Visas, permits, and your child’s status

Your own status

Most foreign parents hold a work residence permit tied to an employer. This usually begins as a Z visa, and the Exit and Entry Administration Law requires you to apply for the residence permit within 30 days of entry. It is not permanent residency. Pregnancy does not extend the permit. If the job ends, the period of lawful stay is limited. Compare the permit expiry date with the due date.

Maternity leave is set by your labor contract and the company handbook. Chinese statutory leave exists. Whether it applies to you is a question for HR and, if needed, a lawyer. Get the answer in writing before the third trimester.

Your child is not a Chinese citizen

A baby born in China to two foreign parents does not become a Chinese citizen and does not receive a hukou (household registration). Being born on Chinese soil does not grant nationality. The hospital issues a medical birth certificate. The Public Security Bureau records the birth. That is registration, not citizenship.

If one parent is a Chinese national, get legal advice. Under the Nationality Law, a child born in China with a Chinese-national parent has Chinese nationality, and China does not recognize dual nationality.

Passport, then a Chinese visa

Apply for your child’s home-country passport at your embassy as soon as you have the medical birth certificate. Then take that new passport to the Exit-Entry office and apply for a Chinese visa or residence permit. Your child cannot legally stay — or leave — on the hospital certificate alone.

Do not book flights until the Chinese visa is issued.

Language at government offices

The Public Security Bureau, Exit-Entry office, community health stations, and most public-hospital windows operate in Chinese. Bring a Mandarin speaker, hire a translator, or arrive with documents already translated and notarized. Photograph every receipt. Keep a folder with passports, residence permits, the marriage certificate, and the medical birth certificate.