China Romance
All About China => Your trip to China => Topic started by: T Town Hombre on June 26, 2012, 08:23:26 pm
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Hi Guys. This is my first post. I've been reading things here as guest for a while and have found quite a lot of good information.
I met a wonderful woman on a site one and half years ago and went to see her last June. We had a grand time and fell in love. She is absolutely the perfect woman for me. She tells me yes she is and I am the perfect man for her to which I agree.
After one disasterous marriage I am kind of reluctant to marry again but I'm going to do it this trip. I leave Saturday the 30th and will be there a little over a month. I do wish I could say longer but work calls.
I do have a question. I have my divorce papers. Is that all I need to get married in China?
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You will need to get an affidavit of single status also before you can marry. You can get one at the US embassy that handles her province (costs about 50 bucks). You will need to take a certified copy of your divorce papers also, I will attach a link to the Marriageability Affidavit used by the Embassy. This is copied from Guangzhou's website. Good Luck, Robert
American citizens contemplating marriage to a Chinese citizen in China should review the following information. This information is given for general background reference only and while it is believed to be accurate, we suggest you or your fiancé/fiancée check with the Chinese Civil Affairs Office where you will be registering your marriage for the most current information.
Can foreigners get married in China?
In order to marry in China, at least one party must have legal residence in China. Two foreigners visiting China on tourist visas will not be permitted to register to marry.
What are the requirements to marry in China?
Regulations for marriage in China may differ significantly amongst different provinces, cities and townships. Please contact the specific Chinese Civil Affairs Office in the city you or your fiancé/fiancée will register your marriage for the most current requirements.
U.S. citizens are usually asked to submit the following:
- A valid passport with a valid Chinese visa;
- If both parties are non-Chinese citizens, at least one must present a current Chinese residence permit;
- A notarized "Affidavit of Marriageability" also referred to as a Single Statement. This affidavit is available at the Consulate and is a sworn statement or affirmation that you are legally free to marry. You must make an appointment for notarial services. The notarial fee is USD $50.00.
- If you have been previously married, you will be asked to submit an original or certified copy of your final divorce or annulment decree; or death certificate, if you are widowed.;
- Three marriage photos of the couple( taken together ), red background;
- Registration fee, varies by location.
How do I get a Marriageability Affidavit?
- Step 1: Please read the instructions below
- Step 2: Please make an appointment online (https://evisaforms.state.gov/acs/default.asp?postcode=GUZ&appcode=1) (If you need more than one service during your visit, please be sure to make separate appointments.)
- Step 3: Please complete the Marriageability Affidavit form (http://photos.state.gov/libraries/guangzhou/47024/ACS/acsaffidavit.doc) (PDF)*, print it out and bring it with you to your scheduled appointment. Please do not sign the affidavit, you will sign it in front of a consular officer.
Are there any restrictions on whom a U.S. citizen can marry in China?
Certain categories of Chinese citizens, such as diplomats, security officials, and others whose work is considered to be crucial to the state, are not legally free to marry foreigners.
In general, Chinese students are permitted to marry, however please be aware there are regulations which allow schools, universities, etc. to expel students who do marry. Please note that at least one school has required a student to reimburse the school for tuition costs and other expenses when the student requests academic withdrawal to marry a foreigner. Should your fiancé/fiancée still attend school, please contact the school directly for details.
Where do I register my marriage?
All marriages in China must be registered with the Chinese Civil Affairs Office (民政局 Min Zheng Ju), within the city or town where you or your fiancé/fiancée are registered. Persons planning to marry should visit or call the appropriate office for complete details on registering your marriage.
Marriage certificates are usually issued on the same day the registration takes place. Marriages that are legal in the jurisdiction in which they were performed are legal in the United States. It is not necessary to register your marriage at the Embassy or in the United States, nor do you need to re-marry in the United States.
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Where are you going to get married? Some of the locals could give you directions.
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Thank you Robert.
Gerry, I don't know. It is in my fiance's hands. She knows what to do and where to go.
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Thank you Robert.
Gerry, I don't know. It is in my fiance's hands. She knows what to do and where to go.
You should know where it is.
You can only marry in your ladies home city so obviously at this stage you will off course know where you lady is from.
That is if her home city marriage office has the facilities to marry Chinese Nationals to foreigners. Only the very large cities have this service.
Willy
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Not necessarily true Willy. My wife's home city is Zhangping, but we had to get married in Fuzhou - the capital of Fujian province. That was the only place with an office for marriage to a foreigner. Gotta love China.
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When I met my (past) wife, she lived in Guangzhou. But the Hokou was from Hunan...a small city near Chenzhou. We had to get married in Changsha.
Welcome to the forum T Town Hombre. Glad you came out of guest status, and decided to join the conversation. Hopefully we get some more of our guests to do the same.
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Not necessarily true Willy. My wife's home city is Zhangping, but we had to get married in Fuzhou - the capital of Fujian province. That was the only place with an office for marriage to a foreigner. Gotta love China.
I thought that was what I was saying. My wife lived in Zhongshan. Her home city was Hengyang, HuNan which cannot marry a foreigner so we had to marry in Changsha same as Martin.
So I will update it to say if the lady's home city does not carry out marriages for foreigners then they must go to the nearest city in that Province to do so.
So every man should know the answer to the question as to where.
Willy
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She was born in Guangzhou. This will be a second marriage for her also I'm sure she knows what office to go to. I'll ask her though.
Gerry, I was born just south of there.
Hope you weren't a former student and resident of Big Mac.
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Welcome to the forum t town. Have a good time there.
I'll PM you. Maybe we could meet up for a dinner or something. I will be there about the same time. There are a couple of others there you might like to meet also.
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I'll PM you. Maybe we could meet up for a dinner or something. I will be there about the same time. There are a couple of others there you might like to meet also.
PS: Let us know if you are going to be more than three that meet up, for that reason we need to send an Moderator to keep it all under control.
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I'll PM you. Maybe we could meet up for a dinner or something. I will be there about the same time. There are a couple of others there you might like to meet also.
PS: Let us know if you are going to be more than three that meet up, for that reason we need to send an Moderator to keep it all under control.
And Arnold will need to give you his credit card number so you can all pay for this meeting.
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I think I have everything in order. I leave early tomorrow monring.
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I think I have everything in order. I leave early tomorrow monring.
Have a great Trip/Adventure Hombre!
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Have a fantastic trip T Town. Looking forward to reading about your trip...um...dont forget to visit us here, and let us know how things are going. Also, if things go south, we are here to help you while you are there, so feel free to ask us if you need us.
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And if things really go South then that's where I am. Just South of Guangzhou in Zhongshan.
Willy
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And Will has lots of money to feed and entertain us all!
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Well I've been here a few days now. Nothing to report yet. We've been busy doing things. She had to go to work today so I am going to sit around the hotel. I might venture out a little at lunch time but I won't go very far. I don't have my bearings yet.
I'll try to let everyone know when we get married.
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Well I've been here a few days now. Nothing to report yet. We've been busy doing things. She had to go to work today so I am going to sit around the hotel. I might venture out a little at lunch time but I won't go very far. I don't have my bearings yet.
I'll try to let everyone know when we get married.
Hi
Don't worry about getting lost. You should get your lady to write the hotel name for you on a piece of paper and keep it with you. Then you can show it to taxi drivers etc. I carried my apartment address for the first few months when I first got here.
If you really get lost or have a problem then you can call me. I will send you my cell number by PM.
But get out and about there is a lot to see in Guangzhou.
Willy
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T Town , As you will have already noticed ," But get out and about there is a lot to see in Guangzhou." There is a lovely lot of short skirts with this lovely weather I think is what Willy was eluding to , but these days Willy just sits on his balcony and whistles at them , regards Sujuan and Robert .
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Where to start. Well I'll start with that we are married; finally. What started out as a simple process to go through turned out to be a real problem.
My now wife told me that she was born in Guangzhou but she wasnt. When I filled out the the marriageability form I put Guangzhou. Then surprise, we headed to a small community out in the middle of nowhere. The people consider themselves to be from Guanhzhou but the local government does not. They wouldn't marry us because the paperwork was wrong.
We went to a local attorney to try to fix the problem. About 300RMB later we were still single. We went back to the consulate to re-do the paperwork. The consulate didn't want to. Finally after I decided to take charge of the situation because I was pissed I managed to work the paperwork out between the marriage office and the lawyers office.
What a load of crap. But we're married now.
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Welcome to China and the circus. Your not finished pulling your hair out. In fact your just getting started.
Congratulations on the marriage and good luck tomorrow, and the next day and the next day and ....
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T Town , Congratulations on you marriage and sorting out the true RED tape , regards Sujuan and Robert .
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Problem is now you are an American and iit is my experience on this forum that US Citizens have the longest wait of all nationalities to get their Chinese wife's to the USA. Some seem like years.
So get ready for the long haul. And start getting your files together.
Willy
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It not just seems like years, in fact it has been 18 months and the end is not in sight. Do you plan to stay here with her or head back to OK and wait? I warn you there is no predicting how long you will have to wait. Every screw up, lost document or missing document will set you back 60 days.
The rest is coming in a private message.
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Where to start. Well I'll start with that we are married; finally. What started out as a simple process to go through turned out to be a real problem.
My now wife told me that she was born in Guangzhou but she wasnt. When I filled out the the marriageability form I put Guangzhou. Then surprise, we headed to a small community out in the middle of nowhere. The people consider themselves to be from Guanhzhou but the local government does not. They wouldn't marry us because the paperwork was wrong.
We went to a local attorney to try to fix the problem. About 300RMB later we were still single. We went back to the consulate to re-do the paperwork. The consulate didn't want to. Finally after I decided to take charge of the situation because I was pissed I managed to work the paperwork out between the marriage office and the lawyers office.
What a load of crap. But we're married now.
Congratulations on your marriage! Welcome to China " Country where nothing is possible, and everything is possible" ;D
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Congrats mate, as others have hinted, keep everything throw away nothing no matte how trivial and start the paperwork early. Good luck to you both.
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Thank all of you. I will stay in Tulsa. My wife says I need to work to keep us both happy. She also want me to save money so that we can buy a house in China. I don't know about that but I will save money just the same.
My internet problems seem to be resolved now too. It only took me two hours to get it working today. I worked on it while my wife slept.
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Many Chinese woman would like homes in China - they think of the future where the husband will no longer be about. But be also aware that in very few places in China will you get your name on the property as well. It will have to be in her name.
So maybe not a good idea to even think about buying her a home until after you have spent some time together.
Willy
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Sorry for the late comment, as I have been somewhat unavailable...but congrats on getting married T Town. I hope you both have a happy life together.
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Had the family dinner yesteday. It was a great time for all. A bother inlaw tried to get me drunk and I got a little tipsey for a while but he didn't win. It is absolutely amazing the way this family treats me. I really am a part of this family. The brother inlaw kept telling me yesterday that I was Chinese now only 2. I didn't understand until my wife said he was refering to my height and I am 2 chinese people.
I keep telling myself this isn't a fantasy anymore she really is my wife. This is great.
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Whenever we are at Dinner I always find that the drink will often bring a foreign language to the fore as the semi drunken stupor brings back a lot of forgotten words to mind and many others join in.
But at times like this I have learned to control my drinking. ;D ;D ;D
Willy
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Yes yes. That is why I curb my drinking. The old saying loose lips sinks many ships is true when related to drinking.
Wrapping things up it has been a good trip. I'm having to take all of the paperwork back to America because the printer we had would not work. Just another minor issue in a long trip.
I can't wait to go back for the interview.