People's Republic of China Ministry of Civil Affairs
Address: 147 Main Street, Dongcheng District No. Beiheyan
Zip Code: 100721
Tel: (010) 58123114
Getting There
Links of Local Governments Websites
Explain the fees structure which is required for obtaining the certificate/document.
Explain the time until which the certificate/document is valid. e.g. Birth Certificate Valid Forever
Please attach sample completed documents that would help other people.
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.
Videos explaining the procedure or to fill the applications. Attach videos using the following tag <&video type="website">video ID|width|height<&/video&> from external websites. Please remove the "&" inside the tags during implementation. Website = allocine, blip, dailymotion, facebook, gametrailers, googlevideo, html5, metacafe, myspace, revver, sevenload, viddler, vimeo, youku, youtube width = 560, height = 340, Video ID = Can be obtained from the URL of webpage where the video is displayed. e.g In the following url "http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y0US7oR_t3M" Video ID is "Y0US7oR_t3M".
Marriages in China are registered according to the laws of China, regardless of the nationality of those being married. Marriage registration procedures are administered by the marriage registration office of the local civil affairs bureau (Minzhengju) in each jurisdiction.
People planning to get married should visit one of these offices for specific information. There may be a fee for this visit. The appropriate civil affairs office will be the one in the jurisdiction in which the Chinese citizen is registered (the location of his or her hukou).
In case of divorce, the original credentials of divorce are required: Certificate of Divorce, Certificate of Disengagement of Matrimonial Relationship and written conciliation statement or court judgment (accompanied by certificate of validity); The testimonial of divorce issued by a marriage registry office of a foreign country shall be certified by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of such country or a competent authority authorized by it and the embassy or consulate of China in such country; The judgment or written conciliation statement by a foreign court shall not be valid until an intermediate court of China orders the recognition.
The Single Status Certificate (also known as: Affidavit of Single Status, Certificate of No Record of Marriage, Certificate of No Impediment, Single Status Statutory Declaration, Certificate of Legal Capacity to Contract Marriage, etc). This is intended to show that you are not currently married. Each country has its own way of providing this, and some countries offer the service via an embassy or consulate in China, so you should check your own country' s websites to find the relevant procedures.
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.
http://www.travelchinaguide.com/embassy/visa/marriage-registration.htm
http://english.gov.cn/2005-08/31/content_26742.htm
Upon receipt of an application to register a marriage, the civil affairs office will ascertain that both parties are of minimum marriageability age (generally 22 for men and 20 for women, though a higher minimum may be established by the local civil affairs office) and that both parties are single and otherwise free to marry. People who have been married before will be asked to submit original or certified copies of final divorce or annulment decrees, or of death certificates if widowed.
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.