I have recently moved to China where I have started working. I have a foreign residence permit and am completely legitimate. I am proposing to bring my son, first of all, and then my wife and daughter in as dependents. It now gets a little complex. My wife is a Filipino national currently resident in Thailand but my two children are British citizens and holders of British passports through my nationality as a Brit. My wife works in Thailand as a teacher and all her paperwork is in order , Non-B etc.

 

Our two kids, aged 7 and 4, have lived all their lives in Thailand except for holidays in the Philippines. They entered Thailand for the last time about three years ago on a 30 day waiver and have in effect overstayed since that time; we never thought it was necessary to get them visas as basically the regulations are not imposed on those under fifteens. As part of getting the kids  Chinese dependent visas, Class S(1),  we thought it would be a good idea to get them Non-Os for Thailand simply to show their status in Thailand. Possibly the Chinese authorities in Bangkok might not issue a dependent visa if  they are on overstays here even though they are minors. Anyhow my wife got the papers together and went to our local immigration office to get Non-Os on her status and was told an Non-O could only be issued if the kids leave and re-enter on a  30 day waiver. Is this right? 

 

I'd also like to know if anyone can advise on this situation. Anyone have any experience of this type of thing? My fear is the Chinese authorities might require me to go back to the UK in order to apply for their dependents' visas and that would be a major pain and an expense. Not to mention the fact the kids have never set foot in the UK in their brief lives.

 

As always thanks for any help and pointers that you can offer.

The Immigration Office cannot do a transfer of entry to Non-O because your children are on overstay.

It has to be done before their 'permission to enter' expires.

 

The regulations on overstay do apply to under 15 year olds, it's just that the penalties are not imposed.

They will, in all likelihood, get an overstay stamp in their passports.