Requirements to get married in Italy if you are foreigners
by
23 April 2019
Italy is one of the most popular destinations chosen by couples who want to get married: perfect weather, amazing cities of art and history, ancient villas and castles, beautiful churches and cathedrals and tasty food. More and more foreigners choose this wonderful country every year. But from a legal point of view, there’s some paperwork to do: here is a list of requirements if you’re a foreigner.
Tuscany is the region with the highest number of foreign marriages …
What kind of marriage can you celebrate?
Most weddings are celebrated with a civil or religious ritual (often a Cristian ritual in a church), but you can have Jewish, Muslim or Hindu ceremonies too. However, regardless of nationality and religion, all foreigners need some compulsory documents compulsory documents.
Requirements for a wedding in Italy
Either a civil or religious ceremony, anyone can get married in Italy because there is no legal obligation to residency for a wedding. But there are some conditions and documents that a foreigner must have.
The most important is a go-ahead released by a legal authority of your home country which certifies that there isn’t any legal obstacle for the wedding. The go-ahead can be given by the embassy or consulate of your country in Italy. The go-ahead can be replaced with a Certificate of matrimonial ability, a sworn statement or an affidavit. The type of document depends on the nationality of the couple.
A wedding in Italy obviously must be organized “all’Italiana”
Another important document is an identification document, such as I.D card or passport. Some situations require a birth certificate as well. We suggest you check the validity of your documents in time and legibility of your name and surname(s). According to Italian laws, also political refugees can get married in Italy: they just need a document from the High Commissioner that certifies their status of refugee.
Particular conditions: minors and previous marriages
Some situations require other documents, for example: divorced people have to wait 300 days from the emission of their divorce decree. As for a widow(er), they need a certificate of their first marriage and a death certificate of their partner.
In case of marriage between two under-ages, Italian law demands an authorization from the juvenile court (the couple has to be at least 16 years old).
Another document is required if two foreigners want to celebrate a catholic ceremony: for example, a certificate of frequency of a pre-wedding course or a permit from the local pastor.
