More civil celebrants of marriages appointed
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    The Immigration Department today (December 22) announced the appointment of another 26 civil celebrants of marriages.

     This brings the number of civil celebrants to 1,097 since the appointment of the first batch on April 21, 2006.

     A department spokesman said the Civil Celebrants of Marriages Scheme had been well received by people because it gave them more choices and greater convenience in making arrangements for their weddings. From April to late November, about 8,500 couples had filed their marriage notice through civil celebrants and more than 6,000 couples had their marriage celebrated by civil celebrants. December is normally one of the peak months for marriages and indications are that more couples have chosen the last month of the year to have their marriages celebrated by civil celebrants.

     The Registrar of Marriages has issued an "Information Leaflet for the Marrying Parties" which provides the necessary steps and points to note in selection of civil celebrants to celebrate marriages. The information leaflet and the updated list of civil celebrants can be viewed at the Immigration Department website at http://www.immd.gov.hk. They are also available at the Information and Liaison Section of the Immigration Department, 2nd Floor, Immigration Tower, 7 Gloucester Road, Wan Chai (Tel. No. 2824 6111) and at various marriage registries.

Ends/Friday, December 22, 2006
Issued at HKT 09:54

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