Beijing decentralizes foreign marriage registration to lower departments  

北京涉外婚登权限下放区县 下月婚登信息联网法院

昨天，北京市民政局发布消息称，为进一步简政放权，本月25日起，本市范围内涉外、涉华侨、涉港澳台婚姻登记(以下简称涉外婚姻登记)权限将下放至区县婚姻登记部门，市民可选择就近区县办理，市民政局将不再办理婚姻登记。[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.