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Q: What's the deal with the mandatory health checks for Chinese couples getting married?
I thought we had it bad but apparantly Chinese couples who plant to get married have to get an official health check done first. Does this apply to cross-cultural couples too? What happens when they find out that one of the spouses has an illness or whatever, will they then not be allowed to get married?
10 years 43 weeks ago in Family & Kids - China
I never had to get a health check. It was ridiculously easy (for China). We just went to the office (in Zhenzhou) with the appropriate documents, signed the papers and we were married. No medical checks.
Scandinavian:
what kind of visa where you on, when I got married I was on a business visa which does not require a health check to get
It applies to cross cultural couples too.
It is a far less thorough medical check than that required for a visa based on the marriage document.
I would guess, as the purpose of marriage in China is not always love, such rules are in place to make sure that the couple can produce offspring (the purpose of marriage) Nothing relating to reproduction is checked though. It feels a bit like at a second hand car dealer, putting a car on the lift to see if the undercarriage is rotten before making a deal.
Cannot comment on what happens if people have an ailment. I a healthy as <insert animal your culture considers healthy> and the wife is too.
I never had to get a health check. It was ridiculously easy (for China). We just went to the office (in Zhenzhou) with the appropriate documents, signed the papers and we were married. No medical checks.
Scandinavian:
what kind of visa where you on, when I got married I was on a business visa which does not require a health check to get
We just rocked up to the office with the ID and within seconds it was done.
no medical needed. However, I was informed that to get the multiple certificates that you need to get a baby hukou (missus is preggers) I might have to get a body check.
Turns out that was rubbish but Chinese couples have to get it.
Don't know if health checks are mandatory in other countries, but in some European countries, it is advisable to check genetic codes & blood types of future parents to ensure there is no incompatibility when conceiving a child. Apparently, certain codes and types don't mix well thus producing ill-conceived offspring with birth defects such as Down Syndrome and the like. Dunno. Never been in the situation.
angelina8:
I was in a situation like this. I'm Rh negative and had a Chinese boyfriend. Told my boyfriend about this and he checked his blood. He is positive just like most other Chinese people. When he went to check his blood, someone working at the hospital told him that we might not have any children together. This is ignorance. My mother is negative, my father is positive and me and my younger brother are both negative and healthy.
Nevertheless, he was stupid enough to discuss this issue with his parents. He was born in 1981 and comes from a very patriarchal part of China, Chaoshan, so he opened the Pandora's box and, well, we are not together now.
Scandinavian:
@angelina. it is sad how some peoples lives are governed by ignorance and superstition. If the discussion with his parents was a deciding factor, then he was probably so much a mammas boy that you are best of without him.
angelina8:
He didn't have the courage to stay with me. Maybe it's better that we separated.
Red_Fox:
@angelina8: You hit the nail on the head. Courage. You either got it or you don't. I think some people are born with it (thanks to their genes) and others learn it (thanks to their environment and upbringing). But, by golly, courage is a noble attribute and if you can stand up and take an unwavering position based on your convictions and beliefs in the face of adversary, then you have courage. It's what separates the men from the boys.
chinese or one chinese one forigen needs a health check but tw
o forigners do not
.
They used to do this in the US about 20 years ago. Mainly it was just a blood check to make sure they were compatible for breeding.
I didn't have to get a health check when I got married to my Chinese husband. This is all complete news to me! To the people above who said that it is mandatory, where did you hear this? Could it be that rules differ depending on what country you're from?
I think for Chinese it's to make sure they're not related
Hotwater:
Only a DNA test would show that! Silly comment on an old topic.
Eorthisio:
Chinese don't know a thing about modern medicine anyway, certainly not anything involving DNA. And yes that includes Chinese doctors.
As far as I concern, there is no compulsory health check prior to marry in any province or city in China.
But there is a half day marriage seminar to attend before registration in Fujian Province.
42% of Chinese have Hepatitis B. No joke, sad but true overly thin women are a key sign.
My guess is it's just a way to get more money out of a foreigner. Mandatory. Sure it is.
one doesn't have to do the health check, it's just recommended.
In theory you are not suppose to have sex before marriage, so if you know the person you are getting married with is HIV positive, it's not too late to change your mind.
But I guess, this is just theoretical.
In reality, if the person you are getting married with is HIV positive...it's not too late to prepare for the funeral for both and get a discount.
