The Procedures of Birth and Death Registration for Aliens in China

I. Birth registration for an alien infant born in China
Article 26 of the Rules Governing the Implementation of the Law of the People’s Republic of China on the Entry and Exit of Aliens stipulates that the parents of an alien infant born in China or their agent shall, within one month after its birth, report to the local public security bureau with the birth certificate and complete registration procedures.
The passport of the infant’s parent shall be submitted for birth registration. The residence permit (alien’s residence permit or temporary residence permit) held by the parent(s) shall also be submitted. If the infant has already obtained his/her own passport from the embassy or consulate of his/her home country in China, the passport shall also be submitted.
The Chinese Government does not recognize dual nationality for any Chinese national. Any person born in China whose parents are either Chinese nationals or one of whose parents is a Chinese national shall have the right to Chinese nationality.
In the event that one of the infant’s parents is a foreign national and the other is a Chinese national but has permanent residence status in a foreign country, the infant, if he/she will reside in a foreign country after birth and have foreign nationality, shall first apply for quitting his/her Chinese nationality and then, upon approval, go through the birth registration procedures for aliens.
Chinese nationals who meet one of the following conditions may quit their Chinese nationality upon application and approval:
1. being the close relatives of foreign nationals;
2. having permanent residence status in a foreign country;
3. having other legitimate reasons.
In going through the procedures for quitting the Chinese nationality for an infant, the parents or their agent shall submit to the exit-and-entry department of the public security organs the infant’s birth certificate, his/her parent’s foreign passport, alien's residence permit issued by the exit-and-entry department of the public security organs in China, his/her parent’s Chinese passport and documents supporting their residence in a foreign country. Applicants for quitting of Chinese nationality shall submit their applications in written form. All the documents or certificates should be submitted in duplicate. Photocopies are acceptable but the original documents or certificates should be submitted for confirmation. Applicants shall fill in the application form of quitting Chinese nationality in duplicate, submit 6 two-inch half-length, bareheaded and full-faced photos and pay the registration fees as stipulated.
If an infant who has acquired foreign nationality at birth or has, upon approval, quitted Chinese nationality and acquired foreign nationality shares the same passport with the parent, he/she may, as an accompanying person, share the same visa or aliens' residence certificate with the parent; if the infant has a separate passport, he/she may, as an accompanying person, share the same visa or aliens' residence certificate with the parent, or go through separately the application procedures for visas or aliens' residence certificates.
II. The procedures an alien’s relatives or agent shall go through in case the alien dies in China
When an alien dies naturally within the Chinese territory, his/her family members, guardian or agent shall, within 3 days of the death, report to the exit-and-entry department of the local public security organs with the passport of the deceased, the death certificate or document certifying the course of death (provided by the relatives, guardian, or agent), and hand in the deceased’s residence certificate or visa for cancellation.
In case of an unnatural death of an alien, the persons concerned or the discoverer shall promptly report to the public security organ. After the criminal investigation department inspects the scene and determines the cause of death, the medical expert will issue the diagnosis certificate, and the notary office will present notarization. After the departments concerned deal with the case, the exit-and-entry department of the public security organs will cancel the visa and residence permit of the deceased. Issues arising from aliens’ death will be dealt with by the reception units, where applicable, or the public security bureau together with some departments concerned. Meanwhile, the corpse of the deceased should be given decay-proof treatment and be kept with proper care. Cremation or autopsy shall not be done until the family members of the deceased or the leader of his/her delegation or the embassy or consulates of his/her country in China apply in written form. The family members of the deceased or their agent shall go through application formalities as stipulated if they wish to ship the corpse out of China. In case of an alien’s natural death, the hospital shall provide the death certificate for the deceased; in case of an alien’s unnatural death, the public security organ or medical expert from the judicial departments shall provide the diagnosis certificate. The coffin should be shipped together with the death certificate or diagnosis certificate, the antisepsis certificate issued by the hospital, and the permit for shipping coffin with corpse out of China issued by the quarantine and prevention organ. All the above certificates must be prepared in duplicate, one for the public security bureau or reception unit, and the other for the family members of the deceased or the leader of his/her delegation or the embassy or consulate of his/her country in China. If they are to be used abroad, they need to be authenticated by the consular officers.