- A foreigner marrying a Chinese citizen registers at the designated civil affairs registry; your single-status certificate needs notarisation and apostille or consular legalisation. 涉外婚姻在指定婚姻登记机关办理，单身证明须公证并附加证明（Apostille）或领事认证。
- China joined the Apostille Convention with effect from 7 November 2023 — for member states, apostille has replaced consular legalisation. 2023 年 11 月 7 日起海牙《取消外国公文认证要求的公约》对中国生效。
- Which law governs your divorce depends on how you divorce: a litigated divorce in a Chinese court applies Chinese law; divorce by agreement allows limited choice of law. 诉讼离婚适用法院地法；协议离婚可在有限范围内选择适用法律。
- China does not recognise dual nationality — a child of a Chinese parent born in China is a Chinese national, whatever second passport may be available. 中国不承认双重国籍。
- Prenuptial and postnuptial property agreements are valid under the Civil Code if made in writing. 书面婚前/婚内财产协议有效。
Getting married in China
Marriage between a Chinese citizen and a foreigner is registered at the marriage registry designated for foreign-related marriages in the province where the Chinese party’s household registration (hukou) sits — in Shanghai, the municipal foreign-related registry. The foreign party brings a passport and a certificate of no impediment / single status, notarised in the home country and then apostilled (for Apostille Convention states, since the Convention took effect for China on 7 November 2023) or consular-legalised. Two foreigners generally cannot register a marriage at a Chinese civil affairs registry; the usual route is the embassy or consulate of one party, where that state’s law allows — subject to current regulations.
中外婚姻在中方户籍所在省份指定的涉外婚姻登记机关办理；外方需经公证并附加证明或认证的单身证明。双方均为外国人的，一般不在中国民政部门登记，通常循一方使领馆途径办理。
Which law governs your marriage — and your divorce
The Law on the Application of Laws to Foreign-Related Civil Relations (in force since 1 April 2011) sets the conflict rules. The ones that matter most in practice:
| Question 事项 | Governing law 法律适用 |
|---|---|
| Divorce by litigation 诉讼离婚 | The law of the forum — a Chinese court applies Chinese law (Art. 27). This is why the same marriage can produce very different financial outcomes depending on where proceedings are started. |
| Divorce by agreement 协议离婚 | The parties may choose the law of one party’s habitual residence or nationality (Art. 26); absent choice, cascading connecting factors apply. |
| Matrimonial property 夫妻财产 | Parties may choose the law of one party’s habitual residence, nationality, or the location of principal assets (Art. 24) — a genuinely useful planning lever for cross-border couples. |
| Parent–child relations 父母子女关系 | Law of common habitual residence; otherwise the law more protective of the weaker party’s interests (Art. 25). |
Cross-border divorce: how we handle it
Cross-border divorce is handled by Delta Law’s family department. The work covers jurisdiction strategy, recognition and enforcement of foreign divorce judgments, cross-border asset division and child arrangements. Its collaboration network centres on the China–Japan and China–Hong Kong corridors and extends to Paris, London, Madrid, the United States and Singapore. Delta Law is retained directly and remains your responsible counsel throughout, working jointly with collaborating counsel where foreign-court steps are needed. For expats, this desk provides the English-language interface to that practice.
跨境离婚由本所婚姻家事部办理，协作线以中日、中港为重点，并延伸至巴黎、伦敦、马德里及美国、新加坡等地。由德载接受委托、全程负责，联合境外协作资源共同办理。
Your children: nationality is not a choice you make at birth
Under the Nationality Law of the PRC, a child born in China with at least one Chinese-citizen parent is a Chinese national, and China does not recognise dual nationality. A child who also qualifies for a foreign passport by descent does not thereby lose Chinese nationality in China’s eyes — which shapes what travel documents the child uses, how the child enters and leaves China, and later, schooling options (international schools generally require foreign nationality or specified statuses). These are resolvable questions, but they reward planning before birth or before the first passport application, not after a border problem.
依《国籍法》，父母一方为中国公民、本人出生在中国的子女具有中国国籍，且中国不承认双重国籍——这直接影响子女的旅行证件、出入境安排与入学选择，宜在出生前或首次办证前规划。
Frequently asked
- Civil Code of the PRC, Book V (Marriage and Family)《中华人民共和国民法典》婚姻家庭编 —— supporting "Getting married in China" and "Cross-border divorce: how we handle it".
- Law on the Application of Laws to Foreign-Related Civil Relations《涉外民事关系法律适用法》Arts. 24–27 —— the choice-of-law rules for marriage and divorce, supporting "Which law governs your marriage — and your divorce".
- Nationality Law of the PRC《国籍法》 —— supporting "Your children: nationality is not a choice you make at birth".
- Marriage Registration Regulations《婚姻登记条例》 —— the registration procedure and documents required, supporting "Getting married in China".
- Convention Abolishing the Requirement of Legalisation for Foreign Public Documents (in effect for China from 7 Nov 2023) —— the authentication route for foreign civil-status documents, supporting "Getting married in China" and "Frequently asked".
This page is general legal information, not legal advice on any specific case. 本页为一般性法律信息，不构成个案法律意见。
