Marriage Requirements for Canadians Willing to marry in Italy

Besides Planners, we have been legal consultants for the Italian foreign offices! This experience allowed us to gain deep expertise in foreign affairs.

Today we will explain to you which are the marriage requirement for a Canadian citizen willing to get married in Italy.

Like the majority of nationalities, you must obtain a Marriage Nulla Osta.

With the assistance of your wedding planner in Rome, the Canadian Consulate in Rome will issue this document once they receive all the documents listed below.

Therefore, if you and your partner are both Canadian citizens, you will need a Marriage Nulla Osta issued by the Canadian Consulate in Rome.

Please note that dual national citizens (Canadian and Italian) must marry as Italian citizens and must contact the competent Italian Consulate in Canada for marriage banns (11 days).

As your Italian legal wedding planner we can advise you on how to start marriage banns (the so-called pubblicazioni di Matrimonio) at the competent Italian Consulate in Canada and about marriage requirements to get married in Italy.

Please note that the Marriage Nulla Osta can only be issued by the Embassy of Canada in Rome.

Please note that according to Italian law, the nulla osta is valid for six months from issuance and is written in the Italian language.

Its content is drawn up according to Italian and Canadian laws.

The request for the Marriage Nulla Osta can be made by mail or by attending the appointment in person.

The delivery of the nulla osta usually lasts five business days from the time the Embassy receives a complete application.

How to obtain a Marriage Nulla Osta for Canadians

To get a Marriage Nulla Osta, you’ll need:

• the marriage affidavit to be sworn and signed before a notary in Canada or at the Canadian Consulate in Italy (your wedding planner can provide the form to you in both cases);
• all supporting documents (please see below)
• the consular fees (please see below)

as described above, each Canadian Citizen shall fill out and swear the marriage affidavit. 

Your wedding planner can provide you with the form for the marriage affidavit to be sworn before a notary in Canada or the Canadian officials in Rome. 

If you are abroad for any reason, you can sign and swear it at any Canadian Embassy or Consulate abroad.

Additional supporting documents and personal information needed

Some supporting documents are required and may be submitted in the original format or certified true copy. 

According to Canadian law, a true certified copy is a photocopy of an original document, produced and certified by a person authorized (e.g., a lawyer in Canada).

• Canadian passport (biographical page only)

• The Birth certificate with parental information; if you were born in Canada;

• a Certificate or Card of Canadian Citizenship (back and front) if born outside of Canada;

• Marriage record search/letter issued by the Vital Statistics Office of each Canadian Province and Territory where you resided since reaching the age of 16;

• final divorce certificate or decree, which indicates the date the divorce took effect (if divorced);

• partner vital statistic death certificate (if widowed);

• partner’s valid passport or ID card;

• completed credit card authorization form;

• mailing or pick up instructions (the Marriage Nulla Osta is sent to your wedding planners at their Italian address at no additional cost using the ordinary post.

Consular processing fees

Consular processing fees are mandatory for the issuance of a Marriage Nulla Osta. 

Fees are payable through a credit card authorization only. 

If you and your partner are both Canadian citizens, you require a Marriage Nulla Osta; therefore, each of you will need to pay a fee for each nulla osta that is $50.00 each.

If you and your partner are both Canadian citizens, you will swear a marriage affidavit; therefore, you will need to pay a fee. 

Fees are payable through a credit card authorization only. 

Your wedding planner can provide you with the credit card authorization form.

The fee can also be paid when you attend the appointment in person at the Canadian Consulate in Italy if you decide to swear the marriage affidavit in the Canadian Consulate in Rome.

What to do after obtaining the Marriage Nulla Osta?

Your wedding planner will then bring the Marriage Nulla Osta to the competent Prefettura for the legalization.

After the Marriage Nulla Osta is legalized, your wedding planner will present it to the marriage office of the town hall you intend to marry in Italy. 

Banns of marriage (notice) are published in Italy only if one of the future spouses is a resident of Italy.

Your wedding planner in Italy will then book before the civil ceremony an appointment for a declaration before the officials in which you will declare that there are no impediments of kinship, affinity, adoption, or affiliation between you, nor other impediments according to art. 85, 86, 87, and 88 of the Italian Civil Code.

This declaration is mandatory for foreign nationals who do not reside in Italy. 

If anyone of the couple is not familiar with the Italian language, your wedding planner will locate a professional english and italian speaking interpreter.

Once all the paperwork are gathered by your designated wedding planner in Italy, the civil marriage ceremony will be formally authorized to perform.

Two witnesses plus an interpreter (if necessary) shall be present at the civil marriage ceremony. 

Please note that the witnesses can’t act as interpreters.

According to Italian law, a woman cannot remarry in Italy if her previous marriage ended or become a widow within the last 300 days unless she obtains a waiver from the competent Italian Court).

What to do after the marriage and validity in Canada

Legal marriages celebrated in a foreign country are usually valid in Canada, and you do not need to register them in Canada. 

However, some provinces do register marriages performed outside of Canada. 

Please reach out the Vital Statistics Office of your usual place of residency for further information.

· Marriage outside of Canada

· Vital Statistics Office

Note: It is recommended that, before leaving Italy, you or your designated person obtain from the Italian (Municipality) where the marriage took place several copies of the marriage certificate. If available, you may wish to request the multilingual format as the information is written in different languages, including English and French.

Please note that the procedures and the types of marriage certificates issued may vary from one municipality to another.

If you need to use the italian marriage certificate in Canada, the signature on the marriage certificate must undergo two processes, legalization and authentication.

1. Submit the marriage certificate to the competent Prefettura Legalization Office.

2. Once legalized by the Prefettura, mail the italian marriage certificate to the Embassy of Canada in Rome or to the Consulate of Canada in Milan requesting authentication services.

Who will be your Planners?

Due to our experience in law firms and the foreign offices of the Italian public administration, we gained significant expertise in Consular affairs, and we are trained to solve the most complicated procedure such as:

1) Nulla osta process, legalization procedure, Court hearings for the refusal of the town hall when there documents missing , legal translation, apostille procedure, emergency procedure for legalization.

2) Same-sex couples that want to celebrate a civil union in Italy as in their country the union is forbidden;

3) Couples that come from countries where divorce is not allowed;

4) Italians living abroad registered at AIRE that need to recover their document to start the marriage banns in the Italian Consulate;

5) Assistance with people that come from countries that do not release the nulla osta;

6) American and Australian couples who needs assistance with “atto notorio” in an Italian Court or the Italian Consulate in the USA or Australia.

7) People with refugee status who have requested asylum in Italy.