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Man from China with S'pore citizenship deemed illegally residing & working in Shenzhen
A man, who had acquired Singapore citizenship, continued living and working in China for an extended period of time.
He was subsequently caught, but argued that he had never settled in Singapore and had not formally renounced his Chinese citizenship.
However, the Chinese court found him guilty of illegal residence and employment for residing and working in Shenzhen, China without completing the necessary procedures as a foreigner.
He filed an appeal against the penalty, but the court ultimately dismissed all his claims.
Entered China frequently on short-term visas
Local media reported that the man, Zhang, had repeatedly applied for Chinese visas nine times in the past 10 years and entered and exited China 187 times with his Singapore passport.In 2018, he transferred his household registration to Shenzhen as a student returning home.
In 2020, Zhang entered Shenzhen with a Singapore passport and a short-term family visit visa.
After the visa expired, he did not leave the country and continued to work for a company in Shenzhen.
During this period, his household registration was still registered in Shenzhen and it was not cancelled until March 2023.
It was also revealed that Zhang had been working for the same Shenzhen company since 2007.
He was said to have also submitted proof of renouncing his Chinese citizenship to the Chinese embassy in Singapore upon obtaining Singapore citizenship.
Despite this, Zhang argued that he has lived in China for a long time, never settled in Singapore, and that he should still be considered a Chinese citizen.
The court reiterated that both China and Singapore do not recognise dual citizenship, and voluntarily acquiring foreign citizenship automatically results in the loss of Chinese citizenship.
The court found that the authorities acted legally and ruled to dismiss all of Zhang's claims.
