The minimum legal age for marriage in Hong Kong is 16 years of age (Gregorian reckoning). There are no residential requirements for marriage and the marrying parties may be of any nationality.
The following website provides information on marriage registration, including giving the notice of intended marriage on the prescribed form in Hong Kong or from places outside Hong Kong, celebrating your marriage in different venues as well as post-registration of marriage taken place before 7 October 1971:
GovHK - Marriage RegistrationIf you plan to get married with your partner in the Mainland, you have to go through marriage registration procedures in accordance with Mainland laws and regulations. Marriage registration in the Mainland is the duty of the home affairs offices of the governments of provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities, or the authorities designated by the home affairs offices.
You may refer to the website of the Department of Civil Affairs of Sichuan Province (Chinese Version Only) (https://mzt.sc.gov.cn/) for a guide to marriage registration for Sichuan and Hong Kong residents, policy papers and information about the institutions responsible for the registration. For information on the required procedures and documents for marriage registration by governments of other provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities, please contact the relevant marriage registration authorities.
Q1I am a Hong Kong resident planning to marry a Mainland resident in Hong Kong. What are the procedures involved?
A1Under the Laws of Hong Kong, you will have to go through the following procedures to solemnize a marriage in Hong Kong:
Either one of you 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.
The Registrar shall exhibit the relevant part of the notice in his office until the issue of a Certificate of Registrar of Marriages or the expiry of the 3-month period.
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.
A marriage has to take place at a marriage registry by a Registrar; or in a licensed place of worship by a competent minister or at any other place in Hong Kong by a civil celebrant of marriages.
If the marriage does not take place within three months after the giving of the notice, the notice and all proceedings thereupon shall be void. You have to give another notice before getting married.
For information on the registration of a marriage, please click on the following link:
https://www.gov.hk/en/residents/immigration/bdmreg/marriage/marreg/Q2I am a Hong Kong resident planning to marry a Mainland resident in the Mainland. What are the procedures involved?
A2Marriage registration in the Mainland is the duty of the home affairs offices of the governments of provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities, or the authorities designated by the home affairs offices. For information on the required procedures and documents for marriage registration, please contact the relevant marriage registration authorities in the Mainland.
Q3I am a Hong Kong permanent resident planning to register my marriage with a Mainland resident in the Mainland. The Mainland authorities requested me to produce a Hong Kong Certificate of Absence of Marriage Record. What are the procedures involved for the application?
A3To apply for a certificate of absence of marriage record, you have to complete an application form and pay the prescribed fee for a search of marriage record.
If the search result shows that you have no marriage record in Hong Kong, you will be issued a certificate of absence of marriage record on payment of the prescribed fee. Otherwise, you will only be issued a letter of marriage record on which the date(s) of your previous marriage(s) will be indicated.
You can send your application in person, through an authorised representative or by post.
For information on the application for a certificate of absence of marriage record, please click on the following link:
https://www.gov.hk/en/residents/immigration/bdmreg/marriage/applyabsence.htmQ4I am a Hong Kong resident and my spouse is a Mainland resident. What procedures does my spouse need to go through to come to Hong Kong to visit relatives or travel?
A4Mainland residents who wish to visit their relatives or travel in Hong Kong are required to obtain an Exit-entry Permit for Travelling to and from Hong Kong and Macao with relevant endorsements issued by the relevant office of the Public Security Bureau. For information on the application for the Exit-entry Permit for Travelling to and from Hong Kong and Macao and the relevant endorsements, please contact the relevant offices of the Public Security Bureau.
Q5I am a Hong Kong permanent resident. After I marry a Mainland resident in the Mainland, how do I apply for my spouse to settle in Hong Kong?
A5According to Article 22 of the Basic Law, for entry into the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, people from other parts of China must apply for approval. Mainland residents who wish to settle in Hong Kong must apply for the Exit-entry Permit for Travelling to and from Hong Kong and Macao (also known as One-way Permits) from the office of the Exit-Entry Administration of the Public Security Bureau where their household registration is kept. The process and issue of One-way Permits are administered by Public Security Bureau in accordance with Mainland laws, policies and regulations. For details, please contact the office of the Public Security Bureau where your spouse's household registration is kept.
Q6I am a Hong Kong resident and my wife is a foreigner with a foreign passport. My wife would like to come from the Mainland with me and settle in Hong Kong. What are the procedures involved?
A6If you are a Hong Kong permanent resident or a Hong Kong resident who is not subject to a limit of stay (i.e. residents with the right to land or on unconditional stay), you can apply for a dependant visa for your foreign spouse to enter Hong Kong for residence. For details on the application of a dependant visa, please refer to the website of the Hong Kong Immigration Department:
https://www.immd.gov.hk/eng/services/visas/residence_as_dependant.htmlQ7I am a Hong Kong permanent resident who married a Mainland resident in the Mainland. We are planning to get divorced. What procedures do we have to go through in the Mainland?
A7If a Hong Kong resident and a Mainland resident decide to get divorced voluntarily, the two parties should register for divorce at the marriage registration authority of the place where the Mainland resident ordinarily resides and has a household registration. If one of the parties is petitioning for divorce, the Mainland authorities could conduct mediation or the said party could directly file suit to the People's Court for divorce. For details on the procedures of applying for divorce, please contact the relevant marriage registration authorities in the Mainland.