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About Family - Tips for expat couples
Birth
Foreigners who have a baby born in the city may get a Chinese birth certificate from the hospital and should go to the local public security administration for registration within a month. Otherwise the baby won't be able to get a valid endorsement on his or her passport which may hinder him or her leaving the country with the parents.
Go to your embassy or consulate-general to report and register the birth is also necessary. Generally, the embassy will issue a consular report of birth abroad and a passport, which will be needed for the child to depart China. The report may be used as a birth certificate for school, work, or other purposes.
Before issuing passports and the consular report to new-born infants, consular officials may require some documentation, including an original Chinese birth certificate and the parents' marriage certificate and passports, to verify their marriage status and citizenship. You may find the list of the required documentation from the Website of the embassy or consulate.
Some foreign countries will also issue social security numbers within several months after the birth.
Adoption
Foreigners may adopt Chinese orphans or other children in accordance with the laws and regulations of China and their own countries. They may also be required to follow various procedures at the local civil affairs department and authorities in their own countries.
Foreigners who want to adopt Chinese children should deliver their application and certificates about their families to the Chinese government through their own government or authorized adoption organizations.
All the documentation should be certified by notary public offices in their countries together with certificates issued by their foreign ministries and Chinese embassies or consulates to their countries.
Foreigners who work or study in China for more than a year should also deliver certificates on their marital status, occupation, income, financial status and criminal record from their companies or schools and health certificates from designated local hospitals.
Having been examined and cleared by the local adoption administration, foreign adopters can sign an adoption agreement with qualified local parties placing children for adoption (they are examined and notified to foreign governments and adoption organizations by local adoption officials). Registration and official certificates are needed.
If foreign adopters want to leave China with their adoptive children, they should contact and go through procedures at local police offices at the domicile places of the adoptive children.
Marriage
Foreigners who want to marry a Chinese citizen in Shanghai should abide by Chinese marriage law and municipal government procedures. Some diplomatic and consular officers have the authority to perform marriages and are required to witness the marriages of their citizens. But it is advised to register your marriage in local marriage registration offices to ensure your marriage is legal in China and will be protected by Chinese law.
Certain categories of Chinese citizens, such as diplomats, security officials, and others whose work is considered to be crucial to national security, are not legally free to marry foreigners.
Upon receipt of an application to register a marriage, the civil affairs office will ascertain that both parties are of legal age to marry (22 for men and 20 for women) and that both parties are single.
People who have married previously will be asked to submit original or certified copies of final divorce or annulment decrees, or of death certificates if widowed.
Both parties will be asked to submit certificates of marriageability, ID card or passport and health certificates. The Chinese partners will also be asked to deliver their household registration book. The registration procedure is charged of course.
Foreigners should have their certificates issued by their notary offices and certified by their foreign ministry and China embassies or consulates to their countries. Foreigners who have stayed in China more than 6 months can submit certificates issued by their embassies or consulates in China without being certified by previous departments.
If all is in order, the Marriage Registration Office of the Bureau of Civil Affairs will issue the marriage certificate within a month.
Have Your Say
Sam Flemming(American, 8 years in Shanghai) praised the excellent facilities and the proficiency of a Doctor Fan when his wife gave birth to their baby.
