Requirements for giving notice of intended marriage in HK

Dear Sir/Madam,

Thank you for your e-mail message.

Under the Laws of Hong Kong, you will have to go through the following procedures for solemnizing a marriage in Hong Kong:
1. Either one of the marring parties has to give a Notice of Intended Marriage (the notice) to the Registrar of Marriages (the Registrar) in the prescribed form either directly or through a civil celebrant of marriages.
2. The Registrar shall exhibit Part I of the notice in his office until the issue of a Certificate of Registrar of Marriages or the expiry of the 3-month period.
3. The Registrar may, at least 15 days after the giving of a notice, issue a Certificate of Registrar of Marriages to enable you to celebrate your marriage within three months from the date of notice giving if all the statutory requirements are met.

After a Notice of Marriage is given, the marriage must take place within a period of three months, otherwise the notice becomes void and fresh notice must be given before the marriage can take place.

A marriage can take place at a marriage registry by a registrar; or in a licensed place of public worship by a competent minister or at any other place in Hong Kong by a civil celebrant of marriages.


To Give a Notice of Intended Marriage

Unless both of you are living outside Hong Kong, one or both of you are required to give the notice at the marriage registry in person or through a civil celebrant of marriages.

If you are unable to give the Notice in person in Hong Kong, you may adopt the procedure of giving the Notice from overseas. I have attached with this email the relevant OM forms for you.

The attachment(OM forms) consists of 16 pages

· Page 1 is “Notice of intended marriage".
· Page 2-4 are forms of "Information Required for Registration of Marriage”.
· Page 5 is the form for details of intended date and place of marriage ceremony.
· Page 6 to 7 are statutory declarations which are applicable to the divorced person (either English or Chinese version).
· Page 8 to 15 are the declarations and the parental consent forms which are applicable to a marrying person under the age of 21.
· Page 16 is the supplementary notes (purpose of collection).

Procedures for giving a notice of intended marriage from places outsides Hong Kong (OM form at attachment )

If both of you are in overseas and wish to celebrate your marriage in Hong Kong, either one of you may complete the Notice of Marriage form which is attached with this email and send it after notarization together with other required document by AIRMAIL to our office.

Steps:
1.       Complete the Attached Form and signed by either one of the marrying parties. Prepared the copies of both parties’ travel documents and the required documents, if appropriate (please see below for the required document under different categories).
2.       The duly completed Notice of Marriage (page 1) has to be authenticated by a Notary Public at the present place of residence of the person who signs the notice.   Notarization has to be made against the signature of the marrying party.
3. If you intend to celebrate your marriage at our marriage registry, you may indicate your preference about the date of marriage and registry on the information sheet (page 5 of the attached form).
4. After notarization of the notice, please send the notice together with photocopies of Hong Kong identity cards or travel document from both parties, other documentary proof  (please refer to the paragraph 'Other Documentary Requirement' below) and a bank draft of HK$305  made payable to 'The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region'. In case of exchanging of currency is required, a handling commission of HK$100 in addition to the fees payable for filing of Notice of Marriage has to be charged by the bank.

A bank draft is a cheque issue by the bank with the different type of currency made payable to the client's specified agent/company/office. You may make for a bank draft at any of the Hong Kong Associated Bank.  You may visit the following website for reference.

http://www.hkab.org.hk/DisplayMemberAction.do?sectionid=4&subsectionid=0

The cashier order or bank draft should be one from a bank which has a connected bank in Hong Kong.

Please send by post or through your local contact in Hong Kong to the following address :
Marriage Registration & Records Office
3/F, Low Block
Queensway Government Office
66 Queensway, Hong Kong
(Telephone Number  : (852) 2867 2787)  Your local contact may make a call before his/her submission for further questions.

5. Upon the receipt of your notarized notice, the Registrar shall exhibit a copy at his office for a period of 15 days (excluding the day the notice is given and the day of a marriage).

6. A reply will be sent to you to confirm the appointment for marriage ceremony after receipt of the authenticated notice, the prescribed fee, and supporting documents. Please note that the marriage registry has quota limit of marriage appointment. To facilitate the alternative arrangement, you may provide several preferences of marriage appointment and your email address for easy communication. Without receiving the Notice, it is unable to confirm the availability of the marriage hall at the moment.
After a Notice of Marriage is given, the marriage must take place within a period of three months, otherwise the notice becomes void and fresh notice must be given before the marriage can take place.

7.  As soon as you arrive in Hong Kong, both of you are required to appear before the Deputy Registrar of Marriages with your Hong Kong identity card/travel document and other documents to be examined.  At the same time, one of you will have to make an affidavit stating that there is no impediment of kindred or alliance, no other lawful hindrance to the marriage and that parent's/parents' or legal guardian's consent is not required.

8. On the day of appointment for marriage ceremony,  the bride and bridegroom should attend 15 minutes before the time previously arranged by the Registrar, bringing two witnesses (at 18 years of age or over ). Relatives and friends may be invited to be present at the marriage ceremony. At the ceremony, rings may be exchanged between the parties if they wish. The bride and bridegroom and witnesses will sign the marriage certificate in duplicate and the Registrar will give one certificate to them and file the other in the registry.

Last of all, you may wish to know that marriage at the Registrar's Office is charged HK$715 during normal office hours and HK$1935 outside normal office hours.

If the marriage is to take place at a marriage registry, it then will not involve civil celebrant.

If you intend to give the notice through a civil celebrant of marriages, you can refer to the following links for what you need to do and to know before you engage a civil celebrant of marriages in order to arrange a marriage ceremony smoothly.

• Information Leaflet for the Marrying Parties (pdf file) http://www.immd.gov.hk/pdforms/mr70_e.pdf

• List of appointed civil celebrants of marriages (pdf file) http://www.immd.gov.hk/pdf/list_of_civil_celebrant(e).pdf

• Code of Practice for Civil Celebrants of Marriages (pdf file) http://www.immd.gov.hk/pdf/cpcc_e.pdf

Documentary Requirement

For the Documentary requirements of filing a notice of intended marriage, please refer to the different categories below:

(i)                 Person aged 21 or over and have never got married anywhere before:-

Please produce the Hong Kong Identity Card or/and valid travel document. Under normal circumstance, single certificate or birth certificate is normally NOT required. However, Registrar may request for further supporting document on individual case.

Apart from a valid travel document / Hong Kong identity card, there are special requirements under the following categories:

(ii)              Person under the age of 21:-

If the marrying party is below the age of 21 but over 16, not being a widower or widow, his/her either parent's consent is required for the marriage provided that there is a subsisting marriage between the parents, otherwise, lawful guardian's / guardians' consent is/are required for the marriage.  If this is the case, a certified copy of the marrying party's birth certificate and his/her parents' marriage certificate or order of custodial right from Court should be forwarded.  A consent form (page 14 or 15) should be completed as appropriate.  If the person making the consent is not in Hong Kong, the completed Consent Form should be authenticated by a Notary Public. Moreover a statutory declaration (page 8-13 of the attached OM form whichever is appropriate) should be made and sworn before a Notary Public.

(iii)            Divorced person :-

In case of a divorced person, proof of the dissolution of the former marriage by decree pronounced by a competent court is required upon giving of the notice. Before the marriage takes place, a sealed certified copy of the court’s final decree must be produced to the Registrar.

If the divorce takes place outside Hong Kong, proof of domicile in the country where the divorce takes place is required upon giving of the notice. Otherwise, a declaration (page 6-7 of the attached OM form) signed by the divorced person declaring his/her nationality and residence on the date of institution and approval of the divorce should be provided. The statutory declaration should be made and sworn or affirmed before a Registrar or a civil celebrant of marriages. If the person making the declaration is not in Hong Kong, the declaration should be authenticated by a Notary Public.

(iv)             Widow/widower :-
In the case of a widower or widow, proof of former marriage and death certificate of former spouse are required. If the required documents are not written in English or Chinese, certified translations of such are required

(v)               If the marrying party is serving in the Army or Navy, written consent to the marriage from the Commanding Officer has to be obtained beforehand.

Where a document is not in Chinese or English, it must be accompanied by a Chinese or English translation certified as a true translation by a sworn translator, court translator, authorized public translator, certified translator expert translator or official translator.

Information regarding authentication of the Notice:-

A notary public is a lawyer or person with legal training who is licensed by the state to perform acts in legal affairs, in particular witnessing signatures on documents. The form that the notarial profession takes varies with local legal systems.
The notary public is required to authenticate your signature on the "Notice of Intended Marriage form".  There is no need to make certification on the other documents.
After completed the "Notice of Intended Marriage form", the party who gives the notice may sign at the bottom part of the form -witness my hand this.  Then, the form is only required to be authenticated by a Notary Public of the country where one of you lives (i.e. the one who gives the notice).  The authenticated stamp of the notary public can be stamp at the right bottom of the form.
For details of giving of a Notice of intended marriage from places outside Hong Kong, you may visit our website at : http://www.gov.hk/en/residents/immigration/bdmreg/marriage/marreg/intendmarout.htm

I hope you will find the information useful.

Regards,
WONG Ka-yu
for Director of Immigration

To learn more about the application requirements and procedures of the most frequently used services provided by the Hong Kong Immigration Department, you are welcome to visit the Easy Access Playlist at Hong Kong Immigration Department YouTube Channel. The concerned video clips have Cantonese voice-over supplemented by Chinese or English subtitles.