What to do in case you can’t get your Nulla Osta 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.

If you landed here, you indeed got an idea of a marriage Nulla Osta.

Indeed, to get married in Italy as a foreign citizen most of the time you need this document depending on international convention signed by your country with Italy.

Sometimes it needs to be legalized and translated to get married in Italy.

In most cases, we, as wedding planner, will withdraw it at your Consulate.

Well, there are cases where for political or religious, reasons, the Consulate of your Country of origin does not want to release the Nulla Osta. So you start to feel frustrated that your civil marriage in Italy should be canceled.

But there is a way out!

Article 98 of the Italian Civil Code states that the town hall officials who do not believe they can proceed with the banns of marriage issue a certificate with the reasons for the refusal.

At this point, an appeal can be made to the competent Court against the refusal after hearing the public prosecutor.

So there is a way out to get you married here in Italy if the Judge sees no impediments to your marriage concerning the Italian law.

It may be required to prove as much as possible that there are no impediments to the marriage.

Therefore, for example, you could produce a certificate of free marital status, bring to Court, a witness that can declare that there are no impediments to your marriage or demonstrate that you have no kinship and affinity with your partner, and provide any other document eligible to prove that there are no impediments to the marriage according to Italian law.

It could also be helpful to explain to the Judge that the authorities’ refusal of your Country of origin has been declared because of religious or political reasons. 

However, in these cases, these reasons are contrary to the principles of the Italian legal system; therefore, it is probable that the Judge, after a confrontation with the public prosecutor, will grant permission to your marriage on Italian soil.

The same procedure, as stated by “decreto legislativo” February 3rd, 2011, n. 71, can be applied if the refusal is made by the Italian Consulate abroad. 

In that case, the Jurisdiction competent for the appeal will be the Court in the district where the last residency in Italy of one of the spouses occurred or the one of the (AIRE) town hall where one of the spouses is registered.

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.