Heihaizi

Heihaizi (lit. 'black children') is a term applied in the People's Republic of China. Also rendered in English as illegal children or invisible children, the term heihaizi refers to children born in spite of the one-child policy, or more generally any children who are not registered in the national household registration system (hukou system), such as children born out of wedlock. Such children faced severe discrimination and lack of access to government services in China, with some even becoming stateless. The synonymous term heihu (lit. 'black hukou') refers to an unregistered person of any age.

After changes to Chinese law in 2015, access to family registration began to be decoupled from one's family planning status, and fees for receiving registrations were abolished, leading to almost 750,000 registrations in the first six months of the relaxed rules. However, older overseas Chinese adults and those without proper documentation may continue to experience barriers due to their status as heihaizi.