Verifiable

Since her birth, we have been following the rather complicated process of verifying Annika’s place in this world. Had she been born on US soil, her citizenship would be unquestionably American and paperwork would follow at a leisurely pace. But the process is much more interesting (and tedious) on Chinese soil.

Annika is a US citizen. Unlike America, China does not offer citizenship to children born in its hospitals. They did, however, offer her a very cool little Chinese birth certificate. But this birth certificate is nothing more - not the hukou that Chinese citizens receive upon their birth, conferring upon them the right to public school and health care in their home town.

So, she was born a US citizen. But that is not as automatic as one might think.

Step 1: Consular Report of Birth Abroad

We had to apply for her birth certificate from the US. This is only offered to US citizens, and so we had to prove her citizenship. Again, more complicated than I would have expected. For us, a married pair of citizens, we only had to bring our passports, ourselves, and our marriage license to the Shanghai Consulate. We made an oath, Annika answered some questions about American government, and she was in. Here's the rules for the more complicated contingent:

• If only one of us were a US citizen but still married, then the citizen would have to prove they had lived in the US for 5 years since they were 14 years old. Not too hard.
• If only Mom is a US citizen, and the couple is unmarried then mom must have spent 1 continuous year in an American territory.
• If only Dad is a US citizen, and the couple is unmarried then things get a bit more complicated. Pop must provide clear evidence of his paternity, acknowledge that paternity in writing, and also guarantee in writing to financially support the little citizen until they turn 18. I see this as a sad legacy of irresponsible men, both during wartime and on business trips. Dave sees this as saving degradation from women who may well bear a child to access American citizenship, especially from men who could sell the service of impregnation. Ick.

It is interesting to me that, should we continue this lifestyle for a long time, our grandchildren could be ineligible for US citizenship. It is also interesting to me that some children probably face a lack of citizenship entirely - what happens then?

Step 2: Passport

With her Consular Report of Birth Abroad (CRBA), she has proof of her citizenship. But she still can not board an airplane for international travel without a passport. On the same day, and with her CRBA and 2 passport pictures (imagine that - 2 weeks old!), we applied for her passport. It came back within 10 days, and her photo looks a bit ridiculous.

Step 3: Local Police Registration

The Chinese government keeps track of everyone within their borders. Everyone. We are registered with our local government, telling them who we are and where we live. We are supposed to tell them every time we leave town, and every time we return. Hotels do this for us, to some extent - reporting everyone who stays, and their arrival and departure dates to their local government. Annika must be reported. We needed her passport to do this. We received her passport on Friday, so we will report her on Monday.

Step 4: Visa and Residence Permit

As an American citizen, Annika has no guaranteed right to stay in the People’s Republic of China. Without a Chinese visa in her passport, we can be fined up to 5,000 RMB. With her birth certificate, her passport, and her local police registration as well as Dave’s work permit, Uncle H--s HR department will obtain a visa for her. And here is where we are being fleeced. Foreigners must obtain that visa within 30 days of their child’s birth. See how many steps necessarily preceed this? Recall that those 30 days are also the first 4 weeks post-delivery for mother and child. Also recall that in China, custom dictates that a woman not leave her house or her bed for at least 30 days, to regain her strength. We have passed that 30 day mark. Uncle H--s fixer believes he can fix the problem without our paying 5,000 RMB - that’s about $1,000 USD. In China, its all about who you know and how effectively you can make connections. A fixer is our only chance.