LEGAL REQUIREMENTS FOR A WEDDING IN ITALY

Above all do not obtain documents and certificates more than 6 months prior to wedding date or they expire.

PLEASE NOTE THAT Italian law states that at least 300 days must pass before a woman can remarry if she was previously divorced.

BRITISH SUBJECTS

Before the marriage of a British National may be celebrated in Italy, the authorities normally require a Consular Certificate of No Impediment (called Nulla Osta) to be produced. This certificate may be obtained in the following way:

Where both party are British National residing in UK they must give notice of Marriage to a UK Superintending Registrar. After 23 days of the publications of banns the registry office releases a document (UK Certificates of No Impediment) that have to be presented (both of them IN ORIGINAL) to the Consular office in Venice, if you are going to get married in Verona and Lake Garda South-east to the Consular office in Milan in case you are going to be married at Lake Garda South-West.

The following documents must be also included:

- Long Form of Birth certificates (showing name of parents). Original document

- Passport; first 5 pages of old format passport or last page of new European format

- If either party was previously married, the previous marriage certificate and is to be presented, or certified copy of it.

- Evidence of termination of any previous marriage if applicable (i.e. DEATH CERTIFICATE or DIVORCE DECREE ABSOLUTE)

- UK Certificate of No Impediment (when notice of marriage given in UK) This operation can be easily be completed by correspondence and after a few days the Consulate will release a Nulla Osta.

USA CITIZENS

Documentation:

- Passport for a civilian.

- Birth certificate and permission to marry issued by the Commander from the military.

- If applicable, Final Divorce Decree, Annulment Decree or Death Certificate of previous spouse.

- If under 18, sworn statement by parents or legal guardian consenting to the marriage.

- These documents must be translated into Italian.

- To be legal in Italy, the translated documents must be given the Apostil Stamp by the Secretary of State in the State where each document was originally issued.

- Obtain an Atto Notorio from an Italian Consul in the United States. This is a declaration that according to US laws there is no obstacle to the marriage, and it must be sworn to by two witnesses.

Upon your arrival in Italy:

- Another Declaration (Nulla Osta), sworn to by the US citizen at US Consulate in Italy stating that there is no legal impediment to his/her marriage under Italian Law and US Law.

- Legalization of the Nulla Osta must be done by the office of the Prefecture.

IRISH CITIZENS

- Statutory declaration by Irish citizen called a “Certificate de Coutume” for marriage abroad. (A divorced person or a person who is or intends to marry a person under the age of 18 years should use a different form).

- Completion of the MP2A form/declaration . This declaration must be made and signed in the presence of one of the following: In Ireland a Notary Public, a Commissioner for Oaths or a Solicitor. Abroad before a Diplomatic or Consular Officer of Ireland, or a Notary Public, a Commissioner for Oaths, or an equivalent person authorized oaths or declarations in that place.

You need to bring all the following documents to the DEPARTMENT OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS in Dublin. They will check them and if everything is ok they will send an email to the Irish Consulate in Rome, that will issue the Nulla Osta.

- MP2A form
- Birth certificate length form (with parents names)
- Copy of the passports.


At the Department of Foreign affairs you have to pay the cost of the Nulla Osta which varies from year to year – and might be around Euro 30 per person.

CANADIAN CITIZENS

In preparation for a marriage to be performed in accordance with the Italian law, Canadian citizens are required to present to the Italian authorities a NULLA OSTA (certificate of non-impediment to the marriage). The Canadian Consulate does not issue a Nulla Osta. However, to assist Canadian in meeting the requirements for appropriate documentation, the Canadian Consulate prepares a declaration containing the relevant information. This declaration is accepted by the Italian authorities for the purposes of Article 116.

To obtain this declaration from the Canadian Consulate, a Canadian Citizen must first complete and swear an AFFIDAVIT to the effect that there is no impediment to the proposed marriage. The affidavit can be sworn in front of a notary public in Canada or a consular official at the Consulate. If the affidavit is to be made at the Canadian Consulate the applicant should fill out the appropriate form and bring and present the following documents:

- Certified copy of Canadian passport; - Proof of Canadian citizenship (Canadian birth certificate or Certificate of Canadian);

- Document issued by the competent Vital Statistic authorities in Canada confirming that no registration of marriage appears in their records (if obtainable);

- Complete details of the future spouse (full name, date and place of birth, residence, father's name and mother's maiden name - FORM B AFFIDAVIT);

- Final divorce decree or death certificate of previous spouse (if divorced of widowed);

- Parent's consent (if the person is under marriageable age)

To obtain the required document from the Canadian Embassy an appointment is required.

This document has then to be legalized by the Prefettura.

Once the declaration has been obtained and legalized, it is presented to the marriage Office of the Municipality in Italy, Banns are waived if neither party is Italian nor residing in Italy.

THE CANADIAN DECLARATION document COSTS about Euro 25 each.

AUSTRALIAN CITIZENS

Australian citizens wishing to be married in Italy require the following documentation:

- original full birth certificate, translated into Italian and legalized (both certificate and translation) by means of an Apostille (issued by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade)

- Single Status Certificate (issued by the Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages), translated into Italian and legalized (both certificate and translation) by means of an Apostille (issued by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade)

- valid passport

The abovementioned documents must be presented to the Registrar of the chosen Italian municipality within 90 days from their date of issue.

In addition, Australian citizens are required to obtain an Atto Notorio which is a statutory declaration that must be signed individually by each of the parties, along with 4 able witnesses, in which it is stated that, according to Australian law, there is no impediment to the marriage. The 4 witnesses must be over the age of 18, hold a current form of photo i.d. and must not be related to the future bride or groom. In the even that you are not able to obtain this declaration before your departure, the Atto Notorio can be prepared in Italy, through the Australian Diplomatic Missions in Italy. Should you wish to obtain the document locally before leaving Australia, please contact the Consulate no later than 1 month prior to departure, in order to arrange for its issue. An appointment will be given for this purpose. In order to prepare the Atto Notorio the Consulate will need to receive, at least a week prior to the appointment date, all the relevant information required to draft the document.

On the day, you will be required to produce: birth certificate, passport, proof or residential address and, if the case may be, the decree nisi or certificate of divorce. All four (4) witnesses will need to accompany you on the day - bride and groom may use the same witnesses if both require the issue of an Atto Notorio. Along with your personal details (as above) please supply the information regarding the witnesses.

The cost for the issue of an Atto Notorio is €18.60. The Atto Notorio must then be presented to the Australian Diplomatic Missions in Italy (the Consulate in Milan) in order to obtain the “NULLA OSTA” (NO IMPEDIMENT CERTIFICATE), as required by art.116 of the Italian Civil Code. The Nulla Osta than need to be legalized at the Prefettura

If one or both of the future spouses is divorced, the original Divorce Decree, translated into Italian and legalized (both certificate and translation) by means of an Apostille (issued by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade) will need to be submitted to the Registrar of the chosen municipality, along with the rest of the documentation.