Marriage Registration in China

Marriage Registration in China

2003/12/29

The applicant who will go to China for marriage registration shall apply for a single/non-marital status certificate. Legal marriage age in China is 22 or older for male and 20 or older for female.

Procedure for obtaining a single/non-marital status certificate

(1).Affidavit of Single Status, signed before a notary public.

(2).Certified by the Secretary of the State Office of the state where the document is executed.

*Some states require the notarized document to be sent to the notary public's county clerk for verification before presenting to the Office of Secretary of State. Please contact Secretary of State Office of the state where your document is executed for details.

(3). Certified by the relevant Consulate General .

You must apply to the correct Consulate General which holds consular jurisdiction over your area of residence. The Consular District of the Chinese Consulate General in Houston covers: Alabama, Arkansas, Flordia, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma, Texas. Only documents certified by the Secretaries of State Office of the above listed 8 states (Click Here for Their Contact Information) can be certified by the Chinese Consulate General in Houston.

You may come to therelevant Embassy or Consulate Generalsfor application, or send a representative to apply for you. No appointment is required.Mailed applications are also acceptable. Make sure you read theMail Application Instructions.

Documents to be included with applications:

(1).One Authentication Application Form (G1), completed and signed by the applicant himself.

(2).Photocopy of applicant's passport.

(3).The original and photocopy of the notarized and Secretar of State certifiedAffidavit of Single Status.

Fees and processing time

The authentication fee of $20 is payable by Money Order, Cashier's Check, Company Check or Cash.Personal checks are not acceptable. Please make the check payable toChinese EmbassyorChinese Consulate.For mail service, an additional 5 dollarsPER PACKAGEfor handling will be charged. Make sure you readMail Application Instructions.The regular processing time is 4 working days. For express service, additional fees of $30 for1 working day processing, or $20 for2-3 working days processing will be charged.

Additional information

The divorced or the widowed shall have the divorce certificate or death certificate of the ex-spouse be certified/authenticated together with the Affidavit of Single Status.The divorced whose ex-spouse is a Chinese citizen, and who hold the divorce decree executed by the US court, shall apply to the Chinese court for the acknowledgement of the divorce decree.According to the Marriage Law of the People's Republic of China, the minimum marriageability age is 22 for men and 20 for women.

AFFIDAVIT OF SINGLE STATUS

On this date of_________________, I,(name of affiant),

residing at(street and number)(city)(state)(zip code)

BEING DULY SWORN DEPOSE AND SAY:

I was born on(date)at(city)(country)

I am a(country)citizen. My passport number is

I am a(current occupation). I am employed by(company name and address)

I am currently single, have never been married (or was divorced/widowed on(date)and have never been remarried since that date).

I have no direct blood tie or kinship within 3 generations with XXX(name of fiancee/fiance).

Signature of the Affiant: _______________________________

Name in Print:________________________________________

(For the Notary Public)