Babies born abroad may trigger fines

BEIJING - Mainland couples who give birth to babies abroad to circumvent the family planning policy will be required to pay social maintenance fees if they bring the children back to the mainland.

"As long as they are Chinese mainland citizens and will raise the children back on the mainland, and their children are born in contravention of the policy, they have to pay the fees," said the National Population and Family Planning Commission.

In recent years, more and more well-to-do couples have gone abroad to have a second child. Some aim to give their children citizenship provided by places such as the United States, Canada and Hong Kong, while others simply want to circumvent the family planning policy, which limits most urban couples to just one child.