Marriage in Hong Kong

A marriage celebrated in Hong Kong or Macau under the local law is ex officio recognized in Belgium. Each of the spouses must meet the conditions to marry set by his/her national law.

RESGISTRATION OF MARRIAGE – Updating civil status in the National Register

The Consulate General in Hong Kong can register your marriage in the Belgian National Register if you are a resident in Hong Kong or Macau and you are registered in the popular registers of the Consulate General.

In order to update your civil state in the Belgian National Register, you will need the following documents:

1. A recent copy of your marriage certificate
2. An apostille for legalisation of the document for use in the Belgian administration (Click here for information about apostille)
3. Translation of the marriage certificate + apostille in one of the Belgian national languages by a sworn translator (click here for the list of translators)
4. For a marriage certificate issued in Macau: translation of the act and the apostille to Dutch, French or German by a sworn translator.

TRANSCRIPTION OF MARRIAGE CERTIFICATE IN BELGIUM

In accordance with art. 48 Civil Code, foreign civil status certificates of Belgian nationals can be transcribed into the Civil Status Registers in Belgium. It is strongly advised to do so. This transcription will allow you to easily obtain copies or extracts of the certificate from the relevant Belgian municipality in the future. Without transcription of the marriage certificate you will need to contact the authorities in Hong Kong or Macau whenever you need to obtain an extract of the act, and each time the extract needs an apostille. 

Please note that documents used to transcribe your certificate in the Civil Status Registers need to be submitted within 6 months after the issue date. The extract will need to hold the required legalizations and a translation.

The Consulate General does not interfere in the transcription of the marriage act in Belgium. Foreign civil status certificates can be transcribed into the civil status register of the Belgian municipality where you are domiciled, or where you first lived after your return to Belgium. If you are neither domiciled nor resident in Belgium, the certificate can be transcribed in that order into the civil status register of (in order of preference):   

1. your last domicile in Belgium
2. the domicile of your relatives in the ascending line (parents or grandparents)
3. the municipality of your birthplace in Belgium
4. the City of Brussels.

Documents to submit in the relevant municipality:

1. Copy of the marriage certificate. This is the same document you used to register your civil status change at the Consulate General.
2. Apostille, to legalise the document for use in Belgium.
3. Translation: the municipality in Belgium will request a translation of the legalized extract into Dutch, French or German, depending on the language of the Belgian municipality where the certificate is to be transcribed. We strongly advise you to enquire about the regulations of the translation in the municipality where you will be transcribing your certificate, as some communes will only accept translations done in Belgium.

If you wish to apply for a marriage booklet, you need to do so with the commune where your marriage certificate was transcribed.