When two British nationals are resident abroad (not Italy, not Commonwealth) wish to marry in Italy Scenario 6

Getting married in Italy does entail obtaining a few documents. I like to think if you have the information clearly in your head then this is not such a hard task and if you follow the steps it becomes part of the adventure!

British nationals getting married in Italy

With all the changes for British Nationals getting married in Italy the UK Foreign and Commonwealth office has compiled the following videos to assist you! If you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact us and we will guide you through the process.

Both British nationals:



One British national marrying a non British citizen:

British nationals legal requirements to get married in Italy 4.

Scenario four

When a British national, resident in Italy, wishes to marry a foreign national, Italian or otherwise

You should start this process no more than 6 months before your wedding date. There are two steps you have to follow:

British nationals legal requirements to get married in Italy 3.

Scenario three

When both parties are British nationals and both are resident in Italy

You should start this process no more than 6 months before your wedding date. There are two steps you have to follow:

British nationals legal requirements to get married in Italy 2.

Scenario two 

When a British National resident in the UK is marrying a foreign national (Italian or otherwise)

 
With effect from 1st March 2013, the procedure for British nationals, resident in the UK, planning to marry in Italy are as follows (if you are marrying an Irish national and you are resident in England and Wales, please see Scenario five listed on this website. If you are a British national UK resident marrying another British national UK resident please see Scenario one. If you are resident in the Channel Islands or Isle of Man please contact the Consular Section of the British Embassy in Rome)

You cannot start the documentation process more than 6 months before your wedding date, or 3 months if you are resident in Scotland.

The foreign national should separately contact their Embassy to understand the procedures they need to follow in order to marry in Italy.

There are 4 simple steps that each British national, resident in the UK, must follow to get the right paperwork for marrying in Italy.

Step 1 – Certificate of No Impediment

You need to obtain what’s called a Certificate of No Impediment, which is issued in the UK.

To do this you must give notice of marriage to your local registry office. After your notice has been posted for the required period you will be issued with a ‘Certificate of No Impediment to Marriage’, signed and dated by your local Registrar.

It is essential that the names you give to the Registrar, which will appear on your Certificates of No Impediment, are exactly the same as written in your passports. For example, Jim Harris on the Certificate, and James Harris-Ford on your passport might mean that the Italian authorities will reject your paperwork and refuse to allow the marriage to go ahead. Please take your passport with you to the Registry Office, just to be absolutely certain.

Step 2 – The Statutory Declaration

While you are waiting for your Certificate of No Impediment you should make a statutory declaration before a solicitor or public notary in the UK. You can download the bi-lingual statutory declaration here.

The declaration is required by the Italian authorities and gives additional information that isn’t detailed on your Certificate of No Impediment. The solicitor or public notary will charge a fee for this service. Fees will vary so it might be worth shopping around.

Step 3 – Legalising your documents for the Italian authorities

When you have your Certificate of No Impediment and you have made your Statutory
Declaration, you need to send them both to the FCO Legalisation Office in Milton Keynes for each to be legalised with a Hague Apostille. The Legalisation Office will charge for this – please check the current charges and procedure on the Foreign and Commonwealth Office website.

Step 4 – Translation of your Certificate of No Impediment (CNI)

Once both these documents have been legalised, you will then need to have the legalised Certificate of No Impediment translated. As it will become an Italian legal document it should be translated by a translator based in Italy and sworn before the Italian courts or an Italian Justice of the Peace. (Please note that Italian Town halls may also accept other types of official translation not covered in this guidance).  The Italian wedding planner offer  this service. A fee will be charged – fees vary depending on the translator. They will also charge a delivery fee to have the translation couriered back to you or to your wedding planner. The Statutory Declaration does not need to be translated since it is already in both languages.

The British national resident in the UK should have:

• A Certificate of No Impediment – issued in the UK, legalised in the UK and then translated officially in Italy
• A bilingual Statutory Declaration legalised in the UK
• Passport
• Any further documents specifically requested by yourComune of marriage.

Once all of these documents have been prepared, they should be sent direct to either your wedding planner or to the town hall where you intend to get married. There is no longer any requirement for wedding documentation for British Nationals resident in the UK to be sent to any British Consular Section in Italy for further processing.

It is always advisable for you, or your wedding agent, to check with the Town Hall where you intend to marry regarding extra documentation, for example photocopies of the passports of your witnesses, or how many days prior to the wedding you need to visit their offices.

Please note, under Italian law, a woman who has been divorced or widowed and wishes to re-marry in Italy cannot do so until 300 days have passed from the date of her divorce/death of husband. It is possible, however, to apply for a dispensation to this through the Civil Law Courts (Tribunale Civile). Further information should be obtained from the town hall (Comune) of the area where the marriage is to take place and you will probably need to appoint a lawyer.

Remember to ask the Comune to issue a multilingual marriage certificate for you after the ceremony if this is available. If not, the certificate will have to be translated into English.

Finally please note that your Certificate of No Impediment will be valid for six months from the date on your English, Welsh or Northern Irish CNI or three months if presenting a Scottish CNI.

British nationals legal requirements to get married in Italy 1.

The process for British nationals documents required to get married in Italy has changed. There are nine different scenario's which change the way in which documents are processed. Please find below scenario one for when  both parties are British nationals and both are resident in the United Kingdom.

British nationals getting married in Italy

As some of you may know the procedure for obtaining the Nulla Osta is changing and as of the the 1st March the new process for your documents shall take effect. Although we have been asked that you to follow the new procedures from 1 March, please note that British Consular offices in Italy will continue to accept applications for marriage Nulla Ostas up until 31 May 2013.  So we have some time to adjust. We shall be posting the new procedures on our website very soon, hopefully with a link to the bilingual affidavit that each British national will have to make in front of a British lawyer or notary.  At present we understand that the Catholic Nulla Osta procedure has not changed but we are investigating this further and shall keep you posted. 

Kelly 

British national getting married in Italy

British citizen wedding in Amalfi Photo by Marco Ficili 

One of the biggest concerns for couples dreaming of getting married in Italy, is the thought that the paperwork is going to be a nightmare! Well let me put your mind at rest! 

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