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Marriage Preparations
Even before leaving America to get married in China. Start Preparing! It can not be said enough, you can't run home real quick because you forgot something. visa china marriage k3
What You Need To Bring To China In Order To Get Married
Birth Certificate
The National Center for Health Statistics releases a yearly report on how to
obtain personal vital statistics. Download this PDF file for State Specific
Requirements along with contact information provided of each State on how to
obtain a Birth Certificate
here.
Click on the link below to find the contact and fee information for a Birth
Certificate from the State you were born in.
Birth Certificate Information
Obtained Here.
Note: Most States will only allow immediate relatives to apply for a Birth
Certificate. Some States have and order form while others do not. It is best to
follow the links above and contact your States office for more information. When
requesting the Certificate provide a sell-addressed stamped envelope, the
payment amount and the following information:
Full Name
Date of Birth
Sex
Address
Place of Birth (city/county)
Fathers name
Mothers Maiden Name
Reason for Copy
Relationship to person for whom record is requested
Your Signature
I got my birth certificate and since it had the State Seal on it already I did
not have to have a local notary stamp it. I then took the birth certificate to
the U.S. State Department to have it notarized and then finally to the Chinese
Embassy in Washington D.C. After all that time and money, when I presented my
birth certificate to the lady at the Ming Zheng Ju she told me it was NOT
needed. So that was $66 wasted. I'm not recommending that you do not bring your
birth certificate but don't be surprised if it's not needed. My suspicion is
that you will need the birth certificate if you look young. The minimum age to
get married in China is 22 for men and 20 for women.
Police Report
Sounds simple right? Wrong. This was by far the hardest thing to obtain for the
preparations to get married in China. Hopefully this site will cut down on your
time trying to find out exactly how to get a background check done on yourself.
Go to your local County Sheriffs office. Tell them you need a background check
done on yourself to obtain a "Gold Letter Seal Visa". This is the point where
the sheriffs deputy will look at you stupid and tell you, you can't do that.
Inform the officer that if they would go and get a fingerprint sheet from the
fingerprinting station and then read the back of the sheet. On the back of the
sheet there is a list of reasons as to why someone is being fingerprinted. "Gold
Letter Visa" is one of the reasons on the sheet. Inform the officer that you
need your fingerprints taken and you will be sending the fingerprint sheet off
for a background check. All you need the officer for is to do the fingerprinting
and to sign his/her name on the back of it stating that they did so. (Plus his
or her certification number.)
The sheriffs deputy may try to tell you that only employers and government
agencies can request a background check on an individual and that an individual
may not him or herself request one. That is FALSE. Ask to speak to his
supervisor and go on up the chain of command to the sheriff if you have too. In
actuality the Chinese government is telling you to get a background check but
they are not asking the sheriff to do it directly nor will they.
When you are filling out the fingerprint sheets (You need to fill out TWO) make
sure that you address yourself as the recipient of the report. Put the check for
$25 or so along with the fingerprint sheets and mail them off to wherever it
says to mail them. You may have to ask the sheriffs department for the address.
In Maryland the sheets are shipped to Reisterstown and it usually takes five
business days to process. After the background check is complete it is put into
a brown envelope and mailed to the address that is put on the card.
To find out how to obtain the fingerprint card you need, the fee, and the
contact information from each state click
here.
I started off by going to my city police station where they informed me that
only the state police can do FBI background checks and they take 6-8 weeks. I
told the city police that I did not need an FBI national background check and
just needed a local check for the state that I lived in. They shook their heads
in ignorance.
Next I went to the county sheriff and asked them to do a background check on me.
They told me that they could do it but would not since my employer did not
request it nor did a government agency. I informed them that I did not need my
employer nor my governments permission to get married nor did I need my employer
or governments leave to ask the sheriffs department to do a public service that
my tax dollars paid for. They shook their heads in ignorance.
I asked around and finally someone told me to go to the District Court and try
my luck there. They had no clue what I was talking about so I started asking
them exactly where fingerprints are processed. As luck would have it, one lady
way in the back heard my conversation with the Neanderthal working the front
desk and she happened to know a lady that worked in that specific government
office three hours away. She gave me the ladies number and when I called her she
informed me that the county sheriff performed the function I needed and that all
I had to do was walk in and request that they take my fingerprints. I told her
I'd been there and done that and she began to weep, because 30 years of working
in a state government had ripped her soul out.
Anyway, she mailed me two copies of a fingerprint sheet with instructions on how
to fill them out. I walked into the sheriffs department and told them they were
dipshits and thanked them for wasting a week of my time. The guy who took my
fingerprints actually said..."So that's what the Gold Letter Visa box is for..."
then I began to weep...
Certificate of Marriagability
Not the hardest thing to get but certainly the weirdest. That is because such a
certificate does not exist and you have to go to your local Clerk of the Court
to make one. If you have never been married, just have the Clerks Office put
your name, age, and that you've never been married on a piece of paper and have
them enter it into the Clerks Registrar. They will do a check of their records
to see if you have ever been married. It helps if you've lived in the same
county all of your life. If you lived in a different county or state for part of
your life you may have to go back there to get that Clerks Office to certify
that you never married during the time you lived there. After they do this they
will hand you a couple of pieces of paper attached to a blue piece of
construction paper. On this form their notary seal will be placed. This is the
only thing that you need to have notarized locally because the police report and
the birth certificate are issued by the State and the State Seal supersedes the
Local Seal.
The Chinese government states that your fiancées name, address, age, etc need to
be on your certificate of marriagability but good luck getting your Clerk of the
Court to do that. They can not do what the Chinese government asks you to do
because in order to do that your fiancee would have to travel to America and
provide proof as to who they are.
When I presented my certificate of marriagability to the lady at the Ming Zheng
Ju she just accepted it at face value and did not ask any questions about its
contents, the notary seals were all she needed to see. Your fiancée will have
the same certificate so it's really not an issue.
UPDATE:
The Chinese government has recognized they are asking for a document that does
not exist and has to be created from scratch each time an American wants to
marry a Chinese citizen. They have provided this generic form for your Clerk of
the Court to fill out.
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).
Signature of the Affiant: _______________________________
Name in Print:________________________________________
(For the Notary Public)
Subscribed and sworn to before me by (name of affiant) on this ____day of
________________.
I'm not really sure why they want your employment information on this affidavit
but if you are not employed either leave it blank or say 'none'. You don't need
a job to get married in China. You can also download the form
here.
On this site you will find these needed items: Chinese Visas, International Marriage
- K3 Visa Forms
- Why you need an Affidavit of Single Status.
- The difference between a Hukou and a Ming Zhen Ju.
- How to obtain a Police Report or Gold Seal Letter Visa.
- American government forms needed for K3 and K1 Visas.
- Visa Interview questions.
- What you need to bring to the K3 Visa interview at the Chinese Consulate.
- First hand accounts of people who have actually married in China and gone through the Visa interview process from start to finish.
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