Marriage Requirements for foreigners in Italy
How to apply for a Civil Wedding in Italy.
Get to know the marriage requirements for foreigners willing to marry in Italy!
If you are planning to get married in Italy with a civil wedding, you have landed in the right place.
We are a team of planners and lawyers that can assist you with any procedure applicable to foreign citizens willing to get married 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.
To get legally married in Italy with a civil marriage, the foreign citizens need to provide:
- Valid passport;
- “Nulla Osta al Matrimonio” or a certificate of no impediments according to article 116 of the Italian Civil Code, which can be issued:
a) By the Authority of the Embassy or Consulate of the country of origin in Italy, whose signature By the Authority of the Embassy or Consulate of the country of origin in Italy, whose signature must be legalized in the Prefettura for the States without any Conventions providing for its exemption?
b) This alternative procedure is an exception to issuing the standard Nulla Osta procedure.
When provided by bilateral agreement or international conventions, the certificate of non-impediments to the marriage can be issued by the competent authority of your country of origin (see exceptions below).
If this procedure is allowed by Italian regulations (see exceptions below), documents issued abroad may need to be translated into Italian (using the service of a sworn translator or making a translation at the Italian Consulate in your country; it depends on your country’s regulations).
The Italian Consulate shall also legalize these documents unless the apostille (Hague Convention is applicable).
If the translation is done abroad, the translator’s signature must also be legalized with the apostille or using the notarial services of the Italian Consulate in your country of origin.
Countries that agreed with Italy on this modality (e.g. translation and legalization of the certificate of no impediments) are Finland, Lithuania, Norway, Poland, Sweden, and the United Kingdom. Hence if you are a citizen of these countries, you won’t need a “Nulla Osta” (see exceptions below).
Austria, Germany, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Switzerland, Turkey, and the Republic of Moldova.
Since these countries adhere to the Munich Convention of 05/09/1980, the future spouses must produce a “Certificate of marriage capacity” issued by the office of the Municipality of residence in the country of origin.
This certificate is multilingual. Hence it doesn’t need any translation.
As specified in the Italian “Circolare” n. 4 dated January 21st, 2005, of the Italian Ministry of the Interior, this certificate is not subject to any legalization. It is sufficient certification to proceed with the banns of marriage (if needed) and subsequent marriage of the foreign citizen.
US citizens
sworn statement (Nulla Osta) signed and sworn before the Consul of the United States of America based in Italy, showing that, according to the laws to which he is subject in the United States, there are no impediments to the marriage the applicant intends to contract in Italy.
The Consul’s signature must be legalized at the competent Prefettura. As your wedding planner, we can easily book an appointment in the competent offices to legalize the signature of the Consul.
Atto Notorio (which must also indicate that the citizen can marry according to the law of the country of origin) drawn up before the competent Italian Authority: Italian Court, or eventually the Italian Consulate in the US (the latter is more complex and slower than the procedure in Italy).
As your wedding planner in Italy, we can advise you the quickest and the most flexible Court to obtain atto notorio. Furthermore, as per the US Consulate in Italy, we can notify you of the most available one since it’s not always easy to find a slot free for an appointment.
BRITISH citizens
You will need to prove you’re legally allowed to get married by getting a certificate of no impediment, called CNI and a statutory declaration.
You’ll need to get a CNI and a statutory declaration if you’re in the UK.
Contact your local register office to find out what you need to do if you live in Scotland, Northern Ireland, Isle of Man, Jersey or Guernsey.
Your notice (banns of marriage) will be publicly displayed in the register office for 28 days. You can collect your CNI after this if nobody registers an objection.
Your CNI won’t expire if it was issued in England, Wales or Northern Ireland. CNIs issued in Scotland expire after 3 months.
However if you live in the Isle of Man, Jersey or Guernsey. Check you should chek with your local register office to find out how long a CNI is valid if you live in there
As stated above CNI is valid for 6 months under Italian law.
In the statutory declaration you’ll need to provide more information. Indeed you need to sign it in front of a solicitor or public notary in the UK.
Get your documents translated and legalized
Once you’ve got the statutory declaration and the CNI, you’ll need to get them legalized (certified as genuine) by the Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Office with apostille.
You’ll also need to get a sworn translation of your CNI. Hence, you will ask your wedding planner in Italy to locate an approved translator that will need to make the so-called “asseverazione” of the translated documents at an Italian Court.
In the end of the process you’ll need to give your CNI and statutory declaration to your Italian wedding planner that will provide the documents to the Municipality selected by you for your wedding.
AUSTRALIAN citizens
You will need to swear a declaration (Affidavit) before the Consul of Australia in Italy, showing that, according to the laws to which you are subject in Australia, there are no impediments to the marriage you intend to contract in Italy. The Consul’s signature must be legalized at the italian Prefettura by your Wedding Planner.
Atto Notorio (which must also indicate that the citizen can marry according to the Australian law.
This declaration must be made before the Italian Court official.Your wedding planners will act as your witnesses if needed and will assist you during the appointment.
CANADIAN citizens
You will need to send in the original format or certified true copy to the Canadian consulate in Rome the following documents together with a marriage Affidavit signed by both of you before a notary in Canada:
Your birth certificate with parental information; if you were born in Canada.
Certificate or Card of Canadian Citizenship if you were born outside of Canada.
Marriage record search letter issued by the Vital Statistics Office of each Canadian Province and Territory where you have resided;
Divorce decree, which indicates the date the divorce took effect (if divorced);
spouse’s vital statistic death certificate (if widowed);
partner‘s valid passport or ID card
completed credit card authorization form (provided by your wedding planner);
mailing or pick-up instructions (the Marriage Nulla Osta will be sent to your wedding planner by ordinary mail.
RUSSIAN citizens
If you are a Russian citizen marrying in Italy you will need:
- a statement that the applicant is unmarried;
- A document on the absence of the fact of the state registration of the applicant’s marriage based on the information contained in the Unified Registry of Civil Status (the so-called USR ZAGS);
- Valid Russian international passport (original + photocopy);
- If available, valid Russian domestic passport (original + copies of pages with photo and sign of registration at place of residence in Russia);
- Birth certificate (original + copy);
- Certificate of dissolution of last/only marriage, if the applicant was previously married (original + copy);
- Death certificate of the last spouse, if the applicant is a widower (original + copy);
- Copy of the ID of the future spouse (passport or ID card).
Please note if at least one of the foreign spouses is resident in Italy or Italian residing abroad (registered at AIRE), marriage banns alias notice of marriage (in italian named “pubblicazioni di matrimonio“) are mandatory.
This period lasts 11 consecutive days, and if anyone make opposition the wedding can be celebrated.
If the spouses are both foreigners, neither resident nor domiciled in Italy, instead of requesting the marriage banns (pubblicazioni di matrimonio), they must sign a report in which they declare that there are no impediments to kinship, affinity, adoption, or affiliation, or other obstructions between them according to art. 85, 86, 87, and 88 of the Civil Code.
The declaration is signed after booking an appointment with Italian town hall where your civil marriage will take place.
It is usually performed one or two days before the wedding day by presenting the necessary documents. You won’t need any witnesses at this stage, but an interpreter’s presence will be mandatory if at least one spouse doesn’t understand Italian.
If the foreign spouse does not understand the Italian language adequately, they must be assisted by an interpreter, either for the banns of marriage, the declaration of no impediments for non-resident citizens, or during the civil marriage itself.
Other Exceptions
Based on specific international agreements and conventions for some foreign citizens, different conditions are applied for the following citizenship:
For the certificate of ability to marry, Finnish citizens must contact the local administrative Authority in Finland. The certificate must have its translation into Italian by a sworn translator. Both documents must have an “Apostille” (The Hague Convention).
Lithuanian citizens must apply to the Municipal Registry Offices in Lithuania to release the permit to get married. The certificate must have its translation into Italian by a sworn translator. Both documents must have an “Apostille” (The Hague Convention).
Starting from May 14, 2015, the certificates issued by the Civil Registers of the Mexican States are the only certificates attesting to a person’s marital status. In particular, the new certificate of “Constancia de Resistencia de Registro” certifies that there are no registrations in the name of the person concerned. Therefore, the registrar officers can accept these certificates to celebrate the marriage of Mexican citizens who intend to marry in Italy.
Norwegian citizens must obtain the permit issued by the Registry of Norwegian residence translated in Italian by a sworn translator in Norway. In both cases, it must be equipped with an “Apostille” (The Hague Convention)
The head of the civil status office of the municipality of residence in Poland is competent for issuing the authorization to marry in Italy. The nulla osta translated into Italian by a sworn translator is exempt from legalization in the Italian Prefettura. With a communication dated 07/05/15, the Consulate General of Poland based in Milan informs that the Polish Consulate in Italy will issue the permit for marriage in Italy regardless of the Polish citizen’s Italian residence. Furthermore, the nulla osta will be valid for six months instead of 3, as the previous law provides.
Hungary
the replacement certification of the authorization to marry is issued to Hungarian citizens wishing to marry in Italy by the Embassy of Hungary (Italian Circolare 11/2013)
San Marino
The Nulla Osta is issued by the Civil Status Office of the Republic of San Marino. It is exempt from any legalization • a full copy of the birth certificate or birth certificate with annotations.
Syrian
For the permit’s release to get married, Syrian citizens must contact the Embassy of the Syrian Arab Republic in Vienna. The nulla osta need to be legalized by the Austrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and subsequently by the Italian diplomatic-consular representation in Vienna. The nulla osta must have the relative translation into Italian legalized by the Italian diplomatic-consular office in Vienna.
Sweden
No impediments certificate (nulla osta) issued by the Registry of the Swedish municipality of residence, translated into Italian by a sworn translator and equipped with “Apostille” (Hague convention). Swedish citizen who resides in Italy: authorization issued by the Swedish Consulate in Italy.
Brazilian citizens must submit a declaration for marriage in Italy, issued by their consular authorities under the model agreed by our Ministry AA.EE. and by the Embassy of Brazil (Italian Circolare 1/2009)
Jordan
Depending on whether they are Muslim or Christian, Jordan citizens will need authorization for the Shariah Islamic Court or the Ecclesiastical Court in Jordan.
They will then need to legalize this document at the Foreign Ministry in Jordan and send it to the wedding planner in Italy. Afterward your wedding planner will reach out to the Jordan Consulate and obtain the nulla osta in few days and proceed with its legalization.
Who will be your Counselors and 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.
