REQUIRED DOCUMENTS TO GET MARRIED IN ITALY

Required documents to get married in Italy

Dear future foreign couples,

Below is some useful information if you have decided to get married in the most beautiful country in the World: Italy!

Required documents to get married in Italy

To celebrate a wedding in Italy, a foreigner must have some required documents to get married in Italy:

 1. Valid passport

2. “Nulla Osta for the wedding” (Statutory Declaration) (art. 116 of the Italian Civil Code), which may be issued:

– By the Embassy or Consulate of the country of origin in Italy, whose signature must be legalized at the Prefecture for those countries that are not part to the Conventions which allow for the exemption. The following countries are exempt from authentication: Austria, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Cyprus, Denmark, Estonia, France, Germany, United Kingdom, Greece, Ireland, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Norway, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Czech Republic, the Republic of Moldova, Romania, Serbia-Montenegro, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey.

– By the competent authority of the country of origin, in case that the law of the foreign state allows it (make sure of this by contacting the Consulate or Embassy in Italy). Documents issued abroad must be translated into Italian and legalized by the Italian authority in the same foreign country (consulate or consular chancery of the Italian Embassy) or by Apostille by the competent authorities of the countries acceding to the Hague Convention of 5/10/1961, unless there are different provisions. If the translation is done abroad the translator’s signature must also be legalized in the manner described. Countries requiring this are: Finland, Lithuania, Norway, Poland, Sweden and the United Kingdom.

Required documents to get married in Italy: the “Nulla Osta”

The “Nulla Osta” must contain the following information:

• The indication that there is no impediment to marriage under the laws of the country of origin;
• Surname and first name;
• Place and date of birth;
• Generality of the father;
• Generality of the mother;
• Citizenship;
• Residence (if the citizen is registered in the Registry of an Italian city, the name of this city should be indicated as the residency location; if the citizen is not registered in any Italian city, the city abroad where he is resident must be indicated);
• Marital status (single, widowed or divorced). For a divorced woman the date of dissolution of marriage must be indicated, for a widowed woman the date of death of the former husband must be indicated. For both, of they have been divorced or widowed for less than 300 days,  they will also need PERMISSION OF THE COURT. A divorced woman should contact the Office anyway in order to determine whether or not she needs the Authorisation of the Court.

Note: If the “Nulla Osta” does not include the identity of the parents, it is necessary to have a birth certificate.

Rules for specific countries on the “Nulla Osta”:

Citizens of AUSTRIA, GERMANY, LUXEMBOURG, NETHERLANDS, PORTUGAL, SPAIN, SWITZERLAND, TURKEY, THE REPUBLIC OF MOLDOVA taking part in the Monaco Convention of 05/09/1980, must present a “Certificate of legal capacity to marry” issued by the Civil Status Office of the city of residence (membership) in the country of origin (no need for legalization). This certificate, as specified in the circular of the Ministry of 21/01/2005 n. 4, is not subject to any legalization and it is a sufficient certification to proceed to the publication and subsequent marriage of a foreigner, a citizen of a country that is part of the Convention.

Required documents to get married in Italy: citizens

A US citizen shall provide:

• affidavit made before the Consul of the United States of America in Italy, to the effect that, according to the laws to which he is subject to in the United States, there is no impediment to him getting married in Italy. The signature of the Consul must be legalized at the Prefecture;
• affidavit (which must indicate that the citizen can marry according to the law of the State to which he belongs) prepared before the competent Italian Authority: Italian Consul abroad, Court, Notary Public.

 An Australian citizen shall provide:

• affidavit made before the Consul of Australia in Italy, to the effect that, according to the laws to which he is subject in Australia, there is no impediment to him getting married in Italy. The signature of the Consul must be legalized at the Prefecture;
• affidavit (which must still indicate that the citizen can marry under the law of the State to which he belongs) prepared before the competent Italian Authority (Italian Consul abroad), with four witnesses.

With effect from March 1st 2013, a UK citizen, resident in the UK, who intends to get married in Italy must provide, replacing the current authorization issued by the British consular authority in Italy, a “certificate of no impediment”, released by the local authority of the country of origin, and a “bilingual affidavit” made from a lawyer or a notary public in the UK. The certificate of no impediment, apostilled and duly translated, will be presented, together with the bilingual affidavit, also legalized, to the competent registry office in order to get married. British citizens resident in England and Wales who wish to marry an Irish citizen are an exception: the permit issued by the British Consulate in Italy will still be valid for them.

Compliance:

• If the foreigner is resident or domiciled in Italy, the marriage publication will be necessary
• If the engaged couple are both foreign, non-resident or domiciled in Italy, rather than asking for the marriage publications, they will need to sign a statement in which they declare that there are no obstacles between them such as kinship, affinity, adoption or affiliation, nor other impediments pursuant to art. 85, 86, 87 and 88 of the Civil Code. The statement shall be signed, after getting an appointment with the Office of Civil Status, at least three days before the wedding, submitting the necessary documents (nulla osta or equivalent certification of nulla osta provided by special conventions/agreements between States)
• If the foreign national does not understand the Italian language, he should be assisted by a translator – interpreter (with a valid ID), both during the publications request  and during the wedding ceremony

Laws:

• Civil Code (Article 116);
• Ministerial documents related to the nulla osta issuing;
• Agreements between Italy and other countries related to the nulla osta issuing

Required documents to get married in Italy, all you have to know to get married in the best country of the world!