I'm Going To China to Marry My Fiancee, How Do I?

[notmuch88tosay 21]

Hello,

My fiancee finally agreed to a date in the very near future where I will come to China to marry her (after she let our Fiancee Visa expire ). It's been a long wait, but I am thrilled.

So much to do, so much that could go wrong, I want to be sure I do things right. I cannot let her down.

Not sure where we need to get married or how. Who can legally marry us in China?

I will start reading everything on this site on the CR-1 Marriage Visa now, but any straight answers that can save me time when I don't have much will be very much appreciated.

Thanks,

notmuch88tosay

[lynndy38 64]

Could your fiance not find all this information out for you? My US husband came over to the UK to marry me so I automatically found out what was required legally ect,of course we shared this information and made decisions together but I was happy to take on the job of researching.

The visa process is a tough and complicated journey,you HAVE to be united in it,I know from previous threads your fiance has seemed to stall for time and is very nervous which is understandable....Im scared to leave my dear family and friends and my wonderful country too. But Im SO sure its the right thing to do...does she have internet access? Could she use this site and gain knowledge about the process herself? Im sure there will be lots of people here that can help you both,Im just thinking maybe her confidence will grow if shes more actively involved?You should'nt have to be persuading her to do this. Im a bit worried for you

[Ryan H 3,795]

Moved from IR-1/CR-1 Process & Procedures to China regional forum; topic is about about marriage procedures in China and not about the visa process itself.

**Organizer hat off**

Not sure where we need to get married or how. Who can legally marry us in China?

Registering for marriage in China is a relatively simple process, once you have the required documentation in hand. The registration process will only be done at the marriage bureau that has jurisdiction over her hukou, she will need to find out where the bureau of jurisdiction is located. Another thing, my wife and I registered at the marriage bureau located in the Provincial Capital, even though there may have been a marriage bureau closer to her hometown. I also noticed that while we were waiting our turn, I noticed other Chinese/foreign couples in the same office for the same purpose. I'm surmising that this was the only marriage bureau of jurisdiction for my wife's household registration that would register a marriage where one of the parties was a foreigner. As alluded to in a prior post, this is something your fiancee needs to find out. She will also need to find out what she needs to have from her end, I told you what you will need in your other thread, I and Pushbrk told you how to go about getting it. In addition to the "free to marry" statement, you will also need your passport when you go to register for marriage.

Edited September 8, 2012 by Ryan H

[bigdog 376]

Ryan outlined it well again, she needs to do her homework and you need to reread the information provided to avoid future issues. Good Luck.

[Darnell 8,478]

Ug. You could reread your prior posts, there's tons o info in there for 'how to do'

and it IS hukuo-specific.

[notmuch88tosay 21]

Could your fiance not find all this information out for you? My US husband came over to the UK to marry me so I automatically found out what was required legally ect,of course we shared this information and made decisions together but I was happy to take on the job of researching.

The visa process is a tough and complicated journey,you HAVE to be united in it,I know from previous threads your fiance has seemed to stall for time and is very nervous which is understandable....Im scared to leave my dear family and friends and my wonderful country too. But Im SO sure its the right thing to do...does she have internet access? Could she use this site and gain knowledge about the process herself? Im sure there will be lots of people here that can help you both,Im just thinking maybe her confidence will grow if shes more actively involved?You should'nt have to be persuading her to do this. Im a bit worried for you

Hi lynndy38,

Thanks for your reply.

My fiancee cannot read English, so she could not research this site. She is learning to speak English although, but it will be awhile before she is proficient.

Yes, my fiancee has internet access, but she recently moved to a more remote area to lower her rent costs, and I think now she only has access through her SmartPhone, because her responses are always from her SmartPhone now.

I do not have to persuade her to marry me, she is committed to that and has shown me she will be broken hearted if me and her do not end up together, she just requires more time than most I guess. She is somewhat insecure.

Thanks for your concern, but I do not think you need to be worried for me. I believe in her, and if I am wrong about her, then I will move on.

Take care,

notmuch88tosay

[notmuch88tosay 21]

Moved from IR-1/CR-1 Process & Procedures to China regional forum; topic is about about marriage procedures in China and not about the visa process itself.

**Organizer hat off**

Registering for marriage in China is a relatively simple process, once you have the required documentation in hand. The registration process will only be done at the marriage bureau that has jurisdiction over her hukou, she will need to find out where the bureau of jurisdiction is located. Another thing, my wife and I registered at the marriage bureau located in the Provincial Capital, even though there may have been a marriage bureau closer to her hometown. I also noticed that while we were waiting our turn, I noticed other Chinese/foreign couples in the same office for the same purpose. I'm surmising that this was the only marriage bureau of jurisdiction for my wife's household registration that would register a marriage where one of the parties was a foreigner. As alluded to in a prior post, this is something your fiancee needs to find out. She will also need to find out what she needs to have from her end, I told you what you will need in your other thread, I and Pushbrk told you how to go about getting it. In addition to the "free to marry" statement, you will also need your passport when you go to register for marriage.

Hi Ryan H,

Thanks for the info. I appreciate it.

Yes, I do remember you answered my questions regarding this in my other thread, and I will read through that thread again. I am just trying to wrap my head around all this because of the new terminology that I am not familiar with.

The more different ways I hear it being said and the more simplified the language used, the more I will understand what needs to be done.

I will be in China for one month, so even if my fiancee is not able to find out this information in advance, with the help of a translator, I think I might be able to find out what to do while I am there.

But the more of the process I can figure out and understand in advance, the better.

My fiancee also agreed that we would go together to get her birth certificate while I am there.

Thanks again,

notmuch88tosay

Ryan outlined it well again, she needs to do her homework and you need to reread the information provided to avoid future issues. Good Luck.

Thanks for your reply and opinion bigdog, I do appreciate it.

I'll work on getting my Panda to cooperate with the research.

Take care,

notmuch88tosay

[notmuch88tosay 21]

Ug. You could reread your prior posts, there's tons o info in there for 'how to do'

and it IS hukuo-specific.

Hi Darnell,

Thanks for your reply.

Yes, I remember there is alot of info in my prior posts regarding the process, but if I don't know what a hukuo is, or how they do things in China and why, then it is that much harder for me to wrap my head around it all and what specifically I need to do, where to go and how.

But I will keep trying to understand.

Take care,

notmuch88tosay

[MuDelphi 159]

Her name is Panda?

[notmuch88tosay 21]

Her name is Panda?

Yes.

Nice haircut by the way.

notmuch88tosay

[fting 0]

Nice haircut by the way.

lol.

btw, if you had previous marriages, you would need to get a certificate of marrigibility, which could be done at the US embassy, in a US citizen service. You would need to bring your last divorce decree and pay 50 bucks.

Other than that, it is fairly simple to get married in China, like Ryan H said. The place where you register for marriage would also take a photo of you 2 together, for you, right there. So you don't need to bring photos.

[notmuch88tosay 21]

lol.

btw, if you had previous marriages, you would need to get a certificate of marrigibility, which could be done at the US embassy, in a US citizen service. You would need to bring your last divorce decree and pay 50 bucks.

Other than that, it is fairly simple to get married in China, like Ryan H said. The place where you register for marriage would also take a photo of you 2 together, for you, right there. So you don't need to bring photos.

Hi fting,

Thanks for the reply and info. I do appreciate it.

I've not had previous marriages, does that mean I do not need to get a Certificate of Marrigibility?

Thanks again,

notmuch88tosay

[fting 0]

I've not had previous marriages, does that mean I do not need to get a Certificate of Marrigibility?

I am not 100% sure. but I think it is better you get it done, check this out man, this is the official website requirements listed;

http://guangzhou.usembassy-china.org.cn/information_about_getting_married_in_china2.html

The Affidavit of Marriagebility, you can download that DOC file, and if you read it, it says you swear you are eligible to marry, either single, or divorced.

I did get my AoM done, but when me and my wife registered, the chinese official didn't really ask for this AoM. I gave it to him and he took it, but if I didn't give to him, he wouldn't have asked for it and the registration would have worked regardless. (this surprised me, it means if someone wanted to cheat to have double marriages, he probably could...)

But this is just my experience, difference local offices may have different practices, and to play it safe, I would just get that AoM done.

[notmuch88tosay 21]

I am not 100% sure. but I think it is better you get it done, check this out man, this is the official website requirements listed;

http://guangzhou.usembassy-china.org.cn/information_about_getting_married_in_china2.html

The Affidavit of Marriagebility, you can download that DOC file, and if you read it, it says you swear you are eligible to marry, either single, or divorced.

I did get my AoM done, but when me and my wife registered, the chinese official didn't really ask for this AoM. I gave it to him and he took it, but if I didn't give to him, he wouldn't have asked for it and the registration would have worked regardless. (this surprised me, it means if someone wanted to cheat to have double marriages, he probably could...)

But this is just my experience, difference local offices may have different practices, and to play it safe, I would just get that AoM done.

Thanks so much for the link and for the info, fting.

Your help is very much appreciated.

Take care,

notmuch88tosay

[Darnell 8,478]

I've a break, so I'm writing

1. get a certificate of marriageability showing status, at a US Embassy/Consulate in China. Need appointment, so hit up the website, make an appointment. Bring 50 bucks USD.

2. [hukuo city] go to the marriage office in the civil affairs office, ask them WHERE TO GO for notarial translation into Chinese.

3. [hukuo city] get the chinese notarial translation of your certificate of marriageability

4. [hukuo city] go back to the marriage office, with passport and thing gotten in #3. Pay monies, register marriage.

Yer Done.

Some families wish to throw big party for the marriage, suggest you OPT IN to that, bring about 12 grand (USD) and give to yer wife. If you have a big party, expect to get a lot of money back, in the red envelopes that all guests will bring.

5. [hukuo city] get the chinese marriage book translated into English, a notarial translation (white book) at the office listed here:

white books - http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/228853-notarial-birth-certificate/ do that before you leave China.

6. scan the entire white book into a pdf file, email it to yerself, you'll need it later . Do that before you leave China .

7. Scan her passport and china id into pdf files, email it to yerself. Do that before you leave China .

After you file the I-130, you wait a bit. When the casefile gets to NVC, she needs more white books, specifically her birth certificate and police clearance certificate (gotten at the hukuo city or the big district office ) . When doing 5, find out how they handle that stuff from hukuo-listed members, as she's probably not going to be in that hukuo city when it's time to collect the documents. DO NOT GET THE PCC when you are in her hukuo city, as it will expire by the time you need it at NVC.

That's it - the cliff notes version. Good Luck !