Canadian Citizen Marrying Hong Kong National Court Marriage

[Sukhbir Singh]

I am a Canadian citizen and I want to go to Hong Kong to get married to someone who is a citizen of that country. The person I am marrying is Indian by descent. If I were to get a court marriage in Hong Kong, would the Canadian immigration count that as a legal and valid marriage at the time that I sponsor her? Or, would I have to get married to her by in accordance with religious rites and rituals for my marriage to be considered valid and legal in Canada?

[Rajpal (Admin)]

As per Canadian Immigration rules, a marriage done outside of Canada will generally be considered valid in Canada if the marriage is valid in the country it was done in.

In order to get legally married in Hong Kong, you must perform the following steps:

1.) Set up an appointment to submit your Notice of Intended Marriage with the Hong Kong Registrar of Marriages either in person or online. This appointment can not be made more than 3 months before you intend to get married.

2.) Go to your appointment with the Hong Kong Registrar of Marriages along with your documents. At the Marriage Registrar, you will either be asked to fill out a Form MR21B or the Information Required for Marriage Registration form. You will also need to pay HK$305 for the Notice of Intended Marriage.

3.) Generally, 15 days after submitting your Notice of Intended Marriage with the Hong Kong Registrar of Marriages, you will be issued a Certificate which will allow you to get married anytime within the next 3 months. Note that this Certificate will expire after 3 months from the date of issuance after which you will have to apply for a new one.

4.) Once you get the Certificate, you can legally get married to your fiancé. Your marriage can take place at the following:

• A place of worship (temple, church, mosque) which must be licensed and performed by a minister; or
• any location in Hong Kong as long as the marriage is performed by a registered civil celbebrant (priest, granthi, etc.)
• at an official marriage registry by a Registrar.

To answer your question in short, yes you can get a court marriage as long as you follow the above-mentioned steps.