One of you must be a Chinese citizen: mainland China does not register marriages between two foreign nationals.
To marry in Shanghai one of you must be a Chinese citizen: mainland China does not register marriages between two foreign nationals. If your partner is Chinese, you need your passport, a certificate of single status from your own consulate or authority with an apostille and a Chinese translation, three copies of a couple's portrait, and your partner's ID card. Since May 2025 any of the 16 districts can handle it, whatever your registered address. Minimum ages are 22 for men and 20 for women.
That first line reshapes most plans: two expats who live and work here cannot marry at a Chinese registry office. If one of you is Chinese, though, it is quick and far less bureaucratic than the internet suggests.
Who can actually register a marriage in Shanghai?
A couple where at least one party is a Chinese citizen and both meet the legal conditions: freely consenting, neither currently married, not related within the prohibited degrees, and both over the minimum age. Foreign Permanent Resident ID Card holders and residents of Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan use the same cross-border channel.
Two foreign nationals marry in a home country, or a third country whose rules allow it, then have that marriage recognised for Chinese purposes such as a dependant visa. Ask your own consulate in Shanghai first, since the answer varies by nationality and some offer no marriage services at all.
What documents do you need?
The foreign party brings:
- A valid passport, other international travel document, or a Foreign Permanent Resident ID Card.
- A certificate of single status, sometimes called a certificate of no impediment to marriage, proving you are not already married. It is issued by your embassy or consulate in China, or by a notary or competent authority at home. If your country belongs to the Hague Apostille Convention, it carries an apostille rather than going through consular legalisation.
- A Chinese translation of the certificate and its apostille, by a certified translator. Do not translate it yourself, however good your Chinese is.
- Three copies of a couple's portrait, the two of you against a plain background. Studios near the registry offices know the format and take about ten minutes.
The Chinese party brings their personal ID card. Some offices also ask for the household registration booklet (户口簿), so bring it.
The single status certificate is the piece that goes wrong: it has a shelf life and takes time to obtain. Sequence it deliberately, certificate first, translation and apostille second, appointment third.
Where do you go, and do you need an appointment?
Not your local district office. A marriage involving a foreign national is a cross-border registration (涉外婚姻登记), done only at offices the provincial civil affairs authority has designated. In Shanghai that means two:
- The Shanghai Municipal Marriage Registration Center, 80 Caobao Road (漕宝路80号, third floor of the Everbright Convention Center). It takes every case and is the safe default. Counters run Monday to Saturday, 9:00 to 11:30 and 13:30 to 16:30, registration is free, and the certificate is issued the same day.
- Six pilot district offices, which can register you only if one of you holds permanent household registration (常住户口) in that district: Pudong (2240 South Pudong Road), Huangpu (250 Middle Jiangxi Road), Xuhui (999 Nanning Road), Changning (Lane 631 Jinzhong Road), Jing'an (50 Moling Road) and Minhang (1766 Xinzhen Road). Pudong went first in October 2023, the other five joined in June 2024.
So: if your partner has Shanghai hukou in one of those six districts, use that district's office. Everyone else goes to Caobao Road.
Book through the Government Online-Offline Shanghai service (一网通办); if the flow defeats your Chinese, the English-language line is 021-6432-5088. Our guide to Suishenban covers the app more generally.
The appointment is short: you hand over the documents, both sign, you are photographed if you skipped the portraits, and you leave with a red marriage booklet each, your photograph inside. There is no ceremony.
What if your Chinese partner does not have Shanghai hukou?
The rule and the counter do not always agree yet.
What the rule says. The revised Marriage Registration Regulations took effect on 10 May 2025 and brought in nationwide registration (全国通办). Marriages between a mainland resident and a foreign national are in scope, and the household registration booklet requirement was dropped. On paper, a partner with hukou in Shandong, Hubei or Sichuan who lives and works in Shanghai should be able to register here. The catch in the same policy: cross-border registrations still have to be done at a designated office, meaning the Caobao Road center and the six pilot districts above.
What couples report. Plenty with a non-Shanghai-hukou partner are still told to complete the single status certificate and the registration back in the partner's home province, foreign partner travelling along. It depends on the office and how recent its guidance is.
So do this first. Call 021-6432-5088, or have your partner call the Caobao Road center, and ask the specific question: can we register here with a hukou from X province, and what do you need from the Chinese side. Get that answer before anyone books a flight.
Is it easier to register somewhere other than mainland China?
Hong Kong is the route most used when the Chinese partner has hukou elsewhere. It sets no residency or nationality requirement, so a mainland Chinese citizen and a foreign national can marry there. You give a Notice of Intended Marriage to the Registrar of Marriages at least 15 clear days before the ceremony and no more than three months ahead; the notice is displayed publicly during that window, and the certificate follows. The mainland partner needs an exit permit and endorsement to travel, and the Hong Kong certificate needs authenticating for mainland use afterwards.
A European jurisdiction is the other common choice, with one warning. Some registrars, Germany's among the most cited, require a full birth certificate for each party. Mainland China only introduced the national birth medical certificate (出生医学证明) on 1 January 1996 and issues it only for births from that date onward, so a Chinese partner born before 1996 cannot obtain one. The recognised substitute is a notarised birth certificate (出生公证) from a Chinese notary office, but not every foreign registrar accepts it, and that is where these applications stall for months.
So ask its registrar early: will it accept a Chinese notarial birth certificate in place of a birth certificate? That decides whether this takes weeks or a year.
Which one is for you 哪个适合你
Shanghai hukou: their district office if it is one of the six, otherwise Caobao Road, the short and cheap version. Hukou in another province: call ahead first, and consider Hong Kong instead of a trip home. Both foreign nationals: mainland China is out, so marry elsewhere and bring the certificate back for recognition. Either of you married before: get the divorce documentation translated and authenticated early. Marrying in a third country: confirm first that its registrar accepts a Chinese notarial birth certificate.
What if one of you has been divorced or widowed?
You can still marry, but your single status certificate must reflect it, and you will usually be asked for the divorce decree or death certificate, translated and authenticated to the same standard. Build in extra time: it is the most common reason a two-week process slips into month two, a document problem, not a legal one.
What happens after you register?
Three things the registry office will not walk you through.
- Your visa position does not change automatically. Marriage to a Chinese citizen opens the door to a family reunion (Q) visa and residence permit, but that is a separate application at the Exit and Entry Administration with its own documents. Do not let a work permit lapse on the assumption the marriage covers you. Our work and residence permit guide covers the permits.
- You may need the certificate recognised at home. A Chinese marriage certificate is valid in China immediately. For another country's authorities to accept it, it generally needs translation and authentication, and that country sets the requirements. Ask your consulate while you are still here.
- Update the practical records. Nothing forces you to change your name here and most foreign spouses do not, but if you change it at home, your new passport starts a chain: the residence permit transfers to the new passport, then your bank, phone contract and police registration all need to match. Our registration guide covers the last of those.
How much does it cost and how long does it take?
Registration itself is cheap; the cost sits in what leads up to it. Consular fees for the single status certificate, certified translation and apostille or legalisation are the real budget, and they vary widely by nationality. The appointment takes under an hour; document gathering takes a few weeks, longer if a divorce decree is in the chain. Work backwards from the date you want.
Common questions
Can two expats get married in Shanghai?
No. At least one party must be a Chinese citizen; two expats marry abroad and have it recognised for Chinese purposes.
What documents does an expat need to marry in Shanghai?
A valid passport or Foreign Permanent Resident ID Card, a single status certificate with an apostille where applicable and a certified Chinese translation, and three copies of a couple's portrait. The Chinese partner brings their ID card.
Where do I register a marriage with a Chinese citizen in Shanghai?
The Shanghai Municipal Marriage Registration Center on Caobao Road, or a Pudong, Huangpu, Xuhui, Changning, Jing'an or Minhang district office if your partner is registered there. Ordinary district offices cannot.
Can we register in Shanghai if my partner's hukou is in another province?
In theory yes since 10 May 2025, at a designated cross-border office, but some couples are still sent back to the partner's home province, so call 021-6432-5088 and confirm before booking.
Can a mainland Chinese citizen and an expat marry in Hong Kong?
Yes, with no residency or nationality requirement. File a Notice of Intended Marriage 15 clear days to three months before the ceremony. The mainland partner needs an exit permit and endorsement, and the certificate needs authenticating for mainland use.
Why do some countries ask my Chinese partner for a birth certificate they do not have?
China introduced the national birth medical certificate on 1 January 1996 and does not issue it for earlier births, so a partner born before then cannot get one. A notarised birth certificate is the recognised substitute, if the foreign registrar accepts it.
What is the legal marriage age in China?
Twenty-two for men and twenty for women. Both parties must also be unmarried, freely consenting, and not related within the prohibited degrees.
Is there an English-language helpline for marriage registration in Shanghai?
Yes, 021-6432-5088 offers English-language service for marriage registration enquiries.
Does marrying a Chinese citizen give me a visa or residence permit?
Not automatically. You become eligible to apply for a family reunion (Q) visa and residence permit, a separate application at the Exit and Entry Administration. Keep your existing status valid meanwhile.
Will my Chinese marriage certificate be recognised in my home country?
Usually, after translation and authentication to whatever standard that country requires. The requirements are set by your own authorities, so ask your consulate here while you are still around.
