Legal Requirements for weddings Abroad
ITALY
Documentation;
An original full birth certificate must be provided.
A Consular Registration Certificate
Two separate Certificates of No-Impediment (this can be obtained from the Superintendent Registrar. The document should not be issued more than 3 months before the wedding date). Bare in mind it takes approximately 1 month to issue the certificate.
Decree Absolute (the final divorce paper, if applicable)
Death Certificate (if you are a widow or widower)
Change of Name Deed (required if you have changed your name)
Adoption certificate (if applicable)
The documents above have to be certified (legalised) by the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Legalisation Department.
Once the documents have been legalised they have to be translated into Greek. (see fees below)
Documents required for a religious ceremony also have to be translated into Greek, authenticated and the Official Translators signature legalised.
All documents upon translation and legalisation have to be sent forward to either the Registry Office, or the priest four weeks before your wedding day.
Allow enough time to organise your documents especially if they have to be sent by post.
Allow time for your marriage Banns to be posted in your local church or Town Hall prior to your wedding day.
Residency Requirements:
1 -Where both parties to the marriage are British nationals and living in Italy they will require residence in the Consular district for the 21 days immediately prior to giving the notice of marriage, and the posting of this notice of marriage in the Consulate for a further 21 clear days.
2 - Where both parties are British nationals and both are resident in the United Kingdom there is no requirement for a residency stay in Italy for getting married there. As long as they are there to do the necessary pre-wedding declaration (compulsory) for civil marriages. They should contact the Registrar, in the town where they wish to marry, in advance of your wedding day, for further information.
British nationals should first give notice of their Marriage, to the Superintending Registrar, in their local district, where they live in the UK. The couple will need to wait between 17 to 23 days whilst the banns are publicised. After which time provided there are no complications, the couple will be issued with a certificate of No Impediment.
This document along with your Basic Documents and the first five pages of their passport must be sent to the British Consulate in the Italian city where they wish to marry. Once the paperwork is with the Consulate it may only take up to a week to process.
A Nulla Osta is then issued which must be taken to the Anagrafe (Registry office) in order to book a date for the wedding (this applies to Rome). Some rural areas may allow a wedding date to be reserved and then finalised on presentation of the Nulla Osta.
Marriage Licenses: TBA
Blood Test: None
Civil Ceremony:
Civil Ceremonies are legally binding and will normally be performed in the local Register Office (Anagrafe) and last approximately 20 minutes. The ceremony will be conducted in Italian and the couple are legally obliged to have a legally recognised interpreter present throughout the ceremony, even if they are fluent in italian.
Religious Wedding Ceremony:
A Roman Catholic wedding is legally binding and recognised by the Italian authorities, because they contain a civil element within the service, therefore it will not be necessary to perform a separate civil ceremony. The ceremony will be performed in the local Roman Catholic Church.
First the couple have had to contact your local parish priest in the UK to help you prepare. It would be very unlikely that any catholic church in Rome would permit the marriage of non-catholics. At least on party has to be a baptised catholic.
There are however a number of churches that can perform the marriage ceremony in English.
Other religious ceremonies must be proceeded by a civil ceremony, otherwise the marriage will not be legally binding under Italian law. In such cases couples may wish to have a civil ceremony in the UK and have a blessing in Italy.
Fees and Charges:
Time should be allowed for your paperwork to be processed in Italy, in case there are any complications.
Marriage Certificates:
Once the ceremony has been performed a Marriage Certificate is issued. This must be produced at the Consular Officer in the town where the marriage was performed with a certified copy of the marriage certificate, having been duly authenticated by the local authority. A translation of the marriage certificate in English must also be provided.
The document can then be forwarded on your request to the General Registrar Office in the UK. The marriage will not be registered in the UK, the marriage certificate will merely be deposited for their records, and consequently the original marriage certificate will not be returned. This in no way makes your marriage invalid. Should a marriage certificate be required at any time the General Register Office can issue you with a certificate.
Fees Required: The processing of your documents is subject to consular fees.
Legality: Civil Ceremonies and religious ceremonies are legally binding.
Flowers: Fresh flowers cannot be flown in from abroad due to customs regulations. Silk or artificial flowers are permitted.
Foreign Pesters, Priests, Vicars, JP's: Only officials registered in the Cyprus can perform the ceremony.
Related Links:
www.bycassini.com (italian weddings)