Getting married in Italy - Requirements for British Citizens

Requirements for British Citizens

Volterra Town Hall

1. Marriages are not celebrated at British Consulates in Italy.

2. Italian civil marriages, and marriages celebrated in Italy according to religious rites and subsequently transcribed into the Italian civil register, are recognised as valid under British law providing no obstacles existed, which would have prevented the marriage taking place under the law of the appropriate part of the United Kingdom.

3. For further information about civil marriages in Italy, or the registration of a religious marriage in the civil register, application should be made to the Italian authorities (Comune).

A wedding service (sacramental marriage) can be performed by a priest but only after a civil ceremony has taken place elsewhere. (The Church of England is not recognised by the Italian State and therefore a marriage ceremony which only takes place there cannot subsequently be transcribed into the Italian civil register.)

Feel free to contact us for information about Catholic and other religious marriages, approach should be made direct to the minister of religion of the denomination concerned.

4. The Italian authorities require the production of a Consular Certificate of No Impediment (Nulla Osta) before the marriage of a British citizen may be celebrated or registered.

This certificate may be obtained in one of the following ways:

MARRIAGE BETWEEN A BRITISH CITIZEN AND A FOREIGN NATIONAL

(i) Where the British citizen has resided within the Consular District in which the marriage is to take place for at least 21 clear days preceding posting up of Notice of Marriage (that is not counting the day of arrival or the day of posting Notice):

Notice of Marriage is given to the Consular Officer and posted up for a period of a further 21 clear days. If no impediment is shown to exist at the end of this period, a Certificate of No Impediment is issued to the British party.

(ii) Where the British citizen resides outside the Consular District in which the marriage is to take place (but not in the UK):

Notice of Marriage is given as in (i) above to the Consular Officer of the district of residence. If no impediment is shown to exist at the end of the 21 day period of posting, the Consular Officer issues a certificate of the posting of notice for production to the Consular Officer of the district where the marriage is to take place. The latter then issues a Certificate of No Impediment to the British party.

(iii) Where the British Citizen resides in the UK:

Notice of Marriage is given to the Superintending Registrar in the district of residence in the UK (can be up to 21 days). The Registrar subsequently issues a certificate of the posting of notice (Superintendent Registrar's Certificate of No Impediment to Marriage) for production to the Consular Officer of the district where the marriage is to take place. The latter then issues a Certificate of No Impediment (Nulla Osta) to the British party. Please refer to separate "marriage letter".

MARRIAGE BETWEEN TWO BRITISH CITIZENS

(iv) Where both parties to the marriage fulfil the residence qualification as at (i) above:

Notices of Marriage are given by each party to the Consular Officer as at (i) above and if no impediment is shown to exist at the end of the 21 day period of posting, Certificates of No Impediment are issued to both parties.

(v) Where only one party to the marriage fulfils the residence qualification as at (i) above:

The party fulfilling the residence qualifications follows the procedure as at (i) above. The other party gives Notice of Marriage to the competent authority (in the United Kingdom the Superintending Registrar in the

district of residence, elsewhere a British Consular Officer). The certificate of the posting of notice subsequently issued is then presented to the Consular Officer of the district where the marriage is to take place. The latter then issues Certificates of No Impediment (Nulla Osta) to both parties.

(vi) Where neither party fulfils the residence qualification as at (i) above:

Notices of Marriage should be given to the Superintending Registrar/s in the district of residence of the parties. (See para 4 (iii) above). If you reside outside of the UK see para 4 (ii).

If the parties are not officially resident the Comune also need sworn declarations to the effect that they are free to marry. In most Comuni these declarations can now be done directly in the Town Hall. In the case of two foreigners not officially resident in Italy the Comune do not normally require a period of residency nor to publish banns, however it is advisable to plan on being in Italy for about one week before the ceremony to sort out the local legal requirements. Some Municipal Authorities in Italy charge non-residents an extra fee for marriages, so the parties should enquire about these charges at the time of booking the ceremony.

If neither party speak Italian an interpreter will need to be present at the actual marriage ceremony as well as helping with the Italian documentation.

If one or both of the parties are officially resident in Italy the Italian authorities normally require additional notice (following production of the Consular Certificate of No Impediment - Nulla Osta) to include two Sundays.

5. Where one party to the marriage is a British citizen and the other party is not Italian, the latter will be required to produce to the Italian authorities a Certificate of No Impediment issued by his/her own Consular authority. If the other party is IRISH and both parties live in England, Wales or Northern Ireland, the British citizen has to refer to the Rome Consulate. If a British citizen lives in a Commonwealth country please ask us about these procedures.

6. Documents required for posting Notice of Marriage in person by appointment with a British Consular Officer or for issuing a Consular Certificate of No Impediment (Nulla Osta) – photocopies are not acceptable,( except for passports, if outside Italy):

British citizens:

(a) British passport

(b) Original birth certificate - or adoption certificate - that includes the names of both parents; the short version is not acceptable

(c) Consent of parents or guardian if either party is under age.

(d) Documentary evidence for either party of any previous marriage/s and their termination ie original marriage and divorce certificates (decree absolute), death certificates, etc. (NB Under Italian Law women cannot remarry until 300 days have passed from the date of the "decree absolute", unless special dispensation is obtained from the Italian Courts.)

(e) Evidence of any change of name or surname.

(f) Certificato di Residenza (Certificate of Residence) in the case of British citizens officially resident in their local Italian "Comune" (ie enrolled in the Anagrafe).

Italian or other citizens:

(g) Certificato di Stato Libero or Dichiarazione sostitutiva for the Italian party to a marriage or Consular No Impediment Certificate for any other nationality.

(h) Passport or Identity Document (with photograph) for the Italian, or other nationality, party to a marriage.

Please check carefully that the details on British passports, birth certificates etc are correct. If, for example, on your passport, there are discrepancies in your names (names added/left off, wrong spellings or wrong date and a place of birth which is NOT THE EXACT PLACE GIVEN IN THE LONG BIRTH CERTIFICATE, EVEN IF IT'S NEARBY etc), this might create problems with the Italian Authorities and the Consulate takes NO RESPONSIBILITY for this. Please also contact the Consulate in advance to make an appointment for posting of Notice of Marriage if you are resident in Italy in our district.

Surce: British Consulate - Lungarno Corsini 2, 50123 Florence

Tel: 055 284133 Fax: 055 219112 December 2009