American Passport/Registration for baby

[Obiwan]

Thanks mwong222. We have decided to hold off getting her the American passport. Don't want her to have any tax liability until such time (before 18) that she decides she wants to be an American.

I'm afraid it's not a grey area. Regardless of where an American works, the law is clear that he/she is subject to global taxation. How one interprets the law, and does with it, is individual's choices, but the law is clear. What one would hope in cases where income is not reported, is that the government never finds out. And you are right that it would be very difficult for the IRS to track every oversea American. They are making a serious effort though ... BBG article below on HK government cooperating in this regard. Yes they are targeting high income individuals.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/newspid=newsarchive&sid=aoY9mGd1juOY

And of course it's another discussion on whether one should be fulfilling our duty as citizens (American or otherwise) to declare our taxable income honestly. That boils down to individual's integrity, but the law is clear - you need to declare your income.

 

[Obiwan]

Hong Kong Is New Target of U.S. Crackdown on Taxes (Update1) - Bloomberg.com

See if this link can work now ...

 

[yonge]

Does one really want to be a Chinese citizen (which, in effect, you are when you travel on a HK passport with the multiple re-entry visa for HK citizens) when travelling in China? There are numerous cases of foreigners - including HK citizens - who are incarcerated for various "business" disputes indefinitely until their "debts" are repaid. These people can even receive visitors from family and friends at their places of detention but the central and provincial governments do not even acknowledge their existence! The Hong Kong government has been powerless in negotiating for their freedom, because they have waived their right for consular representation when they entered China! This is not a joke. You're pretty much on your own if you're travelling on the HK passport. Our family only uses it when travelling in and out of Hong Kong. Until these "missing persons" cases are resolved, we'd rather travel on a foreign passport to China!

 

[carang]

that is the exact reason we have not applied for a hk passport for our kids. my (local) husband has said that he really doesn't want them to get a passport... they already have PR in hk, so there's no real need to get the passport... they will only ever enter/exit china on a canadian passport

 

[yonge]

Back to Obiwan's original question, you don't HAVE to obtain the baby's passport or social security card right away (although you might like the latter if you want to claim a US tax exemption), but you can. The passport you would only obtain if you wish to travel on the US passport. However, you cannot apply for either until you have registered the child at the US Consulate and obtained a "Consular Report of Birth Abroad".

One other benefit of a US citizenship that is very meaningful to my Korean-born friends - evacuation. The US embassy will evacuate US citizens for free, but non-citizen family are chargeable at US$65,000 (if I remember correctly). I know it's not what most of us thinks about!

 

[Obiwan]

Thanks yonge. I understand that registration can be done before the child is 18 years old.

From the US Consulate:

Your Baby's Passport, Report of Birth and Social Security Number

Congratulations on your child's birth!
Your new baby needs a first passport, a Consular Report of Birth Abroad (similar to a birth certificate) and a Social Security number. On this page we'll tell you what you need to do to get all three items.

When Do I Need to Start?
It is important to start this process as soon as possible after your child is born. In the case of urgent, unexpected travel, your child will need a passport. In addition, you may need to secure a visa for your child, which also requires a passport. Hong Kong local law requires that your child be registered locally within 42 days of birth (see "Registering a Birth" - Immigration Services, the Government of the Hong Kong SAR). Once this is done, the only U.S. deadline for completing this process is before your child's 18th birthday.

On evacuation, it is interesting to find out that during the Phuket Tsunami, Americans were evacuated later than the Chinese/Hong Kong citizens. You are right though, we are holding different passports from our child, in the event of evacuation, it'll be troublesome. AMEX will cover the cost though ... (just thinking aloud here)