Application for consular marriage
If you wish to get married at an Italian diplomatic or consular representation, you must submit an application for consular marriage. This is a document that both of you must sign and submit in person to the consular office or send by mail, fax, or email, attaching photocopies of your identity documents.
There are some cases in which your application may be rejected (Art. 12 Legislative Decree 71/2011 – “The head of the consular office shall celebrate marriages between citizens or between a citizen and a non-citizen. The celebration of the marriage may be refused when local laws oppose it or when the parties do not reside in the district”). If, on the other hand, the Consular Office accepts your application (as it meets the requirements of the law), you can proceed with the request for the publication of banns.
Send the request to consolare.johannesburg@esteri.it, accompanied by the following documents:
- The Italian citizen must present a certificato cumulativo issued by the competent Municipality. This is a single certificate certifying both the citizenship and the marital status of the applicant;
- “Letter of No Impediment to Marry” issued by the South African Department of Home Affairs. Both spouses are required to present this document;
- If the birth of the Italian citizen took place abroad, outside the consular district of this Consulate General, he/she is required to present his/her full original birth certificate, issued by the foreign authority competent and duly legalized;
- Simple copy of the valid passport of both spouses.
Publications
In Italy, the celebration of marriage must be preceded by publications made by a civil registrar. The publications remain posted on the consular notice board for at least 8 days. You can get married 3 days after the publication has been completed and within the following 180 days.
If you are unable to appear in person to request the publication of banns, you may appoint a third party using a special power of attorney drawn up on plain paper and accompanied by a copy of your valid identity documents. If you are not a citizen of the European Union and are not resident in Italy, your signature must be authenticated.
- If you are both Italian citizens residing abroad, you must request the publication of the banns at the diplomatic or consular representation where the consular marriage will be celebrated. If you reside in two different consular districts, the banns must be published at both diplomatic or consular representations.
- If one of you (Italian or foreign) is resident in Italy while the other (Italian citizen) is resident abroad, you must request the publication of the banns at the diplomatic or consular representation where the consular marriage will be celebrated, which in turn will request their publication at the municipality of residence in Italy. The banns will therefore be published in both places of residence of the future spouses.
- If the Italian spouse-to-be is resident in Italy while the other foreign citizen is resident abroad, you have two options: request the publication of banns from the diplomatic or consular representation or from the Italian municipality of residence, which will issue a delegation to the diplomatic or consular representation for the celebration of the marriage in accordance with Article 109 of the Civil Code.
- If you are both resident in Italy, you must request the publication of banns at your municipality of residence. If you reside in two different municipalities, the banns will be published in both municipalities. The municipality will issue the diplomatic or consular representation with a delegation for the celebration of the marriage pursuant to Article 109 of the Italian Civil Code.
B) If you wish to get married in Italy
If you are Italian citizens residing abroad and wish to get married in Italy, you must request the publication of your marriage banns at the Italian diplomatic or consular representation where you are registered. Once the banns have been published, the consular representation will delegate the celebration to the Italian municipality you have indicated (pursuant to Article 109 of the Civil Code).
Documents to be submitted to request the publication of banns
To request the publication of banns, you must go in person to the consular office with a valid identity document (Article 51, paragraph 1, of Presidential Decree 396/2000 – request for publication).
If you are unable to apply for the publication of banns in person, you may appoint a third party using a special power of attorney drawn up on plain paper and accompanied by a copy of your valid identity documents.
If you are not Italian citizens
If you are not Italian citizens and wish to get married in Italy, you must also submit a “marriage clearance certificate” (pursuant to Article 116 of the Civil Code) issued by the competent authorities of the country of which you are a citizen, duly legalized and translated into Italian, or the “certificate of capacity to marry” if you are a citizen of one of the countries that have ratified the Munich Convention of September 5, 1980.
The countries that have signed and ratified this Convention and issue the “certificate of no impediment to marriage” are as follows: Austria, Germany, Greece, Luxembourg, Moldova, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Switzerland, and Turkey. Please note that the above Convention cannot currently be applied to Belgium, which, although a signatory country, has not yet ratified it. Certificates issued under this Convention are exempt from legalization or any equivalent formality in the territory of each State party.
For other States that are not party to the 1980 Munich Convention, the term “certificate of no impediment to marriage” is not used, but rather “no impediment to marriage.”
If you are a citizen of a country outside the European Union and are not resident in Italy, in addition to the nulla osta, you must also submit the remaining documentation proving the requirements of Article 51 of Presidential Decree 396/2000, as these are documents issued abroad and not registered in Italy or with an Italian consular authority.
Similarly, in the cases provided for in Article 52 of Presidential Decree 396/2000, the bride and groom may submit a copy of the marriage authorization granted by the court in the event of an impediment at the time of the request for publication, or send it later by regular mail.
C) If you are Italian and wish to get married abroad
Italian citizens who get married abroad are not subject to marriage banns, unless required by foreign law. To get married in one of the countries that are party to the 1980 Munich Convention, you will be required to produce a “certificate of no impediment to marriage.” This certificate is exempt from legalization and translation.
The countries that have ratified the aforementioned Convention are: Austria, Germany, Greece, Luxembourg, Moldova, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Switzerland, and Turkey. Please note that the aforementioned Convention cannot currently be applied to Belgium, which, although a signatory country, has not yet ratified it.
The “certificate of no impediment to marriage” will be issued by your municipality of residence in Italy or, if you are resident abroad, by the diplomatic-consular representation responsible for your place of residence.
In some countries that are not signatories to the Munich Convention, the local authorities where the marriage is to be celebrated may require a certificate of no impediment to marriage. This certificate must be requested from the Italian diplomatic-consular representation in whose territorial jurisdiction the marriage is celebrated, even if you are resident in Italy or in another foreign jurisdiction.
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