documents for marrying in China

[murrayjames]

Hi,

I'm a Canadian who'll be marrying a wonderful Chinese woman in Chengdu next year.

I'm confused about the documents I need. According to the Chinese Embassy website, I need 1) a non-marriage statement which is notarized, then legalized by a local provincial authority, and 2) a certificate of reliable income. That's from here...

http://www.chinaembassycanada.org/eng/lsfw/Notarization%20and%20Authentication/t37729.htm

Unfortunately, that website is a mess, and the page is dated from 2003.

So I called the Canadian consulates in Beijing and Chongqing. They told me to come in with my passport when I get to China. I'd be issued the documents I need there. They made it sound very easy.

I'm wondering what documents I need, then, and if it's easier to obtain them in Canada or in China. Has anyone had experience with this?

[xianhua]

I got married in China in 2005 to another wonderful (well, most of the time!) Chinese woman.

I would certainly make sure that you have all the correct documents before you leave for China, and not rely on doing anything once you are over there. Having started early, time is on your side.

You didn't say if you are then intending to live in Canada, but if you are then I would break the process down into two parts: 1. getting married. 2. obtaining the correct visa for your wife to live in Canada (if the case).

As for getting married, the documentation I recall needing was a passport with a valid visa inside plus the certificate of no-impediment (non-marriage statement). I think it's only valid for 6 months, so don't start too early with it. This document is absolutely essential. I was so paranoid about losing mine that I put a photocopy in my suitcase (the original was in my hand luggage) and left a copy in the UK to be faxed over if necessary!

I don't recall having any health examinations. My wife also needed her hukou and a letter from her 'danwei' giving her permission to marry. As it turned out, the danwei letter was not required. Your fiancee will be able to get a list of what she needs off the internet. I left all that to my wife, as I had enough thinking about what I needed!

The actual legal part of getting married is all quite low-key. It's basically a case of going to some back-street office and receiving a little book with some stamps in. The celebrations will come later!

The other documentation, such a proof of income, proof that our relationship was genuine (by means of regular letters/emails), came later at the British Embassy for my wife's visa application. You will need to prepare carefully for this part. I recall having a folder of emails, bank statements, a letter from my employer etc. The Canadian Embassy should be able to give you a suitable list. This PDF will give you some idea of the document required to live in the UK:

http://www.vfs-uk-cn.com/images/Checklist%20for%20marriage%20visitors%20applications.pdf

The wait between my spouse's interview and actually getting the visa was a few weeks, which is something you may need to consider.

One final thing. At the time, our marriage was only ever registered in China. The marriage is recognised by British law, but as it stands, there is be no record of our marriage here (bit of pain for those trying to trace the family tree in years to come!).

To get around this, you need to get your marriage certificate translated into English and notarised by a notary office (in Chongqing in your case) and then legalised by the MFA (probably in Beijing). They will then send a copy to the appropriate body in Canada (this is the GRO in the UK - bascially wherever you would go to get copies of marriage certificates) to be deposited. This can be done respectively, which is something I really want to do to ensure that our marriage is recorded on British soil. If you can do this at the same time, if will just save hassle years down the line.

Let me know if I can be of any more help, and I wish you all the best!

[kdavid]

I'm an American, so my situation will be different, but all I needed was a notarized document from the US embassy saying I was single.

I went to the embassy, the woman there asked me if I was single, made me say a pledge, I signed a document, then was done. The whole process took about 15 minutes from the time I walked in the embassy gate and left with my Starbucks coffee.

Make sure you double check your sources. For example, call the embassy one day and speak with one person, then call back another day and ask someone different. Researching on this forum is a good idea too.

Also, make sure you call the embassy ahead of time and make sure they can do whatever needs to be done on a certain day. Some US embassies here in China only offer some services on certain days.

[sthubbar]

I'm an American and my experience was the same as Kdavid. Just went into the US embassy in Beijing, said I was single, signed a paper and the embassy notarized it. Did not need anything about income to get married to a Chinese national.

[msittig]

Best way: Tell your fiancee to go to the marriage license place (civil affairs office? specialized office? she should know) and ask herself. Get it straight from the horse's mouth. Safest way aside from having a cousin that works there.

[murrayjames]

Thanks, everyone. My fiancee double-checked with the courthouse in Chengdu.

If I take care of it here in Canada, I need a Certificate of Non-Impediment to Marriage, which must be notarized, and authenticated by the Canadian government. I get this translated into Mandarin at the Chinese embassy. Then I bring it to Chengdu when I come next year.

If I take care of it in China, I bring my passport to the Canadian embassy in Chongqing or Beijing. It takes only a few minutes there.

xianhua, I'm not sure where she and I will be living in the long term. So I'll have to look into this if I want to bring her back to Canada. It sounds like there's lots of paperwork involved.

[roddy]

Best way: Tell your fiancee to go to the marriage license place (civil affairs office? specialized office? she should know) and ask herself. Get it straight from the horse's mouth.

Although they'll be able to tel you what they need, they may or may not be aware of how to get it. EG, it seems the US and Canadian embassies will give you what you need on the spot, while the UK embassy requires you to a) have been in China for 21 days and B) display notice at the embassy for 21 days to give everyone a chance to object. Site. So you're looking at at about a month and a half after arrival before you can actually get married if you're a UK citizen.

[Flying Pigeon]

Hi,

Great thread. Saved my morning. Just wanted to add that American citizens have to make an appointment with the American Embassy online. I called the embassy to see if I could get it done today, but the guy told me to register online.

[murrayjames]

Marriage update...

The short version: yes, it was easy.

I was in Chengdu in September. Our big wedding isn't until next year, but since I was in China we decided to take care of the legal stuff early. I made an appointment with the Canadian embassy in Chongqing. I brought extra documents, just in case--Canadian birth certificate, provincial health card, bank information, everything. All I needed was my passport and a few hundred RMB.

At the embassy, I filled out a form, providing basic legal information about me and my fiancee. We each had to certify that we had no impediment to marriage (i.e., we were not already married) and sign the form. The Consul came out and looked over the form. He looked at me briefly, signed our marriage affidavit, smiled and said congratulations. The whole thing took maybe 10 minutes.

Back in Chengdu, we brought the affidavit and a few hundred more RMB to a government office building. For a marriage office, the place was pretty austere... one big room with dim lighting, blank walls, and cubicles. We took a picture together and filled out a few more forms. This was more involved, but still easy. You have to write down both your information and your spouse's. Then you answer some verbal questions (are you previously married, are you in good health, etc.) If you make a mistake at any point in the forms you have to start over... I know this because I was showing off my hanzi and messed up a stroke in my fiancee's name :-D You can write in pinyin if you want to.

Overall it was a painless experience.

About the marriage certificate... they issued each of us one before we left. Xianhua (above) mentioned getting the certificate translated and authenticated for immigration purposes. In Chengdu, they have a room in the same building where you can request this. It took about two weeks and then it was ready.

[xianhua]

Nice to hear it all went well - and congratulations!

[chinahandinfo]

Just wondering if there are any Australians out there who have gone through the marriage process in China? I would be interested in PM you a few questions.

[imron]

Or you could ask them in the forums so future Australian readers could also benefit from the answers.

[aroberts42]

Hi, I really enjoyed reading this thread, and figured I would post a reather odd question that is kind of in the same vein. My finacee and I are American and are going to China in August to teach English. We cannot afford to have a wedding here in the states, so we are thinking of just eloping while we are in China. Would it be difficult for two American citizens to marry in China?

[gerri]

I don't think (but that's really more an impression than knowledge) that a mainland Chinese marriage bureau would marry two people who are both non-Chinese.

Hong Kong seems to be good for that, though... You do need the usual documents, you need to put up notice a few weeks before you intend to have the marriage, but they don't seem to care what nationality you are. And, you can find all that info in English on the relevant websites... (in this case, yeah, I have looked the info up before). ;-)

[roddy]

You can do it, I'm pretty sure you just need to both get the same documentation you would need to marry a Chinese national, then go through the same process. The US Embassy doesn't go into much detail, but just says that "one side should present a Chinese residence permit " - ie, you can't do it on a tourist visa. If you're teaching here, you should be getting a residence permit (and if not, ask why).

[aroberts42]

Thank you very much Roddy!

[jbradfor]

We cannot afford to have a wedding here in the states, so we are thinking of just eloping while we are in China. Would it be difficult for two American citizens to marry in China?

Why not just register in the USA (i.e. get married legally, but no ceremony), and then go to China? Seems much simpler to me.

[aroberts42]

that seems...logical, lmao. But who wants a logical wedding?

[imron]

Once you get more familiar with Chinese bureaucracy, you will be thankful for logical

[aroberts42]

lol:lol: