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International Parental Child Abduction > Country Information > China International Parental Abduction Information
Reconsider travel to the People’s Republic of China (PRC) due to arbitrary enforcement of local laws and COVID-19-related restrictions. Do not travel to the PRC’s Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR), Jilin province, and Shanghai municipality due to COVID-19-related restrictions, including the risk of parents and children being separated. Reconsider travel to the PRC’s Hong Kong SAR due to arbitrary enforcement of local laws.
On April 11, 2022, the Department ordered the departure of non-emergency U.S. government employees and all family members from the Consulate General Shanghai consular district due to a surge in COVID-19 cases and the impact of restrictions related to the PRC’s response.
Read the Department of State’s COVID-19 page before you plan any international travel.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has determined the PRC has a low level of COVID-19 and a high level of COVID-19 for Hong Kong. Visit the CDC page for the latest Travel Health Information related to your travel.
The zero-tolerance approach to COVID-19 by the PRC and Hong Kong governments severely impacts travel and access to public services. All travelers should prepare to quarantine at a government-designated location for a minimum of 14 days upon arrival. While in quarantine, health authorities will test travelers as often as daily for COVID-19 and will not permit travelers to leave their rooms. Travelers who test positive during this quarantine time will be transferred to a government-designated medical or quarantine facility. Standards of care, accommodations, testing, and treatments may differ considerably from standards in the United States. Even after completing quarantine on-arrival, travelers to the PRC and Hong Kong may face additional quarantines and mandatory testing as well as movement and access restrictions, including access to medical services and public transportation. In some cases, children in Hong Kong and the PRC who test positive have been separated from their parents and kept in isolation until they meet local hospital discharge requirements.
Travelers within the PRC and Hong Kong may be subject to mandatory testing. In areas with confirmed COVID-19 cases, restrictions may include being confined to home or moved to a government- designated quarantine facility or hospital. Visit the Embassy's COVID-19 page for more information on COVID-19 and related restrictions and conditions in the PRC, or the Consulate General Hong Kong's COVID-19 page for information on the COVID-19 situation in Hong Kong as testing and travel requirements frequently change.
Country Summary: The PRC government arbitrarily enforces local laws, including carrying out arbitrary and wrongful detentions and using exit bans on U.S. citizens and citizens of other countries without due process of law. The PRC government uses arbitrary detention and exit bans to:
In most cases, U.S. citizens only become aware of an exit ban when they attempt to depart the PRC, and there is no reliable mechanism or legal process to find out how long the ban might continue or to contest it in a court of law.
U.S. citizens traveling or residing in the PRC, including the Hong Kong SAR, may be detained without access to U.S. consular services or information about their alleged crime. U.S. citizens may be subjected to prolonged interrogations and extended detention without due process of law.
Foreigners in the PRC, including but not limited to businesspeople, former foreign government personnel, and journalists from Western countries have been arbitrarily interrogated and detained by PRC officials for alleged violations of PRC national security laws. The PRC has also threatened, interrogated, detained, and expelled U.S. citizens living and working in the PRC.
Security personnel may detain and/or deport U.S. citizens for sending private electronic messages critical of the PRC government.
The PRC government does not recognize dual nationality. U.S.-PRC citizens and U.S. citizens of Chinese heritage may be subject to additional scrutiny and harassment, and the PRC government may prevent the U.S. Embassy from providing consular services.
XINJIANG UYGHUR AUTONOMOUS REGION and TIBET AUTONOMOUS REGION
Extra security measures, such as security checks and increased levels of police presence, are common in the Xinjiang Uyghur and Tibet Autonomous Regions. Authorities may impose curfews and travel restrictions on short notice.
HONG KONG SPECIAL ADMINISTRATIVE REGION
Since the imposition of the National Security Law on June 30, 2020, the PRC unilaterally and arbitrarily exercises police and security power in the Hong Kong SAR. The PRC has demonstrated an intention to use this authority to target a broad range of activities it defines as acts of secession, subversion, terrorism, and collusion with foreign entities. The National Security Law also covers offenses committed by non-Hong Kong residents or organizations outside of Hong Kong, which could subject U.S. citizens who have been publicly critical of the PRC to a heightened risk of arrest, detention, expulsion, or prosecution. PRC security forces, including the new Office for Safeguarding National Security, now operate in the Hong Kong SAR and are not subject to oversight by the Hong Kong judiciary.
Demonstrations: Participating in demonstrations or any other activities that authorities interpret as constituting an act of secession, subversion, terrorism, or collusion with a foreign country could result in criminal charges. On June 30, 2020, as part of its color-coded system of warning flags, the Hong Kong police unveiled a new purple flag, which warns protesters that shouting slogans or carrying banners with an intent prohibited by the law could now bring criminal charges. U.S. citizens are strongly cautioned to be aware of their surroundings and avoid demonstrations.
Propaganda: A PRC propaganda campaign has falsely accused individuals, including U.S. citizens, of fomenting unrest in the Hong Kong SAR. In some cases, the campaign has published their personal information, resulting in threats of violence on social media.
Read the country information page for the PRC and the country information page for the Hong Kong SAR for additional information on travel.
If you decide to travel to the PRC, including the Hong Kong SAR:
Last Update: Reissued with updates to health information.
No. 55 An Jia Lou Road
Chaoyang District, Beijing 100600
China
Telephone: +(86)(10) 8531-4000
Emergency After-Hours Telephone: +(86)(10) 8531-4000
Fax: +(86)(10) 8531-3300
The Embassy consular district includes the municipalities of Beijing, Tianjin, Gansu, Hebei, Henan, Hubei, Hunan, Inner Mongolia, Jiangxi, Ningxia, Qinghai, Shaanxi, Shandong, Shanxi, Xinjiang, Chongqing, Guizhou, Sichuan, Yunnan, Tibet
BeijingACS@state.gov
Consulates
U.S. Consulate General Guangzhou
43 Hua Jiu Road, Zhujiang New Town, Tianhe District
Guangzhou 510623
China
Telephone: +(86)(20) 3814-5775
Emergency After-Hours Telephone: +(86)(10) 8531-4000
Fax: +(86)(20) 3814-5572
Email: GuangzhouACS@state.gov
This consular district includes the provinces/autonomous region of Fujian, Guangdong, Guangxi, Hainan
U.S. Consulate General Shanghai
Westgate Mall, 9th Floor, 1038 Nanjing Xi Lu,
Shanghai 200031
China
Telephone: +(86)(21) 8011-2400
Emergency After-Hours Telephone: +(86)(10) 8531-4000
Fax: +(86)(21) 6148-8266
Email: ShanghaiACS@state.gov
This consular district includes Shanghai municipality and the provinces of Shanghai, Anhui, Jiangsu, Zhejiang
U.S. Consulate General Shenyang
No. 52, 14th Wei Road, Heping District,
Shenyang 110003
China
Telephone: +(86)(24) 2322-1198
Emergency After-Hours Telephone: +(86)(24) 2322-1198
Fax: +(86)(24) 2323-1465
Email: ShenyangACS@state.gov
This consular district includes: the provinces of Heilongjiang, Jilin, Liaoning
The U.S. Consulate General in Wuhan
New World International Trade Tower I,
No. 568, Jianshe Avenue
Hankou, Wuhan 430022
China
Telephone: +(86)(027) 8555-7791
Emergency After-Hours Telephone: +(86)(10) 8531-4000
Fax: +(86)(027) 8555-7761
Please note that Consulate General Wuhan is currently providing information and emergency services for U.S. citizens. Regular ACS services are expected in Fall 2022. For routine services at this time please contact U.S. Embassy Beijing
WuhanACS@state.gov
For information concerning travel to China, including information about the location of the U.S. Embassy, the Smart Traveler Enrollment Program, entry/exit requirements, safety and security, crime, medical facilities and health information, traffic safety, road conditions and aviation safety, please see country specific information for China.
The U.S. Department of State reports statistics and compliance information for individual countries in the Annual Report on International Child Abduction. The report is located here.
China is not a signatory to the 1980 Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction (Hague Abduction Convention), nor are there any bilateral agreements in force between China and the United States concerning international parental child abduction.
Legal systems and laws pertaining to custody, divorce, and parental abduction vary widely from country to country. The government of China maintains information about custody, visitation, and family law on the Internet here under Marriage Law. Parents are encouraged to consult with an attorney who specializes in family law in China and who can provide accurate legal guidance that is specific to their circumstances.
The Department of State's Bureau of Consular Affairs, Directorate for Overseas Citizens Services, Office of Children's Issues provides assistance in cases of international parental child abduction. For U.S. citizen parents whose children have been wrongfully removed to or retained in countries that are not U.S. partners under the Hague Abduction Convention, the Office of Children's Issues can provide information and resources about country-specific options for pursuing the return of or access to an abducted child. The Office of Children's Issues may also coordinate with appropriate foreign and U.S. government authorities about the welfare of abducted U.S. citizen children. Parents are strongly encouraged to contact the Department of State for assistance.
Contact information:
U.S. Department of State
Bureau of Consular Affairs
Office of Children's Issues
CA/OCS/CI
SA-17, 9th Floor
Washington, DC 20522-1709
Telephone: 1-888-407-4747
Outside the United States or Canada: 1-202-501-4444
Website: travel.state.gov
Under Article 262 of the Criminal Law, abduction of a child under the age of 14 that would cause the child to be separated from his/her family or guardian is a crime in China, Please see full text of the law, which does not clearly address how this law applies if the abductor is a parent.
Parents may wish to consult with an attorney in the United States and in the country to which the child has been removed or retained to learn more about how filing criminal charges may impact a custody case in the foreign court. Please see Pressing Criminal Charges for more information.
Legal systems and laws pertaining to custody, divorce, and parental abduction vary widely from country to country. Parents are encouraged to consult with an attorney who specializes in family law in China and who can provide accurate legal guidance that is specific to their circumstances.
The Office of Children's Issues may be able to assist parents seeking access to children who have been wrongfully removed from or retained outside the United States. Parents who are seeking access to children who were not wrongfully removed from or retained outside the United States should contact the appropriate U.S. Embassy or Consulate in China for information and possible assistance.
Neither the Office of Children's Issues nor consular officials at the U.S. Embassy or Consulates in China are authorized to provide legal advice.
The U.S. Embassy in Beijing posts list of attorneys, including those who specialize in family law.
This list is provided as a courtesy service only and does not constitute an endorsement of any individual attorney. The Department of State assumes no responsibility or liability for the professional ability or reputation of, or the quality of services provided by, the persons or firms included in this list. Professional credentials and areas of expertise are provided directly by the lawyers.
This list is provided as a courtesy service only and does not constitute an endorsement of any individual attorney. The Department of State assumes no responsibility or liability for the professional ability or reputation of, or the quality of services provided by, the following persons or firms. Professional credentials and areas of expertise are provided directly by the lawyers.
Divorce cases brought before the courts often include voluntary mediation to resolve conflicts and to help develop parenting plan(s) best for the family. Parents are encouraged to consult with an attorney who specializes in family law in China who can provide accurate legal guidance that is specific to their circumstances. For more resources please check www.npc.gov.cnor for the Chinese version please obtain information at http://www.gov.cn.
While travelling in a foreign country, you are subject to the laws of that country. It is important for parents to understand that, although a left-behind parent in the United States may have custody or visitation rights pursuant to a U.S. custody order, that order may not be valid and enforceable in the country in which the child is located. For this reason, we strongly encourage you to speak to a local attorney if planning to remove a child from a foreign country without the consent of the other parent. Attempts to remove your child to the United States may:
The U.S. government cannot interfere with another country’s court or law enforcement system.
To understand the legal effect of a U.S. order in a foreign country, a parent should consult with a local attorney in the country in which the child is located.
For information about hiring an attorney abroad, see our section on Retaining a Foreign Attorney.
Although we cannot recommend an attorney to you, most U.S. Embassies have lists of attorneys available online. Please visit the local U.S. Embassy or Consulate website for a full listing.
For more information on consular assistance for U.S. citizens arrested abroad, please see our website.
Country officers are available to speak with you Monday - Friday, 8:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. For assistance with an abduction in progress or any emergency situation that occurs after normal business hours, on weekends, or federal holidays, please call toll free at 1-888-407-4747. See all contact information.
DISCLAIMER: The information in this flyer is provided for general information only, is not intended to be legal advice, and may change without notice. Questions involving interpretation of law should be addressed to an attorney licensed in the relevant jurisdiction.
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