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Signature for the consul
There are three ways to start a joint life in a good place. First: formalize the relationship and celebrate this event in some very foreign country. Second: register at the district registry office of your hometown, quickly board a plane and set off on a wedding trip. And third, exotic: regardless of formalizing the relationship, have a wedding according to the customs of the Lumba-Yumba tribe. Or another tribe.
The first method requires knowledge of the laws of two countries: your own and the one where you plan to exchange rings. You must have the right to marry under the laws of both countries, meaning you must meet age and other criteria, not be married, and so on. If everything is in order, you need to gather all the documents required by that country's law, translate them in your home country into the appropriate language, and legalize them.
The word 'legalization' can terrify anyone uninitiated in legal nuances. Actually, it's not painful at all: legalization of documents is handled by legal translation firms and notary-translation agencies. If you see the word 'apostille' on a sign, know that's where you go. The agency will translate your documents and certify them in full compliance with International Law – at the Department of Consular Service of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs or the Ministry of Justice.
• By the way, if you need to legalize documents, we recommend contacting professionals who have long proven themselves in the legal services market. For example, Legal company Exclusive Consulting Group will help you choose the most efficient option for document legalization, and also provide advice on emigration or immigration matters.
If the target country is a member of the Hague Convention of 1961, official documents are legalized in a special manner: a special stamp, the so-called apostille, is placed on them, which certifies the authenticity of the signature, seal, and everything else.
Having received a foreign marriage document, you will also need to legalize it. By law, this must be done in the country of origin of the document, meaning your certificate issued abroad must have either an apostille (if the foreign country is one of the Hague countries) or consular certification. Only one person has the right to issue you a full document of legal marriage – the Ukrainian consul in the territory of the foreign state.
However, consuls usually marry either citizens of their state permanently residing abroad, or close relatives and acquaintances – through connections. And other compatriots wishing to enter into legal marriage in a foreign state are taken care of by the hosting travel agencies. They organize a warm welcome at the 'registry office', help with paperwork, and negotiate with local authorities. So the more touristy the country, the easier it is to have a wedding there.
Trouble-free wedding countries include, for example, Finland, Australia, Switzerland, Sri Lanka, Mauritius, Argentina, Fiji, Jamaica, and other Caribbean islands. Also individual cities: Las Vegas, Baden-Baden, Verona. And even individual hotels – in particular, the Swiss 'Bürgenstock', in whose chapel Sophia Loren married Carlo Ponti and Audrey Hepburn married Mel Ferrer. Currently, about 150 weddings are held at Bürgenstock per year. Especially loved by the Japanese. And they are probably right: an old palace-style hotel stands on a high mountain, on the shore of Lake Lucerne, among idyllic alpine meadows.
The procedure for submitting documents is different everywhere. If, for example, you decide to register in Germany, it will happen in one of the four Supreme Registry Offices of the country. You need to send them applications and other documents and wait for a response. Applications are submitted in writing on a registry office form in German, separately from the groom and the bride. The registry office will apply to the Supreme Court of its state for a 'Certificate of No Impediment to Marriage' (Ehefahigkeitszeugnis). Review of documents will take 3 to 5 weeks. The Supreme Court may request additional data or documents. The date of marriage will be set only after the registry office receives this Ehefahigkeitszeugnis. During the wedding ceremony, witnesses are not required.
In Mauritius, you give the documents to the travel agency 30 days before the trip, and nothing more is required from you. The wedding can be held after living on the island for at least two days. Witnesses are required, but you can always fish them out of the hotel pool.
On the paradise island of Bali, you'll be married in no time, but before the civil procedure you must perform a church ceremony. Or provide a certificate that you have already done this in your country.
From a distant country you will bring a translated and legalized marriage certificate, which will become your family document. If you want to get a stamp in your passport, the passport office at your place of residence will handle it. You won't have to go to the district registry office.
Countries party to the Hague Convention: Australia, Austria, Andorra, Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Armenia, Bahamas, Barbados, Belarus, Belize, Botswana, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brunei, United Kingdom, Hungary, Venezuela, Germany, Greece, Israel, Ireland, Spain, Italy, Cyprus, Latvia, Lesotho, Liberia, Lithuania, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Mauritius, Macedonia, Malawi, Malta, Marshall Islands, Mexico, Netherlands, Niue, Norway, Panama, Portugal, Russia, El Salvador, San Marino, Samoa, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Swaziland, Seychelles, Slovenia, United States, Suriname, Tonga, Turkey, Fiji, Finland, France, Croatia, Czech Republic, Switzerland, Yugoslavia, South Africa, Japan.
To be continued.