Paperwork for Canadian citiziens to get married in Italy

Paperwork for Canadian citiziens to get married in Italy

Paperwork to get married in Italy

Once you decide to get married in Italy and especially where, you need to be informed about paperwork if you choose to have a legally binding wedding ! For the couples who book my Full-Service Wedding Planning I take care of the paperwork procedure together with my legal advisor who is specilized in legal weddings for foreign couples in Italy.

Please consult the Government of Canada website:

https://www.canadainternational.gc.ca/italy-italie/consular_services_consulaires/marriage-mariage.aspx?lang=eng

Here’s a summary of the paperwork procedure for a legal wedding in Italy.

Documents required for Canadian citizens to marry in Italy:

• The Nulla Osta: A Canadian citizen intending to get married in Italy will need to make a Sworn Declaration (Nulla Osta). The Government of Canada does not issue “Nulla Osta”, but in order to assist Canadians to meet the Italian requirements, the Embassy of Canada issues a declaration containing the relevant information. Requests for the declaration can be made by mail or in person, by appointment. The delivery service standards are 5 business days from the time they receive a complete application.
• Marriage Affidavit: to obtain the Nulla Osta from the Embassy of Rome, you must first complete and swear an affidavit to the effect that there is no impediment to the proposed marriage. You may swear the affidavit in Canada, at the Embassy in Rome or at one of the Consulates in Canada,  or at another Government of Canada Office abroad. Then, the affidavit and the documents listed below must be sent or brought, by appointment, to the Embassy of Canada in Rome.

The Other documents to get married in Italy:

1. Certified true copy your valid Canadian passport
2. Proof of Canadian Citizenship
3. Original or certified true copy of a marriage record search issued by the Vital Statistics office of each Canadian Province and/or Territory where he/she resided since reaching the age of 16; each search mustcover the entire period during which the person has resided in that Province or Territory
4. Original or certified copy of the applicant’s final divorce certificate or decree(if divorced)
5. Original or certified copy of a deceased spouse’s death certificate(if widowed)
6. Certified copy of the fiancé(e)’s valid passport
7. Copy of the consular processing fee payment receipt, or payment in person by MasterCard or Visa
8. Mailing/pick-up instructions(mailing is done by registered post to a foreign or Italian address at no additional cost)

IMPORTANT NOTE: If you and your fiancé(e) are both Canadian citizens, you will each need to swear an affidavit, and each obtain a declaration from the Embassy of Canada. Please consider that fees will, therefore, also be doubled.

The civil marriage ceremony in Italy.

After obtaining the Nulla Osta, 3 STEPS:

1. Present the declaration to the competent “Prefettura – Ufficio Legalizzazioni” (provincial authority) to be formally authenticated.
2. After it has been authenticated, you must present it to the Marriage Office (Town Hall) of the Municipality in Italy. Banns are waived if neither party is Italian nor residing in Italy.
3. The Municipal authorities will request the couple to return (usually in 2 or 3 days) with 2 witnesses PLUS an interpreter (if one or both parties are not familiar with the Italian language) to execute a declaration before the “Ufficiale dello Stato Civile” (Registrar of Vital Statistics) of the Municipality. Arrangements are then concluded and a date is scheduled for the civil marriage ceremony. Two witnesses PLUS an interpreter (if necessary) must be present at the civil marriage ceremony.

IMPORTANT NOTES:

• The date for a civil marriage ceremony will be scheduled after the above-mentioned declaration has been executed by the couple. The waiting period (from the date the required documents are presented to the marriage office to the date of the civil marriage ceremony) may vary depending on the season of the year and on the number of requests received by the Town Hall.
• Some municipalities requires a marriage fees for non-residents.
• Please note: if the woman has been divorced and want to get remarried in Italy, she must wait a period of 300 days since the Official Decree before remarrying. Otherwise if she wants to get married before she must obtain a waiver (upon presentation of medical evidence that she is not pregnant ) from the Italian District Attorney’s Office at the court in the city where the new marriage will be performed. Depending on the locality, this requirement may no longer be applied. You are advised to check with the Town Hall where you wish to marry.
• Marriages that are legally performed in a foreign country are usually valid in Canada, and you do not need to register them in Canada. If you have questions about the validity of your foreign marriage, contact the Vital Statistics Office of your province or territory.
• Ask the Town Hall where the marriage will take place several copies of the marriage certificate in multilingual format before leaving Italy. For this certificate to be recognized in Canada, take it to the Prefettura to authenticate the signature of the officier and then send it to the Embassy of Canada in Rome for authentication.

The religious ceremony.

• Roman-Catholic
  In the case of a religious marriage ceremony to be performed at a Roman-Catholic Church, you must present the declaration issued by the Embassy, duly legalized by the competent Prefettura, to the Parish priest in Italy, in addition to all documents required by the Church. The Parish priest will arrange for the registration of the religious marriage with the competent Italian Vital Statistics authorities. The marriage must be so registered in order to have civil value in Italy.
• Non Roman-Catholic
  Marriages performed at non-Roman Catholic houses of worship require a civil ceremony as well. It is suggested that you contact the religious leader as early as possible to obtain appropriate information.

HOW IS A LEGAL WEDDING PERFORMED  IN ITALY?

Click to read the most important FAQ’s about how a legal wedding is performed in Italy

To help you to get married in Italy, If you need a help to make appointments with Institutions (Town Hall and Prefettura) and information you can contact me, since that’s part of my Full Service Planning Service!

Photo Credit  Pinterest 
Some photos in this article are from the web and are used only for an illustrative purpose. If it violates any copyrights please write an email and they will be removed.