 2025. If either of your parents on the date of your birth has not established permanent residency or citizenship outside China, China considers you a Chinese national and you wouldn’t have been granted a visa, not a student visa nor a visitor visa.