Before answering this question, we need to understand:
1. The issuance of Chinese Travel Document is for Chinese nationals.
2. The issuance of Chinese visas is for foreigners who are not Chinese nationals. (Foreign nationality)
If a child is born in the United States, according to US law, the child has US citizenship and can apply for a US passport. However, according to Chinese law, China does not recognize dual citizenship. In this case, although the child has obtained a US passport, they may still need to apply for a travel document when returning to China.
Article 5 of the Nationality Law of China: If both parents or one parent is a Chinese citizen and the individual is born in a foreign country, they possess Chinese nationality; however, if both parents or one parent is a Chinese citizen and settles in a foreign country, and the individual possesses foreign nationality at the time of birth, they do not possess Chinese nationality.
What is settlement?
We can understand that if the parents hold a US permanent resident card (green card), this situation is considered as settlement. If the parents are temporarily staying overseas, such as for business trips, tourism, work, or study, and hold a foreign visa with a time limit, this situation is considered as non-settlement. Based on the above information, we make the following summary:
Should children apply for a Chinese visa or a Chinese travel document when returning to China?
Parental side 1 Parental side 2 child’s return should be processed:
Chinese passport (without green card) Chinese passport (without green card) Chinese Travel Document
Chinese passport (without green card) U.S. passport Chinese Travel Document
Chinese passport (without green card) Chinese passport + green card Chinese Visa
Holding a U.S. passport Holding a U.S. passport Chinese Visa
Note: The point in time at which a parent is determined to have/not have a green card is determined by the child’s date of birth. If the parent received the green card after the child’s birth, there is no green card field in the table above. If the parent received the green card before the child’s birth, there is a green card column in the table above. Please make a judgment based on the child’s date of birth and the effective date of the green card. (The information on this form is based on the practices of the Chinese Embassy in Washington, D.C., and is subject to the discretion of the Consul of the Embassy or Consulate).
Other situations:
1. If the child has a previous record of holding a Chinese Travel Document, they can continue to apply for a Chinese Travel Document.
2. If the child has had a Chinese visa and can provide the visa records, they can proceed to apply for a Chinese visa.
3. If a child has previously obtained a Chinese visa (or travel document), but cannot provide a record of the visa (or travel document) (copy/original), the materials should be prepared according to the situation of the first application for returning to China.