China to pilot cross-regional marriage registration as migrant population rises

China will pilot an inter-provincial marriage registration policy to save its growing migrant population from returning to their hometown to register their marriage.

The pilot program will be first introduced in Liaoning, Shandong, Guangdong, Chongqing and Sichuan, among other provincial-level regions, running from June 1, 2021 to May 31, 2023, the Ministry of Civil Affairs announced on Wednesday.

Under China's current regulations, marriages must be registered at a marriage registry located in the place of household registration of the bride or groom.

The new policy will enable people living outside their place of household registration to register their marriage in the pilot areas where they have resided for a continuous period of at least half a year, the ministry said.