Switching back from US to Chinese citizenship.

[miner89r 0]

Wife received her US citizenship/passport about 2 years ago. She applied and received a Family Visa for visits to China of up to 6 month duration. When she applied the Chinese consulate cut the corner off of her Chinese passport to invalidate it because they do not allow dual citizenship. She now regrets it. Wish she had just stayed a permanent resident. She wants to move back to China long term. Is it possible for her to get her Chinese citizenship back? I assume she would have to renounce her US citizenship? Is there any way to go back to being a permanent resident/ Greencard holder and keeping Chinese citizenship?

[wildbug100420 225]

  On 3/18/2025 at 8:13 PM, miner89r said:

Wife received her US citizenship/passport about 2 years ago. She applied and received a Family Visa for visits to China of up to 6 month duration. When she applied the Chinese consulate cut the corner off of her Chinese passport to invalidate it because they do not allow dual citizenship. She now regrets it. Wish she had just stayed a permanent resident. She wants to move back to China long term. Is it possible for her to get her Chinese citizenship back? I assume she would have to renounce her US citizenship? Is there any way to go back to being a permanent resident/ Greencard holder and keeping Chinese citizenship?

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I doubt it 

[Ryan H 3,851]

  On 3/18/2025 at 8:13 PM, miner89r said:

Is there any way to go back to being a permanent resident/ Greencard holder and keeping Chinese citizenship?

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There may be a process for re-acquiring Chinese citizenship but that will require researching the relevant authority.  As for going back to being a green card holder, that would require renunciation of US Citizenship and then going through the immigration process all over again.

[jd_malachi 59]

Do you know if they cancelled her hukou?

[miner89r 0]

  On 3/22/2025 at 3:14 AM, jd_malachi said:

Do you know if they cancelled her hukou?

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I don't know that she ever had a hukou. I'll ask. She went back to China last year on a family reunification visa and she said that her Chinese ID card still worked everywhere she tried it and she was able to use it to access her Chinese bank accounts.

[vanhiscers87 29]

I'm from China myself. From the standpoint of China, there's nothing she needs to do. Having your passport invalidated doesn't mean you automatically lose the citizenship. If she hasn't canceled her household registration (Hukou) in China, and she has no intention of living in the U.S. long term, she can technically go back to China on her US passport, both her Hukou and her Chinese ID card will continue to function. Yes, China doesn't recognize dual citizenship, but Chinese laws are not clear about enforcing it either. The ultimate symbol of Chinese citizenship is Hukou, not Chinese passport, so if her Hukou was never canceled, her Chinese citizenship is still intact.

 

If you're asking if she can revert back to Lawful Permanent Resident from U.S. citizen, then the answer is no.

Edited March 25 by vanhiscers87