
Paperwork for New Zealander citiziens to get married in Italy
Paperwork to get married in Italy for New Zealander citizens.
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.
Here’s a summary of the paperwork procedure for a legal wedding in Italy for New Zealander citizens.
Documents required for New Zealander citizens to marry in Italy:
The Italian authorities require proof that foreigners intending to marry in Italy are not already married. This proof can be obtained by applying for a Certificate of No Impediment to Marriage from the Registrar-Births Deaths and Marriages, Department of Internal Affairs in WELLINGTON www.dia.govt.nz.
There is a legal requirement for processing time to be no less than two weeks within NZ once a complete and correct application has been received. Once the Embassy receives the all the documentation required and the fee, it can issue a document required by the Italian authorities called a Nulla Osta. This is issued in compliance with article 116 of the Italian Civil code. It contains information from the Certificate of No Impediment, and from the attached form “Particulars to be Included in the Nulla Osta”, which you both need to complete, writing clearly, sign and return to the Embassy. The Embassy requires originals. The completed form and certified passport pages should not be sent by facsimile or email. Certified copies can be obtained from JPs, solicitors, notaries or any person authorised to take statutory declarations. Only one Nulla Osta is issued for each marriage even if the bride and groom are both New Zealand citizens.
The following documents should be sent to the Embassy:
- the original Certificate/s of No Impediment to Marriage from New Zealand;
- certified copies of the biodata pages of the passports of both the bride and groom, even if one of them is not a New Zealand citizen;
- if either the bride or groom are divorced, even if one of them is not a New Zealand citizen, an original or certified copy of the decree nisi or order of dissolution of marriage. If it is not in the English language an official translation should be enclosed;
- The Particulars form to be completed in every part and signed by both the bride and groom, even if one is not a New Zealand citizen;Please ensure you complete the section requesting an address in Italy, even if it is a temporary address, such as a hotel. Please note also that the residence address you put in should not be the one where you will reside once married, but where you are legally resident at the time of application, before marriage.
- Fee (see below) for the Nulla Osta;
- Fee for the cost of the courier (see below) to return documents;
- A cover letter with your contact details, the date you intend to get married and any other information you consider useful.
When the Nulla Osta has been prepared they will advise you and it will be sent to you by courier, providing courier charges have been paid beforehand. Please note documents cannot be sent directly to an Italian Town Hall.
Embassy Fees: The application fee for processing the Nulla Osta is Euro 30; payable to ‘New Zealand Embassy’ by bank transfer. The fee to have the documents returned by courier is Euro 30.
The civil marriage ceremony in Italy.
After obtaining the Nulla Osta, 3 STEPS:
- Present the declaration to the competent “Prefettura – Ufficio Legalizzazioni” (provincial authority) to be formally authenticated.
- 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.
- 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 conducted in Italy are recognised in New Zealand provided they are conducted in accordance with Italy’s laws. Marriages held outside New Zealand, are not, however, automatically registered in New Zealand. Enquirers should know this does not affect the validity of such marriages. It does mean however that any marriage certificate must be requested in the town the marriage took place. It is not possible for a couple to remarry each other in New Zealand if they have already married overseas.
- 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 New Zealand, take it to the Prefettura to authenticate the signature of the officier for authentication.
The religious ceremony.
- Roman-Catholic
To arrange a church wedding in Italy you will need to book several weeks in advance with the specific church. You will be required to produce baptism and confirmation certificates and an ecclesiastical certificate of no impediment issued by your own bishop’s office, as well as the appropriate civil documents. Make arrangements well in advance and ensure you give yourself a sufficient number of days to enable you to make arrangements both for the presentation of documents and your marriage in Church. There is no requirement to have banns published in Italy providing neither of the two parties is a citizen or a resident of Italy or an EU country. However, if you marry in Church please ensure the priest registers the marriage with the Comune within 5 days of the marriage.
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!
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