In accordance with the Nationality Law of the People's Republic of China, China does not recognize dual nationality. Where a natural person voluntarily acquires a foreign nationality, their Chinese nationality shall be automatically forfeited, and their household registration and resident identity card shall be legally cancelled.

Property rights and interests previously registered under the Chinese citizen identity (Chinese name + resident ID number), including real estate, bank accounts, social insurance, housing provident funds, equity, vehicles and other assets, will not be automatically linked to the foreign passport identity upon household registration cancellation.

In practice, domestic administrative authorities, financial institutions and judicial authorities have no authority, dedicated system or statutory obligation to verify the identity consistency between an overseas passport and a cancelled Chinese identity. Old identity cards, household registration cancellation certificates and verbal explanations have no legal probative effect, which inevitably leads to practical obstacles such as blocked real estate transactions, failure to update bank account information, restrictions on cross-border capital remittance, inability to withdraw social insurance and housing provident funds, and stagnated inheritance and judicial proceedings.

The only legal remedy to resolve the above issues is to complete the notarization and cross-border authentication of a One-and-the-Same Person Declaration, so as to establish a legal connection between the old and new identities.

A One-and-the-Same Person Declaration is a legal document issued by an expatriate individual, notarized by an overseas notarial institution and completed with statutory cross-border authentication procedures. It serves as a legally recognized instrument to confirm identity unity and is fully admissible by domestic authorities.

A One-and-the-Same Person Declaration is required for all matters involving the disposal of assets, qualifications and rights and interests registered under the previous Chinese identity, mainly categorized into four types:

China is a contracting state to the Hague Convention Abolishing the Requirement of Legalization for Foreign Public Documents. Authentication procedures are determined based on whether the applicant’s resident country is a member state of the Hague Convention:

Certain institutions may require an updated declaration for new passports. The optimal solution is to complete a new declaration upon passport renewal for long-term universal validity.

Acquisition of foreign nationality does not impair the legitimate property rights and interests of individuals within China; however, legal procedures must be completed to unify old and new identities.

The notarization and authentication of a One-and-the-Same Person Declaration is the core statutory document to connect dual identities and unfreeze domestic assets and related rights and interests, serving as a prerequisite and mandatory legal formality. Standardized advance application can effectively prevent entry obstacles to China, service suspension and legal disputes, ensuring the smooth exercise of personal legitimate rights and interests.