I am getting ready to buy an apartment and would appreciate some information. I am foreigner married to a Chinese. I was told it would make the paperwork a lot simpler if only my wife's name was used and that it is NOT necessary to have my name on the legal documents since in China, the apartment would be owned by the husband and wife regardless who's name is on it. Is this correct considering that I am a foreigner? Just in case I still want to have my name along with my wife's on all docs, what is the procedure now a days? When we went to the registry department (?) they said I had to have a Chinese name. I know I read on one of the older threads all I have to do is get my passport translated into Chinese, can I presume that this includes getting my name translation into Chinese.

You should use your legal name ie what is on your passport. I did that on my apartments title deeds. It's not a problem. If you are putting money into buying the apartment then have your name on the title deeds. In cases where two people own an apartment you should have both names on the title deeds.

Get your name on the deeds.
The family are advising her to protect her if the marriage fails.

All may be sweet now, but if you get divorced expect that they will grab all they can. This is normal here, it is not considered malicious.

Don't trust the family's lawyers either. Lawyer is not considered an honest profession in China.

you can have your english name on the property title deed and land title deed, they are separate doc, all document will have your thumbprints alongside your signatures anyway. i have tibetan friends who have title deeds in tibetan. so i would say, if i were told, do something or not doing something, against conventional 'wisdom', may make somthing simpler, that could be a flashing light on the panel so to speak.:-) i am married to a wonderful chinese if that make sense?

Don't make the mistake of not putting your name on the deed. After you're married to a Chinese national for 5 years and you want to get a 'resident visa' (green book), it is better to have property in your name so that they know you're not gonna leave anytime soon. I'm too married to a wonderful special Chinese national. Lucky me :-).

Concur with the above posters. The extra steps required to put the apartment under my own name amounted to about 30 more minutes than if it were a Chinese nationals name, and a visit to one extra office.

Just make sure you dont throw out your old passport when it expires, as the title doc will have the passport number on it.

good point about the passport number, I asked if they can update the number on my title and land use deeds, but if they do that they reset the clock on the timing of the sale,,and after 5 years since the previous sale your tax burden is very different,,so keep those old passports,,,

I might also add that in China the divorce issue is black and white. No exceptions. If the apartment was purchased by you Or your wife after the marriage date, the property is 50% each upon divorce. No matter who name is on the paper.

I would also add that the property may be put into the names of others (parents/kids) and this is normal. It is not uncommon for property to be in the name of other family member too.

Ensure that you are aware of, and agree with the presence of, all the names on the documents.

If you do not put your name on the docs, it is less likely that you will even see them, making the above more achievable without your consent.

Remember, you may not foresee your marriage failing, but many do. With a cultural notion of 'Love' we can lose sight of this. Chinese people are more pragmatic and economically aware in relationships.

I agree that you should have your name on the deed, but there are circumstance where it is easier to just have a Chinese citizen's name only on the deed.

If for example you only spend approx. 6 months of every 2 years in the country and your Chinese holdings represent less than 50% of your assets then when it comes time to sell property, it is a much simpler proposition since you don't have to make a special trip back to China to sign documents or plan well in advance and arrange authorisations for third parties to sell in your name while your back home.

If you should divorce then she would probably get the Chinese properties in any case.

Granted this is a very narrow set of circumstance and getting your name on the deed is a for the most part the best way to go.

This may be a bit off topic, but there is a interesting article in the Wall Street Journel about the future of apartments in China.

In China, a Move to Tiny Living Space - WSJ.com - At the research center of China's largest property developer, China Vanke is an apartment that measures 160 square feet, about the size of a parking space. The bed folds to make seating. The shower is a vertical tube by the front door.At a price of about 835 yuan ($133) a square foot, an apartment that size is relatively affordable at the yuan equivalent of $21,500, which is around six times per-capita disposable income for China's urban residents.
online.wsj.com/[...]