Getting a divorce in China means choosing between two routes: an administrative divorce at the Civil Affairs Bureau, available only when both spouses agree on everything, or a litigated divorce through the People’s Court when they don’t. The system changed meaningfully on January 1, 2021, when the Civil Code of the People’s Republic of China took effect and attached a mandatory 30-day cooling-off period to every consensual divorce.1Gov.cn. Civil Code of the People’s Republic of China Which path fits depends on whether you and your spouse agree on the divorce itself and on every issue tied to it: children, property, and debts.
Administrative Divorce by Mutual Consent
If both spouses want to divorce and can settle every issue between them, they can register the divorce at the local Civil Affairs Bureau without ever going to court. Article 1076 of the Civil Code requires a signed written agreement covering three things: the intention to divorce, arrangements for any children, and how to handle property and debts.
Both spouses must appear at the marriage registration office in person. No proxy, no power of attorney, no remote filing.2Government of China. Divorce Registration in China That requirement is what makes the administrative route impractical for many couples where one spouse lives abroad.
Once the application is submitted, Article 1077 imposes the 30-day cooling-off period. During those 30 days, either spouse can withdraw the application unilaterally. No reason required, no consent from the other side. If no one withdraws, both spouses must return to the bureau together within a second 30-day window to collect their divorce certificates. Miss that second window and the application is treated as withdrawn. You start over.
The cooling-off period applies only to administrative divorces. Court cases are not subject to it.
Litigated Divorce Through the People’s Court
When one spouse wants out and the other doesn’t, or when the couple can’t agree on custody, property, or debts, the only option is to file a lawsuit in the People’s Court. The court will grant a divorce only if it finds that the marriage has irretrievably broken down and that mediation has failed.
Legal Grounds
Article 1079 of the Civil Code lists five circumstances where breakdown is presumed:3National People’s Congress of the People’s Republic of China. Civil Code of the People’s Republic of China
- Bigamy or cohabitation with another person.
- Domestic violence, maltreatment, or desertion of a spouse or other family member.
- Persistent gambling or drug abuse despite repeated warnings.
- Separation of at least two continuous years because the relationship broke down.
- Other circumstances showing the marriage is beyond repair.
If one spouse has been declared a missing person, the court will grant the divorce automatically. Outside these categories, judges have broad discretion, and Chinese courts are often reluctant to grant a divorce on the first petition, especially when only one spouse wants it.
Mediation, Timing, and Fees
The plaintiff files a petition and pays a filing fee. For cases where the disputed property totals less than 200,000 yuan, the fee typically falls between 50 and 300 yuan, with an additional 0.5 percent charged on property above that threshold.
Before any trial, the court must attempt mediation. Article 9 of the Civil Procedure Law requires it.4Supreme People’s Court of the People’s Republic of China. Civil Procedure Law of the People’s Republic of China If the spouses reconcile or reach a settlement, the court issues a mediation statement with the same legal force as a judgment. If mediation fails, the case moves to trial and the judge issues a civil judgment on the divorce, custody, property division, and financial obligations. Standard cases take about three to six months from filing to judgment.
The Six-Month Refiling Rule and the One-Year Safety Valve
If the court denies the petition, the plaintiff generally cannot file again for six months. That reset catches many people off guard. The Civil Code added a meaningful counterweight: if the court denies a divorce and the spouses then remain separated for one full year after the judgment, the court must grant the divorce when the plaintiff refiles.3National People’s Congress of the People’s Republic of China. Civil Code of the People’s Republic of China That shifts the earlier practice: a determined spouse will eventually succeed without proving fault, though the full path can take well over a year.
Representation for Foreign Spouses
A foreign spouse in a litigated divorce does not have to appear in court personally. The Ministry of Justice allows a specially authorized agent to participate in hearings, provided the power of attorney has been notarized by a Chinese notary or authenticated by a Chinese embassy or consulate abroad.5Ministry of Justice of the People’s Republic of China. In a Foreign-Related Divorce by Litigation, How Does a Foreign Party Entrust an Agent That is a sharp contrast with the administrative route, where both spouses must show up in person.
How Property Is Divided
Chinese law separates marital property from separate property. Marital property includes wages, bonuses, business and investment income, returns from intellectual property, and most property inherited or gifted during the marriage. Separate property includes anything owned before the marriage, personal injury compensation, property specifically designated to one spouse by a will or gift contract, and everyday personal items.
Spouses first try to divide marital property by agreement. If they cannot, the court decides, guided by three priorities set out in Article 1087 of the Civil Code: protecting the children’s interests, favoring the wife, and favoring the spouse who was not at fault for the marriage’s breakdown. That triple weighting often produces a division that is not a clean 50-50 split, particularly where domestic violence or infidelity caused the end of the marriage.
Real estate is usually the most contested asset. A home bought before the marriage with one spouse’s funds generally stays that spouse’s separate property, even if the other spouse contributed to mortgage payments during the marriage. The contributing spouse may be entitled to reimbursement, not an ownership share. Property purchased during the marriage is presumed jointly owned regardless of whose name appears on the title.
Child Custody and Support
Custody follows an age-based framework. Children under two are placed with the mother in most circumstances. For children between two and eight, parents can agree on custody; if they cannot, the court decides based on the child’s best interests, weighing each parent’s living conditions, financial stability, and relationship with the child. Once a child turns eight, the court must consider the child’s own preference.
The non-custodial parent typically pays child support of 20 to 30 percent of gross monthly income. A parent supporting two or more children may pay up to 50 percent. For parents without a fixed income, the court bases the obligation on average annual earnings or the local cost of living. These percentages come from Supreme People’s Court judicial interpretations and function as guidelines; judges adjust based on the child’s actual needs and each parent’s financial capacity.
Fault Compensation and Housework Claims
The Civil Code gives the innocent spouse two financial remedies beyond the standard property division.
Article 1091 lets a no-fault spouse claim compensation when the divorce was caused by bigamy, cohabitation with another person, domestic violence, maltreatment, desertion, or other serious misconduct. The amount is not fixed by statute; the court sets it based on the severity of the conduct and the harm caused. These claims require evidence. A paper trail built during the marriage — police reports, medical records, witness statements — matters enormously.
Article 1088 covers what amounts to housework compensation. A spouse who shouldered more than their share of raising children, caring for elderly relatives, or supporting the other spouse’s career can claim compensation at divorce. Before the 2021 Civil Code, this remedy was available only if the couple had agreed to keep property separate, a rare arrangement. It now applies regardless of the property regime, a real expansion of protection for stay-at-home spouses.
Documents You Need
The documents required depend on the route and whether either spouse is a foreign national.
For an administrative divorce, Chinese citizens bring their household registration booklet, national ID card, original marriage certificate, two recent passport-sized photos, and the signed divorce agreement. Foreign nationals and overseas Chinese must present a valid passport or travel document, the original marriage certificate, and the signed divorce agreement.2Government of China. Divorce Registration in China Residents of Hong Kong, Macao, or Taiwan also need a valid exit-entry permit and identity card.
For a litigated divorce, the plaintiff submits a written petition, copies of identity documents, the marriage certificate, evidence supporting the claimed grounds, and documentation of property, debts, and children. Foreign-language documents need certified Chinese translations. Documents issued abroad generally need to be notarized and authenticated, though China’s accession to the Apostille Convention in November 2023 has simplified that step for documents from other member countries.6HCCH. Apostille Convention Enters Into Force for the People’s Republic of China
Jurisdiction and Applicable Law for International Couples
Chinese courts handle foreign-related divorce cases when they have a sufficient connection to the dispute. The most common basis is that at least one spouse has an established habitual residence in China, which Chinese procedural law defines as continuous residence in a location for at least one year before the case is filed.7Shanghai High People’s Court. Interpretation of the Supreme People’s Court on the Application of the Civil Procedure Law
The Law on the Choice of Law for Foreign-Related Civil Relations governs which country’s law applies once a Chinese court accepts jurisdiction.8Supreme People’s Court of the People’s Republic of China. Law of the People’s Republic of China on the Law Applicable to Foreign-Related Civil Relationships In most cases, the court applies the law of the spouses’ common habitual residence. If the spouses live in different countries, the court typically applies the law of the country where the petition was filed. Foreign nationals married in China can generally file for divorce there even if neither spouse still lives in the country, though these cases are often handled more practically where the couple actually resides.
International Child Custody Risk
Mainland China is not a party to the 1980 Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction. Hong Kong and Macau have separate memberships. There are also no bilateral treaties between China and the United States addressing international parental child abduction. The practical consequence is severe. If one parent takes a child to mainland China after a divorce, the other parent has no treaty-based mechanism to secure the child’s return. Chinese courts are under no obligation to enforce a foreign custody order, and pursuing the matter through Chinese litigation is expensive, slow, and uncertain.
Couples with children connected to both China and another country should address this directly in the custody agreement. Provisions restricting international travel without both parents’ consent, requiring surrender of passports, or requiring a bond offer some protection, though enforcement after the fact remains difficult without treaty cooperation.
Using a Chinese Divorce in the United States
A Chinese divorce is not automatically recognized in the United States. U.S. states generally recognize foreign divorce decrees under principles of comity, but only if the foreign court had proper jurisdiction and the proceedings met basic standards of due process. An administrative divorce from the Civil Affairs Bureau is typically recognized, as is a court judgment, but the party seeking recognition may need to authenticate the Chinese divorce certificate for use with U.S. agencies and courts.
Authentication
Since China’s accession to the Apostille Convention on November 7, 2023, Chinese public documents, including divorce certificates, no longer require the old multi-step consular legalization process for use in other member countries.6HCCH. Apostille Convention Enters Into Force for the People’s Republic of China An apostille from the appropriate Chinese authority is now sufficient. The certificate and any supporting court documents will also need a certified English translation for U.S. courts and agencies.
Immigration Consequences
Divorce can upend a non-citizen spouse’s U.S. immigration status. A dependent visa holder, such as someone on an H-4 tied to a spouse’s H-1B, loses status when the divorce is finalized, because the right to remain derived entirely from the marriage.
Conditional permanent residents, who received a green card based on a marriage less than two years old at approval, face a different problem. They must file Form I-751 to remove the conditions on their residence, normally as a joint petition with their spouse. After a divorce, the non-citizen spouse can file the I-751 alone using a waiver, but must show that the marriage was entered into in good faith and was not a sham to obtain immigration benefits.9USCIS. Chapter 5 – Waiver of Joint Filing Requirement USCIS reviews evidence including shared finances, cohabitation history, children born during the marriage, and the overall trajectory of the relationship. USCIS does not care who initiated the divorce; the waiver applicant does not need to prove they were not at fault for the breakup.
The I-751 must be filed within the 90-day window before the conditional resident card expires. If the divorce isn’t final by then, USCIS will typically issue a request for evidence and allow additional time to submit the final decree.
Alimony Taxation
For any divorce or separation agreement executed after December 31, 2018, alimony payments are not deductible by the payer and are not taxable income for the recipient under U.S. federal tax law.10IRS. Topic No. 452, Alimony and Separate Maintenance That rule applies whether the alimony was ordered by a Chinese court or a U.S. court. What matters is when the agreement was signed or the order issued, not when payments begin.