Marrying a Chinese woman in China, who will own what?

[mudhead]

Hello everyone!

 

Since I can't get another job in China (see my other posts), I am planning to marry a lovely woman from Changsha and live there. I understand (perhaps wrongly) that there's no special visa for husband of a Chinese citizen and that I will get an extended (1 or 2 year) tourist L-visa, which will have to be renewed (...somehow) upon expiration.

 

But what will be my situation once we marry? Will I be allowed to own property, having only a tourist visa? I understand that in traditional families the new husband is expected to buy a house or apartment for the wife. Is this a normal custom? Who will own the house, once I buy it? Will it be hers? What if she (or her father) decides to change the locks and kick me out? I have read some weird & awful stories, and I am a bit nervous.

 

Again about property: I would like to have a piano in my new house. How will I buy it? Will it be mine, or in my wife's name, or what?

 

As you can plainly see, I am a total idiot about this subject and would appreciate some guidance.

 

Eric/Mudhead

[anonymoose]

I'm not sure if regulations are enforced differently in different locations, but as far as I know, a foreigner may purchase one property provided that person has lived in China for at least a year.

 

As for the piano, what do you mean by "How will I buy it?"? How do you normally buy a piano? Just go to a shop and order one, or buy one off Taobao. As for ownership, well, if you were in your home country, how would you prove that the piano were yours? I think a more significant issue would be how your neighbours will react, assuming you live in a typical Chinese apartment block with thin walls.

[Jeremy Andrews]

Since I can't get another job in China (see my other posts), I am planning to marry a lovely woman from Changsha and live there.

I would like you to clarify this to avoid any misunderstanding. Are you saying that you are marrying this woman ONLY in order to stay in China, and that you wouldn't be marrying her if you had a job or some other excuse?

I mean, I'm not judging you guys or anything. If she's okay with that, then it's fine. I want to see if that was what you meant, or if you just made an awkward choice of wording.

I would think twice about this, honestly. I know that in a lot of countries, a marriage to a citizen will enable you to get full citizenship or permanent residence, but I think the situation is different in China. Marriage doesn't get you much there. You could very well have to leave the country and renew your visa every year regardless, and it's possible that at some point, they might decide not to renew it anyway.

It might be worth it to put up with all that if you're REALLY in love with a Chinese person, and you're SURE you both want to stay in China regardless of how much easier your marriage might go in other countries. I think Chinese immigration/residence law is set up this way precisely to prevent people from doing what you're trying to do.

[ouyahudie]

half my post got deleted

when u marry a chinese person u get longer residence.

i mean to say it gives u extended residence that can be extended again.

if u pass the tests and live in China long enough then it becomes permanent but is not the same as citizenship.

family is very important in china, it would make no sense to separate man and wife... break up the unit

contract marriages are very common in asia... common but often frowned upon if it becomes public so best keep it a secret. China used to be a lot more traditional about marriages, more even than some other Asian countries but it's changing

[Lu]

 

I understand that in traditional families the new husband is expected to buy a house or apartment for the wife. Is this a normal custom? Who will own the house, once I buy it? Will it be hers? What if she (or her father) decides to change the locks and kick me out?

As I understand the situation, if you buy the house (or just make the first downpayment), you will own it and she does not. Even if after the downpayment you both pay off the mortgage, and even if you then cheat on her and leave her with a baby, the house is still yours. That last part is unfair and problematic, which is a problem with the law.

 

According to the news, many women will only marry a man with a house (and not just any house, a large enough house in the city center). But not all women (or their parents) expect this. If your wife-to-be has already said yes and there is no house in the picture, this is not something you need to worry about. Indeed if you don't plan to or expect to stay in China for the long term, I'd strongly recommend not buying a house.

 

As to the piano, I suppose it's much as in the west. If you buy the piano, the piano is basically yours, but if your wife would be very pissed off at some point, it'd be easy for her to sabotage the piano in some way.

 

Lastly, I agree with the other poster, the way your post reads, it appears you're marrying the lovely Changsha lady for visa reasons. I wonder if that's really a good idea, especially if this is a woman you have a romantic connection with. Surely there are less tangled ways to get a visa?

[roddy]

This sounds to me like a very good argument for renting for a year or two. 

 

Also - regardless of what the traditions (how long has it been possible for Chinese people to buy private apartments? Not a very long-standing tradition then, is it...) are, it's not obligatory that you buy apartments or furniture or anything, and don't get bumped into doing so by a fiancee or in-laws who maintain that you have to do it, as it's traditional in China. If, and this may sound a little harsh but I think it's important, her and her family were so worried about tradition she wouldn't be marrying a foreign gentleman in his 70s. 

[ouyahudie]

"her and her family were so worried about tradition she wouldn't be marrying a foreign gentleman in his 70s. " haha good point!