Preparations for a civil marriage in Italy are a mix of pleasure and bureaucratic formalities that alternate. On the one hand, you have the fun of choosing your wedding gown, decorations, cake and party favours, while on the other, you have to prepare the documents to be presented for your marriage to be legally valid.
The point is that the former cannot exist without the latter, so it is better to complete all bureaucratic choresas soon as possible and without stress, to then dedicate yourself to more pleasant and exciting things.
Civil marriage in Italyhas specific procedures as regards the necessary documents. If you are both foreign citizens and want to celebrate your big day in Italy, you may find it useful to have some information on everything you need from an administrative point of viewin order to get married here.
Civil Marriage in Italy for a foreign citizen.
Firstly, there are two ways in which a foreign citizen can get married with a civil ceremony in Italy:
- According to Italian law, by a Registrar
- According to one’s own national law, by the diplomatic or consular authority of the country of citizenship
Of course, if you choose to get married according to the Italian legislative system, you must comply with the conditions provided for by Italian law. Therefore, the impediments provided for by the Civil Code (Article 116, paragraph 2) must not exist,such as:
- Interdiction
- Bound by a previous marriage
- Non-dispensable kinship and affinity
- Crime
- Temporary ban on new marriages
The minimum age limit must also be respected, which in Italy is 18 years (16 with authorization).
All the documents you need
Let’s see in more detail, all the documents needed to celebrate a Civil Marriage in Italy:
1- Identity document
To begin with, you need to present a valid identity document(identity card or passport).
2- Nulla Osta
A Nulla Osta (Article 116 of the Civil Code)is also necessary. This is issued by the competent authority of one’s country of origin and must be duly legalized and translated into Italian.
The Nulla Osta serves to certify that there are no impediments to marriage by the country of origin, and contains the following information:
- Name and surname
- Date and place of birth
- Citizenship and residence
- Paternity and maternity
- No impediment to marry
If it does not contain data relating to your birth, you will have to provide your birth certificate: this too must also be legalized and translated into Italian.
3- Certificate of “legal capacity to marry “
Foreign citizens coming from states that have signed and ratified the Munich Conventionof September 5th., 1980 can, as an alternative to the Nulla Osta, present a certificate of “legal capacity to marry”, which once issued does not have to be legalized.
The countries that can issue this certificate are: Austria, Italy, Germany, Greece, Luxembourg, Moldova, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Switzerland and Turkey.
4- Other
If you are not a citizen of the European Unionand are not resident in Italy, you will need to submit the additional documents required by art. 51, since these are documents not registered in Italy or with an Italian consular authority.
And now?
So, as you can see, the documents required to celebrate your civil wedding in Italyare not so many and once you make your application, you can be sure that you have already taken an important step in the preparation of your wedding.
However, if you feel troubled, fear not! A good wedding plannercan help you carry out these formalities, guiding you step by step and removing the burden from your shoulders.
If you need more information about the bureaucratic process please get in touch
We will be happy to support you in organizing your fantastic civil wedding in Italy.
