Brit marrying Chinese in china

[Shenzhen]

Hi I'm a Brit marrying my Chinese girlfriend in China in September.

I've started the 28 day notice period to get my certification on no impediment from my local registry office in the UK. I've read online that once I have this I can either get it legalized in the UK or I can take it to a British embassy in China and get it swapped for a legal document there.

Is this correct?

I'm only in China for a week so is changing the form a the embassy in China a same day service and would this still need translating?

In would have just gone down the route of legal using everything in the UK but I'm not sure I will have sufficient time to do this before I fly out to China.

Any help would be appreciated, a lot of the info online seems outdated.

Thanks guys

[Robertt S]

Welcome to the site! I am almost certain someone at the British Embassy in China can point you in the right direction for a translator and authorized notary. Almost any legal document from any country outside of China will need to be translated and notarized by approved notaries. Hopefully Willy or one of the other UK gents will amble through here shortly and assist you further.

Here is a link for the British Embassy in Guangzhou, maybe this will help you also.   
https://www.gov.uk/notarial-and-documentary-services-guide-for-china

[Shenzhen]

Thanks Robert, much appreciated

[Jason B]

Your spouse/girlfriend will probably know of a local place that will translate documents for a fee and have them done in one day that can not be done by the consulate.  There are these type of offices everywhere and from what I can gather fees will differ from place to place.  Make sure you have all the required documents for your particular circumstances. Divorce/Death certificates from previous marriage, notice of being single and able to marry and any other documents that you can think of.  Miss one and the Government marriage agency in China will tell you to go and get them and to be translated before they will even process the paperwork. If you have limited time in China this will certainly put you out if you miss one document. There is plenty of good info on here on all documents needed. Good luck and keep us informed of your adventures.

[David E]

You should also be aware that some marriage offices in China will NOT accept translations of documents done outside of China (Chengdu for one) They require that the documentation is translated and notarised locally.

This is a simple process, cheap and available on same-day service.

Get your fiance to actually check with the marriage Office you intend to use, exactly what their requiremants are.

Then all will be plain sailing

Good luck 

[Shenzhen]

Thanks so much guys.

Just to confirm, I don't need to get the certificate of no impediment I'm getting from my UK registry office legalised for China in the UK? I can just get it translated and notarised in China? Or even if I plan on getting it translated in China does it also need to be legalised in the UK first for use in China?

[Robertt S]

Here is a translated form I found on the UK's website. You can email this to your fiancee and let her print it out and take it to the local marriage registration office. The office will verify if this form is acceptable.

[Shenzhen]

Thanks so much