For parents who are having their children overseas there are a number of things to consider.
NOTE: Check for "updates" to policies and processes of the embassy/consulate here are platforms that the Canadian Embassy in Beijing uses,
Twitter:
https://twitter.com/CanadaChina
Weibo:
https://www.weibo.com/canadaweibo
To get the weibo using Chinese (pinyin) "Jia Na Da Da Shi Guan" and it will be the first one of the Canadian/China Sino Pin.
@JiaZhong
If you would like to contact me for further assistance, please feel free to comment below with either your email or a form of contact, I'll reach out to you.
1. Wellness of Mother and Child
Contrary to popular belief China does have some nice hospitals and certainly some of the most dedicated doctors. There are things to consider Chinese maternity doctors very much prefer C-Section births because of the hastiness of them. This is not always necessary or recommended based on the individual giving birth. Please speak to your physician back home to get a trustworthy opinion if a doctor in China tells you otherwise.
Generally speaking flying pregnant is never "recommended" but, you can comfortably get on a plane from Toronto to Guangzhou at 32-34 weeks (latest), again though-speak to your doctor back home for a more precise opinion based on your situation.
Give birth in a place that you know you have mental supports, the month after birth is never easy, regardless of what lifestyle you have.
In China, they like to recommend you sit in the hospital a week after the birth for observation; its different from person to person, do what is best for your mental well-being and comfort. Bigger hospitals will have liaisons who can also help you get connected with emergency numbers to staff at that location as well as nurses or nannies who are trained and hold a level of expertise in life after birth.
2. Time to take care of the child
Currently in China, Mothers are offered 5 months (an increase from the original, 3) to stay at home with payment. For Chinese citizens it is dependent (the payment accumulation) on the employer's social insurance plan with the government.
Fathers in China, have no time off. Our company offers a measly 3 days.
Realistically though for my wife and I, her supports were here in China and my work was as well. We didn't quite have as much available for us back in Canada and without my wife being a PR, we were going to need to cover the cost differences which...not easy.
Therefore a Nanny would be necessary as a teacher.
3. Citizenship
The citizenship process is the first step to getting back to Canada with your new-born baby Canadian. If one of the parents is not Canadian you will need a NOTARIZED (regardless of where it comes from) AND TRANSLATED (if the marriage license is from another country or in all French) document/paper trail that connects the parent to the child. Well, sorry let me clarify, which ever of the parents don't have the same family name as the child need to prove their connection.
For example, my wife didn't take my family name (for logistical reasons). Therefore, our son only holds my family name. This means, my wife needs to prove her connection to the child. A birth certificate with the parents listed on it, a "mother and baby" hospital record and/or marriage certificate (to me) will serve as "parentage proof".
Generally speaking you will receive or accumulate all documents need along the way (THROW NOTHING AWAY).
https://www.canada.ca/content/dam/ircc/migration/ircc/english/pdf/kits/citizen/cit0014e-2.pdf
https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/application/application-forms-guides/application-citizenship-certificate-adults-minors.html
https://eservices.cic.gc.ca/epay/welcome.do?lang=en
4. Passports
A child can travel within the country of birth using only their birth certificate (in most cases), but when travelling internationally, the child must have a travel document such as, a passport. In China, with China Southern, we need our son's passport and in order to get that in due time, we need to have the ticket, this is a common problem. Fret not, show up, get on the phone with the airline if you are having difficulties or call the airline ahead and get the extension of a supervisor that can be reached during your appointment at the embassy.
Usually a passport cannot be issued until after a child has citizenship. In many cases such as my own, the child needs the passport right away as they are going to Canada at the end of the employment term for the Canadian citizen.
In these special cases, the citizenship and passport are completed concurrently, this is a long interview and appointment process. Essentially, the embassy does not like doing this because of the pressure it puts on time constraints and the bureaucratic background checks, current line ups of other citizens in the process, etc.
generally speaking, the sooner you get the citizenship for your child, the better/easier it is for you to get your passport. Arguably, you could say it is easier and cheaper to do both at the same time, but its similar to doing two things at one time. For the amount of paperwork involved its easy to forget a document there or here and forget to make duplicates of some documents that may be needed twice.
https://www.canadainternational.gc.ca/china-chine/consular_services_consulaires/passport-passeport.aspx?lang=eng&view=d
https://eservices.cic.gc.ca/epay/welcome.do?lang=en
https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/news/notices/notice-passport-canada-new-requirements-supporting-identity-documents-when-applying-passport.html
5. Accessibility
Aside from making a payment in your own currency directly to your government, nothing abroad is easily accessible and anyone who tells you it was an easy process is not being entirely honest with you or themselves. The amount of paperwork and stress that goes along with redoing or editing completed pages time and time again is ridiculous.
When abroad as a Canadian, it feels like you barely work with the Canadian government as the same systems available back home are actually much more of a hassle and headache to endure without losing your patience and saying "I will wait till I get home."
I highly recommend calling ahead of time and ensuring you are correctly informed on all the information provided not only here but on the actual Embassy's or Consulate's websites as well.
Most of the time during the process I was completing for my son's application, The Canadian government official websites were referenced and often times there are pieces of information missing or documents that are unable to be opened for a variety of reasons.
For all purposes of accessibility, having your child abroad is counter productive. But again there are a number of factors to consider. This particular case was based on my personal experience with the Canadian Embassy in Beijing, China.
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