Overseas Chinese and foreigners wishing to go to China to marry
Chinese citizens should be acknowledged that the legal marriage age
in China is 22 and above for male, 20 and above for female
according to the Chinese law, and bigamy is illegal.
Before going to China, the following documents should be
prepared:
1. Your non-spouse certificate which indicate your name, sex,
date and place of birth, nationality, personal identification
document number, marital status (never married or divorced or
widowed) and the name of your fiancee/fiance. The divorced or
widowed shall have divorce certificate or death certificate of
ex-spouse.
The above-mentioned documents are invalid unless they are first
notarized by a local notary public/lawyer and then legalized by the
local provincial authority (valid for 3 months since the date of
legalization) and finally authenticated by the Chinese Embassy or
the Chinese Consulates-General (valid for 6 months since the date
of authentication).
2. Certificate of your employment or reliable income.
After entering into China with the above said documents and a
valid visa, you should together with your fiancee/fiance, submit in
person your marriage application to the marriage registration
office of the local government above county level where the Chinese
fiancee / fiance resides and, have your medical examination by a
designated hospital. Marriage can be registered only after the
application is ratified, and Marriage Certificate is issued upon
registration.
3. Fees for authentication:
US$30 per document for normal service which takes 4 working
days;
US$50 extra per document for the rush service if you wish the
authentication done the same day (application should be submitted
before 11:00 AM);
US$35 extra per document for the second or third day rush
service.
(Chinaembassycanada.org October 17, 2006)