{"id":925,"date":"2021-06-28T17:00:25","date_gmt":"2021-06-28T09:00:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/devwp.visibleone.io\/p136\/?p=925"},"modified":"2021-06-29T17:48:34","modified_gmt":"2021-06-29T09:48:34","slug":"an-overview","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/familyclic.hk\/en\/topics\/matrimonial-matters\/marriage-and-co-habitant-issues\/an-overview\/","title":{"rendered":"An overview"},"content":{"rendered":"

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I. An overview<\/h1>\n

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The right to marry is a constitutional right provided by\u00a0Article 37<\/a>\u00a0of the\u00a0Basic Law<\/a>\u00a0which states that “the freedom of marriage of Hong Kong residents and their right to raise a family freely shall be protected by law”.<\/p>\n

The minimum age for marriage in Hong Kong is 16. However, if either party is over 16, but still under 21, and is not a widow or widower, written consent to the marriage is required. Although the written consent is usually provided by a parent or guardian (\u00a0section 14<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Schedule 3<\/a>\u00a0of the\u00a0Marriage Ordinance<\/a>\u00a0(\u201cMO\u201d),\u00a0Cap. 181<\/a>\u00a0), a judge may also give permission if there is no one more appropriate available (\u00a0section 18A<\/a>\u00a0of the\u00a0MO<\/a>\u00a0).<\/p>\n

Parties are free to marry whoever they choose as long as they are both single at the time of the marriage and of the opposite sex. Therefore, someone may divorce his\/her spouse, and then marry another single opposite sex party, or even at some time later remarry his or her original spouse.<\/p>\n

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[et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”3.22″][et_pb_row _builder_version=”3.25″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”3.25″ custom_padding=”|||” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_text admin_label=”An overview” module_class=”posttitle” _builder_version=”4.9.7″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” hover_enabled=”0″ sticky_enabled=”0″] I. An overview [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.9.7″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” hover_enabled=”0″ sticky_enabled=”0″] The right to marry is a constitutional right provided by\u00a0Article 37\u00a0of the\u00a0Basic Law\u00a0which states that “the freedom of marriage of Hong Kong residents and their […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":"

Adoption is a legal process by which parental rights and responsibilities over a child are transferred from the birth parents to the adoptive parents. An adoption in Hong Kong must be effected in accordance with the Adoption Ordinance , Cap. 290<\/a> , Laws of Hong Kong. The guiding principle in the adoption process is the \u201cbest interests of the child\u201d ( section 8<\/a> of the Adoption Ordinance<\/a> ).<\/p>

Local adoption service in Hong Kong is provided by the Adoption Unit of the Social Welfare Department and three non-governmental organizations, as Accredited Bodies:<\/p>