Beijing decentralizes foreign marriage registration to lower departments  

北京涉外婚登權限下放區縣 下月婚登信息聯網法院

昨天，北京市民政局發布消息稱，為進一步簡政放權，本月25日起，本市范圍內涉外、涉華僑、涉港澳臺婚姻登記(以下簡稱涉外婚姻登記)權限將下放至區縣婚姻登記部門，市民可選擇就近區縣辦理，市民政局將不再辦理婚姻登記。[查看全文]

(ECNS) -- Beijing residents with other halves originating from outside China can register their marriages at local district or county departments from September 25, Beijing Times reported.

The municipal Civil Affairs Bureau on Wednesday announced it would no longer conduct marriage registration, with 16 local district and county departments set to take over the work.

The bureau has issued 29,000 foreign-related marriage certificates since 1982. Wu Pei, a division chief at the bureau, said it had experienced around 1,200 marriages and 160 cases of divorce annually in recent years.

Of all foreign partners, Americans, Canadians and Australians rank as the top three groups in terms of population statistics, according to Beijing Morning Post.

Among Beijing residents, most are settled in Dongcheng, Xicheng, Chaoyang, Haidain and Fegntai districts.

Besides, courts in Beijing are expected to share information on divorce cases with civil affairs departments by October. Analysts say the move could help authorities crack down on bigamy and marital fraud.

In China, divorce can be granted by civil affairs departments and courts.