If you need a marriage Nulla Osta to get married in Italy we are the counselors and planners you are looking for!

There is a lot of discussion about the Nulla Osta to get married in Italy.

This document is important because the foreign authority in Italy that release it must issue it according to foreign law (the regulation of the country to which the consulate belongs) and Italian law.
For example, the Consulate of Iran sometimes cannot release a Nulla Osta. That has happened because, in Iran, the marriage of a lady of 13 years old can get married but she cannot according to Italian law.
The same happens with the Philippines: a lady who has terminated a previous marriage cannot marry again. That happens because, in the Philippines, divorce is prohibited.
Now we have put down this introduction, let’s see all scenarios we may face in requesting a Nulla Osta to get married in Italy.

Since the conditions for contracting marriage are regulated by the national law of the country of origin, the primary document for the foreigner’s marriage celebration in Italy is the Nulla-Osta, issued by the competent Authority of the country of origin.

According to specific international agreements and conventions, different conditions apply for some foreign nationals (see next point).

The Nulla-Osta must certify that there are no impediments to marriage according to the country of origin’s laws and must clearly state the following data: name, surname, date, and place of birth, paternity and maternity, citizenship, residence, and free status.

It can be issued:

– By the Consular Authority in Italy (strongly suggested); in this case, the signature of the Consul must be legalized at the competent Italian Prefecture with a revenue stamp of € 16.00

Or

– By the competent Authority in one’s own country (suggested only if there is an italian “circolare” as a result of the agreement between Italy and your country) if the foreign State’s legislation allows it. In this case, the document must be legalized by the Italian Consulate or Embassy abroad.

The Nulla Osta must indicate: that there are no impediments to marriage under the laws of the home state, surname, first name, date, place of birth, citizenship, residence and domicile, marital status, and particulars of the parents. In addition, for the divorced or widowed woman, the date of dissolution of marriage is also required. (If this date is not indicated in the nulla osta, a copy of the divorce decree, legalized and translated, is needed.)

Please note that if the citizen is enrolled in the registry office of an Italian municipality, indicate, as a residence, that municipality; if, on the other hand, the citizen is not enrolled in any Italian registry office, indicate the city of living abroad.

If the details of the parents are not indicated in the nulla-osta, a birth certificate is required, which can be issued:

A) in the country of birth legalized by the Italian Consular Authority abroad and translated;

B) with a certificate from one’s Consulate in Italy;

C) on a multilingual international model, exempt from legalization, provided the State has acceded to the International Convention.

– For the divorced or widowed woman or a woman whose marriage has been null and void for less than 300 days, court authorization is required;

– For a minor from 16 to 18 years of age, the order of admission to the marriage of the Juvenile Court is required; A foreigner who intends to recognize a natural child must submit a declaration of nihil obstat to recognition issued by the consular Authority of their country in Italy duly legalized in the Prefecture.

A foreigner who is a “POLITICAL REFUGEE” must present the following:

1) certificate issued by the United Nations High Commission in Rome;

2) copy affidavit with two witnesses made at the Court;

3) travel document certifying political refugee status;

4) valid identity document.

PLEASE NOTE The Nulla-Osta cannot be replaced by a simple certificate of free status issued by the foreign Authority or self-certification.

In order to avoid mishaps, it is advisable always to check that the particulars on the Nulla-Osta match those on the passport.

Acts and documents issued by the following countries are entirely exempt from legalization:

Austria, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Ireland, Latvia (for documents issued after 31/10/2010), Luxembourg, Netherlands (extended to Netherlands Antilles and Aruba), Poland, Portugal, Turkey, and Morocco.

Documents drawn up by diplomatic and consular representatives of the following countries are exempt from legalization:

Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, Great Britain, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Moldova, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, San Marino, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey.

Acts and documents issued abroad by the following countries that are parties to the Hague Convention signed on October 5, 1961, are exempt from legalization, provided they bear the “Apostille” (special square stamp attesting to the authenticity of the document and the legal quality of the issuing Authority):

Albania, Andorra, Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Armenia, Australia, Azerbaijan, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Botswana, Brunei, Bulgaria, China, Cyprus, Colombia, Croatia, Ecuador, El Salvador, Estonia, Russian Federation, Fiji, Finland, Georgia, Japan, Great Britain (extended to Mann Island), Greece, Grenada, Honduras, India, Iceland, Cook Islands, Marshall Islands, Israel, Kazakhstan, Lesotho, Lithuania, Liberia, Liechtenstein, Macedonia, Malawi, Malta, Mauritius, Mexico, Moldova, Mongolia, Montenegro, Namibia, Niue, Norway, New Zealand, Panama, Monaco, Czech Republic, Republic of Korea (formerly South Korea), Dominican Republic, Romania, St. Christopher and Nevis, San Marino, Samoa, Saint Lucia, Saint Helena, Serbia, Seychelles, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Suriname, Sweden, Switzerland, Swaziland, United States of America, South Africa, Tonga, Trinidad and Tobago, Ukraine, Hungary, Vanuatu, Venezuela, British Virgin Islands.

Please note: Apostille applies only to documents issued abroad in Hague Convention countries. In contrast, any documents issued in Italy by the consular Authority of the same countries require legalization at the Prefecture.

SOME COUNTRIES DO NOT ISSUE THE NULLA OSTA

The citizen of U.S. nationality must produce the following:

– Affidavit signed before the Consul of the United States of America in Italy, the signature of which must be legalized at the “Prefettura”, provided with a € 16.00 revenue stamp.

– Atto Notorio (must indicate that the citizen can contract the marriage according to the law of the State of their nationality) with two witnesses, signed before the competent Italian Authority: Italian Consul Abroad, the Court in Italy, or Notary Public.

The citizen of Australian nationality must produce the following:

– affidavit before the Australian Consul in Italy, whose signature must be legalized in the competent “Prefettura”, provided with a € 16.00 revenue stamp.

– Atto Notorio (must indicate that the citizen can contract the marriage according to the law of the State of their nationality) with four witnesses, drawn up before the competent Italian Consulate in Australia Authority or at the the Italian Court.

SPECIAL CASES

The citizen of Austrian, Swiss, and German nationality must produce the “certificate of marriage capacity” (Munich Convention) issued by the Civil Status Office of the Municipality of residence of the spouse in the State of origin (exempt from legalization).

Spanish, Portuguese, Turkish, and Luxembourg citizens must produce the certificate of matrimonial capacity (inquire at the respective Consulate about the issuing Authority).

Norwegian nationals: must apply for the NULLA-OSTA directly to the Registry Office of the municipality of residence in Norway. The NULLA-OSTA will be issued, complete with Apostille, in Italian or Norwegian, with a translation made by a sworn translator in Norway (Circolare 65/2004).

Polish Citizens: (Circolare 33/2005) must apply for the nihil-osta to the Head of the Polish Civil Status Office or the Consul if the Polish citizen:

– has not had a residence in Poland

– is unable to trace their place of last residence in Poland

– left Poland before the age of 16 and permanently resides abroad

Brazilian citizens: submit a declaration for marriage in Italy, issued by their consular authorities following the model agreed upon by our Ministry AA.EE. and the Embassy of Brazil (Circolare 1/2009)

Swedish Citizens: resident in SWEDEN must apply for the nulla-osta at the Registry Office of the Municipality of residence in Sweden, which will issue it in Swedish with a translation made by a sworn translator who will certify conformity with the original;

If residents in ITALY, they must apply for the nulla-osta to the Swedish Diplomatic Authority (Circolare 2/2010)

Slovak Citizens: a CERTIFICATE certifying the absence of impediments to marriage issued by the Embassy of the Slovak Republic in ROME replaces the nulla osta (articolo 116 c.c.) (Circolare 29/2011).

British Citizens: (Circolare 6 and 13/2014) residing in the United Kingdom instead of the nulla osta under Article 116 of the Italian civil code must submit the following:

a certificate of no impediment issued by the Local Authority of the country of origin, postilled and duly translated,

a bilingual, legalized affidavit made by those concerned at a British lawyer or notary public;

while BRITISH citizens residing in WALES and ENGLAND, who intend to marry an Irish citizen in Italy or BRITISH citizens living in a THIRD COUNTRY (Circ. 10/2015), may submit either the usual NULLA OSTA (Art. 116 c.c.) issued by the British Consular Authority or the certificate of no impediment and the bilingual affidavit made at a British lawyer or notary

Hungarian citizens: certification instead of marriage nulla osta is issued to Hungarian citizens who wish to contract marriage in Italy by the Embassy of Hungary (Circ. 11/2013)

Finnish Citizens: the Nulla osta for Finnish citizens wishing to contract marriage in Italy is issued by their local Authority and conforms to the model attached to Circular 1/2014

Lithuanian citizens: Lithuanian citizens residing in Italy who intend to contract marriage in Italy must apply for the NULLA OSTA to the Municipal Offices of their country (facsimile attached to Circular 2/2014)

Danish Citizens: The Nulla Osta, with Apostille, will be issued by the Registry Office of the Municipality of residence in Denmark in Danish, English, and German, with translation into Italian by a sworn translator in Denmark. The certificate is valid for four months. (facsimile attached to Circ. 18/2014)

Mexican Citizens: from 14.05.2015, the new certificate of “Constancia de inexistencia de Registro” is the appropriate document to celebrate the marriage of Mexican citizens in Italy (Circ. 11/2015).

Syrian citizens

There is no Syrian diplomatic authority in Italy. The reference is the Embassy of Syria in Vienna. This will be the diplomatic Authority responsible for issuing the marriage nulla osta for Syrian citizens who intend to marry in Italy (Circ. 3/2014)

Pay attention to the legalization of the document! The signature of the Syrian Embassy official will have to be legalized by the Austrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the Italian Consulate will legalize this signature in Vienna.

Only in this way can the document be received in Italy.

Fulfillments:

If the foreigner is resident or domiciled in Italy, Marriage Publications are required.

If the bride and groom are both foreigners, neither resident in Italy, instead of requesting the notice of marriage (the so-called pubblicazioni di matrimonio), they will have to sign a Minute in which they declare that there are no impediments between them of kinship, affinity, adoption or affiliation, nor any other obstacle according to Articles 85, 86, 87 and 88 of the Civil Code. The Minute is signed after an appointment with the Civil Status Office at least three days before the marriage by presenting the necessary documents (marriage nulla osta or certification instead of nulla osta provided for in special international conventions/agreements between Italy and the State involved)

If the foreign citizen does not ideally know the Italian language, they must be assisted by a translator-interpreter, both at the request for publications and during the celebration, with an appropriate identification document.

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.