Overseas Chinese and foreigners wishing to go to China to marry Chinese citizens should be acknowledged that the legal marriage age in China is 22 and above for male, 20 and above for female according to the Chinese law, and bigamy is illegal.

Before going to China, the following documents should be prepared:
1． To make Statutory Declaration either in front of a registered solicitor or to a Notary Public including Name, Sex, Date and Place of birth, Nationality, Passport or ID card number, Occupation, Address and Marital status (never married, divorced or widowed).
2． To have the Declaration authenticated by the Legalization Office of Foreign and Commonwealth Office of U.K. and legalized finally by the Chinese Embassy or the Chinese Consulates-General. The documents are valid for 6 months since the date of legalization.
3． The above-mentioned documents can not be legalized on the some day by the Chinese Embassy or the Consulate-General in U.K. It will be done in 10 days. The fee is £12 per document. Express service takes 2-3 working days and the supplement charge is £15 per document. The applications can be made either in person or by post. The postal application takes 2 weeks and an extra £20 per package will be charged as the postal service fee and a self-address return envelope is required.
4． After entering China with the above said documents and a valid Chinese Visa, you should go together with your fiancée/fiancé, submit in person your marriage application to the marriage registration office of the local government above county level where the Chinese fiancée / fiancé resides and, have your health checked by a designated hospital. The marriage can be registered only after the application is ratified, and the Marriage Certificate is issued upon registration.

The Legalisation Office of the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office:
Old Admiralty Building, Whitehall, London SW1A 2LG.
Tel:020-7008-1111  Fax:020-7008-1010.  http://www.fco.gov.uk/legalisation

Consular Section of the Chinese Embaqssy in London:
31 Portland Place, London W1B 1QD
Tel: 020-72998427  (2:00p.m - 4:00pm)      Fax:  020-74369178
Office Hours: 9:00am-12:00pm  Monday to Friday  ( except holidays )  
Web Site: http://www.chinese-embassy.org.uk
Consular Section in Mancheste: 49 Denison Road, Rusholme, Manchester M14 5RX
Tel: 0161- 2248672                       Fax:0161-2572672
Consular Section in Edinburgh: 55 Corstorphine Road, Edinburgh EH12 5QJ
Tel: 0131-3373220 ( 3:30pm—4:30pm)       Fax: 0131-3371790