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What do you do in the UK before you leave for China?

Information For Marriage In China For residents of United Kingdom wishing to be married in China to a Chinese citizens you require a Statutory Declaration.

To be legally married in China you must be aged for a Male, 20 and Female, 22.

You can draft your own Statutory Declaration.

To make Statutory Declaration either in front of a registered or Notary Public including Name, Sex, Date and Place of Birth, Nationality, Passport or ID card number, Occupation, Address and Marital status (never married, divorced or widowed).

On an A4 single piece of paper type the document in a column down the centre of the page in the order as shown below with your own details. Please be aware that your document should be accepted by a notary public, Contact your solicitor to locate your local notary public.

Statutory Declaration



I John Smith of 6 China Road Doncaster Yorkshire (post code)

DO SOLEMNLY AND SINCERELY DECLARE as follows:-

1. I am John Smith (male).
2. My date of birth is xxxxxxxx.
3. My place of birth is Doncaster.
4. My nationality is British.
5. My passport number is xxxxxxxx
6. My occupation is Policeman.
7. I currently reside at 6 China Road Doncaster Yorkshire (post code)
8.Type in the one of the following that applies to you:
do not type in the contents between the brackets or brackets

(Your status "Single")



I am single never married. and therefore free to marry.

I have no direct blood tie or kinship within 3 generations of; (your future wife name) Xxxx xxxx xxxx

(Your status "Widowed")



I have never married since this date xx.xx.xxxx and am therefore single and free to marry. (this line must be on your CNI)
Name of Deceased; xxxxx xxxxxxxx
Place of Death; xxxxxx xxxxxxxx
Death Certificate Number; xxxxxx
I have never remarried
I am a widow therefore free to marry.

I have no direct blood tie or kinship within 3 generations of; (your future wife name here) Xxxx xxxx xxxx

(Your status "Divorce")



I have never married since this date xx.xx.xxxx and am therefore single and free to marry. (this line must be on your CNI or you will have to legalise your Divorce papers)
county-court reference numbers xxxxxxx.
I have never remarried since this date I am legally divorced and therefore free to marry.

I have no direct blood tie or kinship within 3 generations of; (your future wife name here) Xxxx xxxx xxxx

DECLARED at. Doncaster )

In the County of Yorkshire this )

(I John Smith ) day at ( DD / MM / YYYY )

( Notary Public sign here) Before me Notary Public.

Take this Statutory Declaration including your passport, birth certificate, proof of occupation and address in the form of utility bills including the decree absolute of your divorce or death certificate to your local Notary or registrar. some solicitors are also Notary check with your local solicitor.

You will then need to present your documents and Statutory Declaration to the Notary Public they may say that the document will not be legal unless their office produces the Statutory Document.

Make your Statutory Declaration in their presence, this is then sworn and signed by both parties. The Declaration then needs to either be sent via courier service. Royal Mail or your Notary may offer to send the Documents to the Legalisation Office. This will add to the cost of the overall service. Please be aware Notary fees vary, see the footnote about Notaries.

Once the Declaration has been authenticated by the Legalisation Officer of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office of the United Kingdom. The next step in the process is to take the declaration to the Chinese Embassy or the Chinese consulate-general, to be legalised. The document is valid for six months from the date of legalisation.

Self Presentation at the FCO

Present the Statutory Declaration in person to be legalised at the British Office of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in person, allow up to two hours waiting time.

By Post or Courier

Post Office allow 14 days, and should be posted using Special delivery, with a return paid Special Delivery Envelope. The fee for legalisation by the FCO is £27.

PLEASE NOTE THAT THE LEGALISATION OFFICE CAN ONLY LEGALISE DOCUMENTS. THE OFFICES ARE NOT ABLE TO TRANSLATE DOCUMENTS, OR OFFER ANY OTHER NOTARIAL SERVICES.

Be aware there may be a backlog of up to one month or longer for legalisation at the FCO.

To have the document legalised by the Chinese Embassy or Consulate you must go in person or by a third party such as courier or your notary (they will probably use a courier service), you can not have the documents delivered by the British Post Office. The fee is £23 for the document to be legalised with an additional fee of £6 per extra document. You can download the Legalisation Application Form here directly from the Manchester Consulate Web Site. Please allow plenty fo time before you intend to travel.

You can use the services of China Visa Direct which will be charged at £88 to be delivered to the Legalisation Office and the Chinese embassy in London

The Legalisation Office:
Norfolk House (West)
437 Silbury Boulevard
Milton Keynes
MK9 2AH
Tel: 01908 295 111
Fax: 01908 295 122
email legalisationoffice@fco.gov.uk

Consular Section of the Chinese Embassy in London:
31 Portland Place,
London W1B 1QD
Tel: 020-72998427 (2:00p.m - 4:00pm )
Fax: 020-74369178
Office Hours: 9:00am-12:00pm Monday to Friday ( except holidays )
Web Site: http://www.chinese-embassy.org.uk

Consular Section in Manchester:
49 Denison Road,
Rusholme,
Manchester
M14 5RX
Tel: 0161- 2248672
Fax:0161-2572672

Consular Section in Edinburgh:
55 Corstorphine Road,
Edinburgh
EH12 5QJ
Tel: 0131-3373220 ( 3:30pm-4:30pm )
Fax: 0131-3371790

Translate Your Documents in China
Please note that you are required to have your Statutory Declaration translated in to Chinese. This can be done when you arrive in China. Your future wife will know where to have the document translated. Translation costs up to 300 RMB.