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kimo50
Joined: 24 Aug 2011
Posts: 119
Location: Guam
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 Posted: Wed Jan 08, 2014 4:12 am Post subject: Getting Married in China |
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I taught in China for a few years but now am back in the States. I want to return to China to get married. Do I get an L visa to return and marry? And after marriage is there a different visa arrangement?
thanks for the info...in advance  |
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doogsville
Joined: 17 Nov 2011
Posts: 924
Location: China
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| Posted: Wed Jan 08, 2014 4:48 am Post subject: |
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Not sure what visa you would need to be on to get married, though I can't see why an L visa wouldn't do it but I'd get at least a 3 month one, since it will take time to organise everything you need. You may already know this, but you'll need a 'certificate of no impediment' or whatever form you're home country uses, to prove that you are not married in your own country. I got mine from a British consulate here, but it may be possible to get it at home.
Once you are married you can apply for a spousal visa, which is a one year multi entry visa which is really just a one year tourist visa, since you can't work on it. You'll need a medical exam to get that one, and your spouses ID card and Hukou papers. There's a lot of information out there, so I would use Google or similar, since it applies to everyone, not just teachers. |
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muffintop
Joined: 07 Jan 2013
Posts: 803
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kimo50
Joined: 24 Aug 2011
Posts: 119
Location: Guam
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| Posted: Wed Jan 08, 2014 11:18 am Post subject: Married and wanting to work |
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| So if I am in China on the 'marriage' 1 year visa - and I want to work - do I need to leave China and apply for a work visa in my home country? Or can I for apply for that work visa in China? |
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muffintop
Joined: 07 Jan 2013
Posts: 803
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| Posted: Wed Jan 08, 2014 1:10 pm Post subject: Re: Married and wanting to work |
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| kimo50 wrote: |
| So if I am in China on the 'marriage' 1 year visa - and I want to work - do I need to leave China and apply for a work visa in my home country? Or can I for apply for that work visa in China? |
You're not going to get a definitive answer to that. You'll just get a bunch of....I did blahblahblah.
You may have to bounce to HK. May have to bounce home. May be able to get it all done without leaving the Mainland.
I don't think you're new to China, you know how things are.
I would suggest while you are home you bang out some kind of CRC. |
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auchtermuchty
Joined: 05 Dec 2009
Posts: 344
Location: Beijing
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| Posted: Thu Jan 09, 2014 1:06 am Post subject: Re: Married and wanting to work |
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| kimo50 wrote: |
| So if I am in China on the 'marriage' 1 year visa - and I want to work - do I need to leave China and apply for a work visa in my home country? Or can I for apply for that work visa in China? |
I think it would be on a province by province basis. I had to go back to my home country. I said I wanted to get it in HK as my kid was only one year old at the time and I didn't want to leave for long but it made no difference. |
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maxand
Joined: 04 Jan 2012
Posts: 318
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canrun30
Joined: 03 Oct 2012
Posts: 116
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| Posted: Thu Jan 09, 2014 8:55 am Post subject: |
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| Great website where people are willing to answer all of your questions: http://candleforlove.com/ |
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Banner41
Joined: 04 Jan 2011
Posts: 656
Location: Shanghai
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| Posted: Fri Jan 10, 2014 1:35 am Post subject: |
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| It was easier for me to get married in Hong Kong. You put in your application, wait a couple weeks and your done. On the mainland it was harder because you have to get it certified by the consulate to have it recognized outside of China.So, you have to find a notary, wait on paperwork, etc.... The Hong Kong marriage license is recognized everywhere. Also, you don't need a visa. You get 3 months free stay just for being American, 6 months if British. |
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weigookin74
Joined: 30 Mar 2010
Posts: 265
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| Posted: Fri Jan 10, 2014 1:54 pm Post subject: Re: Married and wanting to work |
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| auchtermuchty wrote: |
| kimo50 wrote: |
| So if I am in China on the 'marriage' 1 year visa - and I want to work - do I need to leave China and apply for a work visa in my home country? Or can I for apply for that work visa in China? |
I think it would be on a province by province basis. I had to go back to my home country. I said I wanted to get it in HK as my kid was only one year old at the time and I didn't want to leave for long but it made no difference. |
You mean you can't work if you're married? One year visa? Are you only married for one year? You don't have longer term residency? |
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muffintop
Joined: 07 Jan 2013
Posts: 803
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| Posted: Fri Jan 10, 2014 2:05 pm Post subject: Re: Married and wanting to work |
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| weigookin74 wrote: |
| auchtermuchty wrote: |
| kimo50 wrote: |
| So if I am in China on the 'marriage' 1 year visa - and I want to work - do I need to leave China and apply for a work visa in my home country? Or can I for apply for that work visa in China? |
I think it would be on a province by province basis. I had to go back to my home country. I said I wanted to get it in HK as my kid was only one year old at the time and I didn't want to leave for long but it made no difference. |
You mean you can't work if you're married? One year visa? Are you only married for one year? You don't have longer term residency? |
You can't legally work if you are in China under a spousal RP. You can be married and in China under a work RP which is fine. In fact they look the same, the only difference is that where it states the reason...it's work instead of family.
Spousal RP...or more appropriately...family RP is usually a 1 year multi entry and can be renewed seemingly forever. I really do not know if it has changed recently but supposedly a 5 year family RP would have potentially been available after doing 5 1 year RPs. |
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mrwslee003
Joined: 14 Nov 2009
Posts: 190
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| Posted: Tue Jan 21, 2014 3:38 am Post subject: marriage? |
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Here was my experience:
I wanted to get married in China but I found I found there is so much red tape in China and things I had to do in Canada. Yes, I had to come back to Canada to fill in some conditions as well. So I changed my direction and applied for a bride's visa and the condition was she had three months to get married in Canada.
It was much easier to get married in Canada than in China so that is what happened to my fiance and now my wife.
Good luck to you! |
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muffintop
Joined: 07 Jan 2013
Posts: 803
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| Posted: Tue Jan 21, 2014 5:37 am Post subject: |
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Wow.
I didn't know the rules for Canadians were so markedly different from Americans.
I just had to go the the embassy in Beijing, tell some lady I was never married before, and pay 70 bucks for it. Went back to Qingdao and spent half an hour at some gov't buiding doing paperwork and photos. Done.
EDIT: I seem to recall having to get the paperwork from the Embassy translated and notarized as well but that also was a simple process. |
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wangdaning
Joined: 22 Jan 2008
Posts: 3154
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| Posted: Tue Jan 21, 2014 2:31 pm Post subject: |
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The only trouble for us from the USA I can see is if your future spouse has issues getting their hukou from the family.
I had to go to the embassy as muffin mentioned. The docs needed no translation. Went to the office with the docs, my passport, my wife, her ID, and her hukou. The line was long and they were about to close. One of the guys doing the certificates told us to come back in half an hour. He reopened the gate and did out certificate after hours. Only us in the building. Went quickly, no hassle.
Getting that done in the USA would have taken lots of money and many more documents. |
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