My wife moved her Hukou in 2014 because going to school was getting to be a pain for us because the school continually asked her for some document or stamp from her hometown. Moving a Hukou is a fairly simple and quick process (less than 30 days) but it does require some research.
I have no idea how married couples who have children settle this Hukou issue when they have children born in Yunnan but their wife is from another province.
www.gokunming.com/en/forums/thread/11967/child_permit
We were able to move her Hukou by purchasing a home here in Kunming. We got a very small house so we did not have to get a bank loan which would have delayed her getting her Hukou (Paid cash).
However, there are some restrictions so one should inquire before making any purchases.
1 - Some properties are considered commercial and not residential. You can not move a Hukou if you purchase a commercial house/apartment (Regardless of size).
2 - Also, the house/apartment must be of a certain size. Rules change but at the time we purchased our house, the law was that if the property is less than 40 sq meters you can not move the Hukou.
3 – After a Hukou is moved, there is a waiting period (1 -3 years) before being able to enroll in some schools/universities.
Here are some terms to research and learn before buying a house.
1 - Hua Bo - 划拨 – Transfer.
2 - Chu Rang - 出让 - To Sell.
3 - Shang Ye Fang - 商业房 – Commercial.
4 - Zhu Zhai - 住宅 – Residential.
Yes this hukou thing is a hassle though some changes were made in the laws for Chinese people this year. For example kids with hukou issues have opportunities for education now. but the information is complicated and i understand some places are not aware the laws have even changed, but there was a link the shanghaiist about this.
since my wife's hukou is Shanghai we do not want to change it as she has better options for herself life wise with that hukou.
The law has actually changed for buying property now and we got a 2nd apartment here in KM -though her hukou is SH- without having to change hukous or having someone else put the place in their name. That is good. I changed a little over a year ago. And we have paper work for the paperwork done for making her a temporary KM citizen (without changing hukou), but it is in Shanghai! They can't transfer it or anything. And as you said it does not take one afternoon to do, it takes like a month or more. it is a lot of trouble.
In the end we may just do my spousal visa in shanghai since we go back there sometimes anyway. i believe there is a five year option now too and it can be gotten in Sh easier. will find out, but I was so happy to be given a 2 year visa last time with no problems. the guy just gave it to me. again, good thing.
Another advantage of moving a Hukou:
When we visited Hong Kong 2 years ago (Previous Hukou) my wife could only visit if she was part of a tour group. With her new Kunming Hukou we can now travel on our own in Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan.
