China Divorce

Would greatly appreciate if someone could help clarify...If we are married under the laws of another country....can we file for a divorce in the mainland, since we have been living here for a number of years now.

If you can. I would be reluctant to do so if there are assets involved, and one respondent is fluent in Chinese and the other not.


Both sided need to have confidence in the impartiality and integrity of the lawyers involved.


Have you tried posting on the legal board?

There is not much assets involved (whatever is involved would be mutually agreed). So it is pretty straight forward mutual consent. The point is does Mainland China permit you to file for a divorce here even though you are not married in China.


I did try the Legal board but did not get a response hence i thought i would try here.

A friend of mine in China got divorced and this is what I recall.


Whether or not you can divorce may be determined by your (or husbands) citizenship.


A marriage, providing it took the form of a recognised ceremony or proceeding, is generally recognised in other countries. Presumably you have documentation (unless you got married in India).


My friend arranged an appointment with the provincial divorce office and both parties attended. They had a house and a child.


The pair had basically agreed on the settlement, just discussions about the value of the house.


The government official was quite dispassionate and businesslike. She helped the couple recognise problem areas and told them to come back another day and finalise the arrangements.


This was done and the couple surrendered their 'occupation' permit (a small booklet) and it was reissued as two 'single' versions. The colour of the cover was different.


As they had required more assistance they were charged the higher fee (a few dollars) and 30 days later the whole marriage was over.


I think the key item is your or your soon to be ex citizenship.


The other way is to contact your embassy in BeiJing or consulate in ShangHai and see what they say.