How to get married in China?

CHINA / Do You Know

 How to get married in China?
(Beijing.gov.cn)
Updated: 2006-04-10 11:45

Note: The following only applies to Sino-foreign marriages. Local-level
marriage registration offices are the governmental bodies responsible for
legally uniting under Chinese law man and woman as husband and wife.

Step 1: Submit the Required Documents

The Sino-foreign couple must go together, in person to the appropriate
marriage registration office and submit a (1) 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
(2) A certificate of marriageability (obtainable from his/ her danwei)
(3) A certificate of birth
(4) Household registration book (hukou)
(5) A health certificate (obtainable from a regional-level local hospital)
(6) 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
(7) A current passport
(8) Chinese residence permit
(9) A health certificate from a local hospital designated by the marriage
registration office
(10) Three photos of the marrying couple, taken together
(11) A registration fee
(12) A certification of marriageability

Item 12 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 get checked 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 now takes the
marriage registration office about an hour or so to review the submitted
documents and approve of the application.

Step 3: Congratulations
Once the marriage registration office approves of the application and
registers the marriage, it will issue a marriage certificate to be picked
up by the couple.

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20071123 Extracted from http://www.hellomandarin.net