In regards to my earlier thread about getting married to a foreigner in India, I have another query. I would like to know what the procedure for marriage registration in India with foreigner is. Where do we go for the marriage registration? What documents do we need to take with us? When do we get the marriage certificate?
Hello, @Nihal, welcome to the forum! For registering a marriage with a foreigner in India, you would be under the jurisdiction of the Special Marriage Act of 1954. With this law, an Indian and a foreigner can get married in India. Even those with different religions can register their marriage under this law. In order to be eligible for marriage for this law, you both have to be under the following criterion: None of the participating parties should be married. Otherwise, the marriage would be deemed void. If any of the parties have been married before but has been divorced, you need to produce a decree absolute. If any of the parties is a widow, then you need to produce a copy of the death certificate of the supposed dead husband or wife. The male, husband-to-be, must be at least 21 years old while the female, wife-to-be, must be at least 18 years old. Both parties should be of well-mental capacity and fully consent to the marriage. At least one of the participating parties should be residing in India in order to register the marriage. This person should have resided in India for at least 30 days or more. If the parents of any of the parties cannot go to the intended marriage registration, then you also need to obtain an affidavit. This affidavit must be notarised and it must state that you are willing to marry the other, that no one is forcing you to do so. So once you are eligible under these conditions and you have obtained these necessary documents, prepare these other requirements for your marriage registration: Valid passport for both parties as residence proof, with at least two photocopies each Indian visa for foreigner, with at least 30 days of validity, with photocopy Passport sized photographs, at least two for each person Original birth certificate for both parties as proof of age, with at least two photocopies each If your passport does not show your address, then bring another address proof like a driver's license, ration card or election card, with at least two photocopies As per mention above, a decree absolute for those who are divorced and a death certificate for those widowed, with photocopies Other required documents such as single status certificate and affidavit for willingness to get married, with photocopies Make sure all these documents are notarised accordingly. And to save time, photocopy them as well prior to reaching the Marriage Registry Office nearest to you. Now, you can go ahead and register your marriage, here are the steps for that: Go to the nearest Marriage Registry Office to you and file for a Notice of Intended Marriage. You have to submit all these documents above along with their photocopies. Once verified, you have to fill out the application form for registering your marriage. Once done with the application form and submission of documents, your Notice of Intended Marriage would be put up for 30 days. In these 30 days, if no one objects, you can proceed to register your marriage in civil court. So after 30 days, return to the Marriage Registry Office but this time, bring with you three witnesses. Preferably, include the parents-in-law or siblings, if they are available. These witnesses also have to bring an identification card, proof of address and passport-sized photographs. Along with these, bring photocopies for these documents as again, they are necessary. After a simple ceremony, saying of vows of husband-to-be and wife-to-be, all witnesses would be required to sign in the marriage certificate. The same goes for the husband-to-be and wife-to-be, they also have to sign the marriage certificate. This signed form would now be your marriage certificate, although the original copy would be kept by the office. You'd be given a notarised copy of your own which you can use for important applications like visa or even bank accounts. The release of the marriage certificate depends on the office. Usually though, it takes a few days to get it but some were also able to get the marriage certificate within the day. The fee for this type of marriage costs Rs. 150. In Delhi, since you reside there, you can go to any Sub-Divisional Magistrate, so long as it falls within your jurisdiction. Most offices are open from 9:30 am to 1:00 pm daily so plan accordingly. I hope this helps you! P.S. You can also register your marriage online so let me know if you need the details for that process. Good luck!
