Marriage

Getting married in another country can be a wonderful occasion with much planning and anticipation beforehand. However, with it comes the bureaucracy of meeting the foreign government’s legal requirements.

If you are a UK citizen getting married outside of the UK you may be asked to provide documentation before the marriage can take place. One document that is often requested is to provide evidence that you are single. This can be done using several different documents and requests vary by country.

When getting married abroad you may be asked to provide legalised documents to an authority overseas. This often includes a birth certificate as proof of identity and documentation that proves you are single and not already married.

In addition, if you have been previously married you may need to provide evidence you are now divorced. This is normally the decree absolute from a UK court. Any name changes by deed poll may also need to be legalised.

Are you are planning to get married on a white sandy beach or another far away location? With so many things to plan it’s likely you have not considered which documents you may need to take with you. In addition to this, do the documents need to be legalised with the apostille?

Overseas authorities may request a variety of different documents before they will conduct your overseas marriage. Below we discuss the 5 most common documents we process for clients who are getting married abroad.

When making the decision to get married abroad, documentation - although not very exciting - is an essential part of the planning process. 

If you are planning on getting married outside of the UK you may be requested to provide a certificate of no impediment. This certificate is requested as evidence that you are allowed to marry. It is common practice and quite simple to acquire.