Note: The following only applies to Sino-foreign marriages.
Local-level marriage registration offices are the governmental
bodies responsible for legally uniting Chinese nationals under
Chinese law.
Step 1: Submit the required documents
The Sino-foreign couple must go together, in person to the
appropriate marriage registration office and submit a completed
marriage registration application form (available at the marriage
registration office). The appropriate marriage registration office
will be the one in the jurisdiction in which the Chinese partner is
registered (the location of the hukou).
Together with the application form, the couple must submit a
number of other documents:
Chinese Partner
(1) A certificate of marriageability
(2) A certificate of birth
(3) Household registration book (hukou)
(4) A health certificate (obtainable from a regional-level local
hospital)
(5) A letter from the parents of the Chinese partner giving
permission for their child to marry a foreigner (this letter should
include the index fingerprint of both parents below their
signatures and date)
Foreign Partner
(6) A current passport
(7) Chinese residence permit
(8) A health certificate from a local hospital designated by the
marriage registration office
(9) Three photos of the marrying couple, taken together
(10) A registration fee
(11) A certificate of marriageability.
Item 11 requires further explanation. Basically, the marriage
registration office needs a form from the foreign partner's home
government stating he/she is not already married in his/her home
country. Every foreign government has its own version of this type
of form with its own requirements for obtaining one. Couples will
need to check the embassy website of the foreign partner's home
country in China for details on how to obtain this kind of
certification. (Chinese translations must accompany
foreign-language documents.)
Note: Application requirements may vary from office to office.
When an individual visits the appropriate marriage registration
office to pick up an application form and find out which local
hospital(s) the foreign partner must receive a check-up at, he/she
should also check to see if the office's requirements differ from
those listed here.
Step 2: Wait for the good news
After the establishment of the new marriage law, it takes the
marriage registration office about an hour or so to review the
submitted documents and approve the application.
Step 3: Congratulations
Once the marriage registration office approves the application
and registers the marriage, it will issue a marriage certificate to
be picked up by the couple.
(Beijing.gov.cn October 17, 2006)
