5 Golden Rules for Foreigners' Marriage Plan in Hong Kong during COVID-19

(updated in October 2021)

As the COVID-19 situation got better around the world recently, we have noticed a trend where people are excited about getting married abroad again and obviously Hong Kong is one of the most popular wedding destinations for its minimal requirements and wide recognition. In recent months, there have been many foreigner couples enquiring about the possibilities of getting married in Hong Kong in time of COVID-19. We have summed up the following 5 rules for foreigner couples who are planning their wedding in Hong Kong during the pandemic:

1. Have the rules of foreigners getting married in Hong Kong been changed during COVID-19?

No, there is in fact no change for the marriage policy and wedding applications of foreigners are being accepted during the pandemic. You are allowed to register your marriage in Hong Kong regardless of your nationality or religion as always! For the general marriage requirements for foreigners, please go to this page.

2. Are there any travelling restrictions and do they matter?

Similar to quite a number of other places, the Hong Kong government has implemented various control measures for inbound travellers to prevent the importation of COVID-19 cases. These measures include quarantine (e.g. 7-day / 14-day etc.) and document requirements (e.g. negative test result proof) depending on your locations as well as situations. In some scenarios, the travellers can undergo quarantine at home or other accommodation, while some are required to do so at a designated quarantine hotel.

When planning your wedding in Hong Kong, it is important to be well aware of these requirements because this could affect your arrival date and your period of stay in Hong Kong in order to complete all necessary wedding formalities in Hong Kong. For example, when compulsory quarantine is needed, you will have to complete the quarantine period before going to the marriage office or registry for your wedding process. So it is very important to plan your wedding schedule carefully to comply with the requirements.

3. What if you haven't been vaccinated?

Basically, it is not a must to get vaccinated in order to get married in Hong Kong. The rule is that part of the traveling restrictions can be exempted if the inbound travelers have been fully vaccinated. For example, for foreigners residing in Mainland China, Macao or Taiwan, fully vaccinated travellers can shorten the compulsory quarantine period from 14 days to 7 days under some conditions. Generally speaking, the overall travelling requirements will be less strict for those who have been fully vaccinated.

4. Where can you find a reliable source of information?

There is a wide range of information online about the latest COVID situation as well as traveling requirements in Hong Kong. As you may have already found out during your research, some information may be ambiguous, inconsistent or even contrary to each other at some points. Moreover, the quarantine and travel documents requirements are changing from time to time depending on the prevailing COVID-19 situations around the world. So our rule here is to stick with official channels for important information, getting access to reliable and accurate sources of information will be important in devising your wedding plan in Hong Kong.

Below are some official websites of the Hong Kong about COVID-19 we used to make reference to:

COVID-19 news published by Information Service Department

Official HKSAR Government Website for COVID-19

Centre for Health Protection Website

Hong Kong International Airport Website for COVID-19

5. What is the best way to plan your marriage in Hong Kong during COVID-19?

We do understand it is so difficult to plan your wedding in Hong Kong due to the countless uncertainties during COVID-19. From preparing the application documents to deciding the wedding dates and from taking leave from work to fixing the travelling schedule, it really takes a lot of work for the whole planning and nothing comes easy. In addition, the travelling and quarantine requirements can be changed by the government anytime, which makes the whole planning even more difficult.

From our hands-on experience in handling the wedding application of our clients in the time of COVID-19, the best way to deal with the great uncertainties is making a “fast and flexible” plan. A fast plan means that we have to act fast to get all required paperwork ready so that a wedding application can be filed quickly once the situation allows the wedding plan to proceed. At the same time, the plan should be flexible enough to prepare for any unexpected changes to arise. For example, since every wedding application will expire in 3 months, we will direct our clients to prepare their documents and file the application at the right time so that they do not have to prepare the whole application all over again after expiry, resulting in unnecessary extra time and cost for the wedding process. Therefore, staying fast and flexible will be the main factors for the success of planning your marriage in Hong Kong during COVID-19.

Have questions about your wedding plan in Hong Kong?

If you have any queries about planning a marriage in Hong Kong, feel free to email us or leave your question at the side bar (scroll below if you are viewing on mobile). We will revert to you in 24 hours!

5 golden rules for foreigners’ marriage plan in Hong Kong during COVID-19