Marriage to a Chinese Citizen of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region

Every country has laws that apply to its citizens marrying a person from a different country. Getting married to a Hongkonger with the goal of eventually bringing them to Canada to live is a process with many steps. The Chinese government may impose strict requirements on foreigners who marry Chinese as an indirect way of discouraging Chinese citizens from moving to other countries.

Foreigners must apply for official permission from the Chinese government to marry a citizen of China. You must demonstrate to Chinese officials that they are not currently married to anyone else – either you have never been married, or all divorces are finalized – that your identity is proven and that you have never committed any crimes in China. This is done by providing various documents, including an Affidavit of Single Status, to the Hong Kong government in Hong Kong.

If you want to bring your Hongkonger spouse or partner to live in Canada, you must then file a sponsorship application for them to become a permanent resident. If they would like to visit you in Canada while their application is in process, they must also apply for an Electronic Travel Authorization. For more information, please see our family sponsorship page and our eTA article.

 

How We Can Help You Marry Your Hongkonger Fiance

To discuss the process to marry a citizen of Hong Kong, contact us for a consultation. We can determine your eligibility to apply for permission to marry a Hongkonger as well as advise you how you can prove you meet the requirements.

Immigroup will assist you throughout the entire application process from start to finish, including:

• Determining your eligibility to apply;
• Determining the likelihood of success for your particular case;
• Ensuring your forms are complete and accurately reflect the details of your case for maximum chance of success;
• Ensuring you have the necessary and appropriate documents to support your application;
• Providing guidance on the best method to submit your application to the Chinese and Hong Kong governments for your circumstances;
• Offering Top Priority service for extremely urgent cases;
• Determining the best way to proceed once the outcome of your case is reached (applying for family sponsorship, applying for an ETA or visa for your Chinese partner, re-application if necessary, etc.)

 

Call us 1-866-760-2623 / (+1) 416-962-2623 or email us at [email protected]

 

Processing Time

If you file a Canadian sponsorship application for your Chinese spouse or partner, this application takes an average of 10-12 months.

Avisitor visa application for your spouse or partner to visit you in Canada while the sponsorship applications are processing takes an average of 3 –14 days. An eTA is generated instantaneously if approved.

Please see our pages on family sponsorship and Canadian visitor visa for more information on the processing times of these applications.

 

Costs of the Process

 

Government Fees

To learn about the costs of the sponsorship process, click here.

 

Other Fees – Disbursement Fees

Documents are sent to Hong Kong  by courier to ensure security, confidentiality, and confirmation of delivery. These costs are known as disbursement fees and are unique to each case; however the total is typically less than $500 Canadian dollars.

 

Hong Kong Marriage Basic Requirements

In Hong Kong the minimum age for getting married is 16 years of age (by the western calendar). There is no residency requirement so you can arrive any time before your marriage.

 

In order to legally marry in Hong Kong, you will have to do the following:

• You or your Hongkonger spouse has to submit a Notice of Intended Marriage to the Hong Kong Registrar of Marriages either directly – in person or online – or through a civil celebrant.
• Registrar will post the the notice in the registry office until either a Marriage Certificate is issued or 3 months has passed.
• 15 days after posting the notice, the Registrar is then legally allowed to issue the Marriage Certificate. Once the certificate is issue, you and your fiancé(e) have 3 months from the day the notice was posted to marry in Hong Kong.
• Your marriage must take place at:
  • a place of worship, which must be licensed, and performed by a minister; or
  • any location in Hong Kong, provided the marriage is performed by a registered civil celbebrant; or
  • at an official marriage registry by a Registrar.
• If you do not marry within three months after submitting the notice of marriage, you or your celebrant will have to submit a new one before you can be legally married.

 

Family Members

If your Chinese spouse has dependent children, this does not affect the application.

If you have dependent children, they have no effect on the application to marry a Chinese citizen.

 

List of Chinese Consulates in Canada

Click here

 

Calling Hong Kong from Canada

Dial 011 – 852 – number

• 011 is the North American exit number
• 852 is Hong Kong’s country code

There are no area codes in Hong Kong. Cell phones begin with the numbers 5, 6 or 9.

 

Calling Canada from Hong Kong

Dial 00 – 1 – area code – local number

Canada has lots of area codes:

Province	Code	Province	Code
Alberta	403 / 587 (southern Alberta) 587 / 780 (central and northern Alberta)	Nunavut	867
BC	236 / 250 / 778 (majority of BC) 236 / 604 / 778 (Metro Vancouver)	Ontario	226 / 519 (southwestern Ontario) 249 / 705 (northeastern Ontario) 289 / 365 / 905 (Greater Toronto Area) 343 / 613 (eastern Ontario) 416 / 647 (Toronto) 807 (northwestern Ontario)
Manitoba	204 / 431	PEI	782 / 902
New  Brunswick	506	Quebec	418 / 581 (eastern Quebec) 438 / 514 (Montreal) 450 / 579 (Greater Montreal) 819 / 873 (remainder of Quebec)
Newfoundland and Labrador	709	Saskatchewan	306 / 639
Northwest Territories	867	Yukon	867
Nova Scotia	782 / 902

 

Time Difference

Hong Kong Time is the same as Chinese Standard Time (GMT+8), despite the huge differences in location between Hong Kong and much of China – unlike much of China, Hong Kong really should be on GMT +8. Hong Kong does not observe Daylight Saving Time.

Canadian Time Zone	# of Hours Hong Kong is Ahead	# of Hours during DST
Pacific (BC, Yukon)	16 hours	15 hours
Mountain (Alberta, western Nunvaut, Lloydminster, Saskatchewan)	15 hours	14 hours
Saskatchewan	14 hours	14 hours
Central (Manitoba, Northwest Territories, central Nunavut, northwestern Ontario)	14 hours	13 hours
Eastern (most of Ontario, most of Quebec)	13 hours	12 hours
Atlantic (Labrador, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, PEI, eastern Quebec)	12 hours	11 hours
Newfoundland	11.5 hours	10.5 hours

 

Emergency Contact Information for Canadians in Hong Kong

Consulate General of Canada in Hong Kong 13th Floor, One Exchange Square 8 Connaught Place Central, Hong Kong SAR China Postal Address: P.O. Box 11142, Hong Kong SAR, China Telephone: 85 (2) 3719 4700 Fax: 85 (2) 2847 7561 E-mail: [email protected] Website: hongkong.gc.ca

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Sponsoring Your Hongkonger Spouse to Canada

Learn More

 

Want to know more about marrying in Hong Kong? Let us know!