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Overseas Chinese citizens getting married in UK
The Chinese government encourages overseas Chinese citizens to register their marriages in the country in which they live.
Marriage certificates can be used in China after accomplishing the Steps of Legalization .
British citizen who have never been married apply for legalization of documents in order to get married in China
1) One properly filled-in and duly signed application form for legalization.
2) A Single Status Certificate obtained from Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages and authenticated by the FCO and its duplicate.
3) Proof of identity with photo (such as valid passport) and its duplicate.
British citizen divorced in UK apply for legalization of documents in order to get married in China
1) One properly filled-in and duly signed application form for legalization.
2) A Single Status Certificate obtained from Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages and authenticated by the FCO and its duplicate.
3) The Decree issued by the Court of UK and authenticated by FCO and its duplicate. Those divorced in UK whose former spouse is a Chinese citizen shall apply to a competent court in China to have the Decree recognized after the legalization by the Embassy. Therefore, the applicant divorced with a non-Chinese citizen shall provide a certificate in relation to the nationality of his/her former spouse and the duplicate copy.
Or the Death Certificate authenticated by FCO in relation to his/her deceased spouse and the duplicate copy alternatively.
4) Proof of identity with photo (such as valid passport) and its duplicate.
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 married in China you must be aged for a Male, 20 and Female, 22, to be legally married in China.
You can draft your own Statutory Declaration
To make Statutory Declaration either in front of a registered solicitor or to a 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 .
Find a Solicitor in your area.
Find a Notary in your area. - Footnote About Notaries
Footnote About British Marriage Certificate
Examples can be downloaded in MS Word Doc Format from these links:-
Statutory-Declaration-Solicitor or Statutory-Declaration-Notary
| 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 21.08.1951. | ||
| 3. My place of birth is Doncaster. | ||
| 4. My nationality is British. | ||
| 5. My passport number is ********* | ||
| 6. My occupation is policeman. | ||
| 7. I currently reside at 6 China Road Doncaster Yorkshire (post code) | ||
| 8. I am single and therefore free to marry. | ||
| I am a widow and therefore free to marry. | (type in the one which applies to you) | |
| I am legally divorced and therefore free to marry. | ||
| DECLARED at. Doncaster | ) | |
| In the County of Yorkshire this | ) | (You sign here) |
| day at (date here) | ) | |
| (Solicitor / Notary Public | ||
| sign here) | ||
| Before me | ||
| A Solicitor / 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 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 mouths 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 easily done when you arrive in China. Your future wife will know where to have the document translated. Translation costs up to 250 RMB.
When you arrive in China
Both male and female applicants must comply with the Chinese Marriage Law and relevant regulations. They should submit their application form, together with 3 photos taken together along with the following documents to make a "Declaration of Marriage Registration Application".
Local citizens must submit
Identity card
Document of household registration
A Self Declaration of No Impediment to be Married
Foreigners must submit
Passport or other document of personal identity or nationality.
Statutory Declaration
From 1st October 2003, according to the new Marriage Registration Regulation, there are some changes as follows,
The pre-marriage health check is not compulsory any more. It is optional whether you choose to have a pre-marriage health check or not.
Two foreigners cannot get married in mainland China unless they can provide a certificate issued in their home country confirming that their marriage in China will be recognised in their country. Alternatively, they can still get married in Hong Kong
The Marriage Certificate will be issued by the Marriage Registry in the same day once they are satisfied that the submitted documents comply with Chinese Marriage Law. The legal relationship of husband and wife is immediately established with acquisition of the marriage certificate.
If you want to return to your country with your Chines wife as soon as your marriage you have to register the marriage at you're wife local police authorities failing in registration at you're wife local police authorities you may not be able to leave China, it is advisable to register to save any complications on leaving China
If you decide to stay in China with your wife there's no need to register at the local police authorities.
It may seem little bit complicated to westerners in getting married in China, your wife will fully understand procedures and Chinese law on marriage
Marriages which take place in China is recognised under UK law if you require British marriage certificate would be advised to get married at your local wedding register in United Kingdom.
Details of your Chinese marriage certificate can be stored in the United Kingdom's record Office as proof of marriage.
Footnote about British Marriage Cetificate
The above details is for a British Citizen to Marry a Chinese Citizen in China. This is for a Chinese Wedding Certificate if you would prefer a British Marriage Certificate you are required to either be present in China for 21 days to post your banns in either the Consulates or Embassy in China. We have not provided information on this subject due to the length of time required to obtain a British Marriage Cetificate.
Please do not confuse the two processes for getting married in China. If you would like further claification on this subject please join the Forum as our membership is very knowledgable on all aspects of marriage in China.
Footnote About Notaries Information
What does it cost?
There are no set charges although The Notaries Society reminds its members that they should charge a proper fee which is appropriate for the level of service offered and which will enable them to meet the cost of acting properly and in accordance with the Rules made by the Faculty Office and with the demands of good professional practice. For most matters the Notary should be able to tell you his fee in advance. For more complex matters he will tell you how his fee will be assessed usually based on how long he will have to work on your matter. There may be fees to pay to third parties, such as the Foreign Office or an Embassy.
How long will it take?
If the document is straightforward, already prepared and in the correct form the notary is likely to need to see you for a minimum of 15 to 20 minutes and complete it in half an hour. Obviously it takes longer if the document is not straightforward, or he has to draw up the document or make a proper copy.
Many countries want documents to be countersigned by their London Embassies (legalisation) and this will take several days unless you want to take them to the Embassy in person and wait in line. The fees and procedures for this vary widely but the notary should be able to give you a reasonably accurate idea of the time and cost.
Contact: Nanning & china info