Registration of marriages celebrated abroad

The registration process can be initiated directly by the interested parties or through an Italian diplomatic Representation abroad. The documentation must be presented to the Civil Status Officer of the competent Municipality, who will provide for registration in the Italian registers. Alternatively, the acts can be transmitted by the Italian Consulate of the district where the marriage was celebrated.

If the marriage was celebrated in a country adhering to the 1976 Vienna Convention, multilingual acts do not require legalisation or translation, considerably simplifying the procedure. In other cases, it will be necessary to ensure that the documentation is complete and compliant, in order to avoid delays or refusals in the registration.

The Civil Status Offices proceed to verify the validity of the act and the conformity of the translation, then to request the delivery of the original documentation. The complete procedure, in terms of timing, can be affected by the risk that the Consulate and the Municipality do not communicate in an effective and rapid manner with each other, causing delays in the registration. In these cases, a follow-up practice may be necessary, to be entrusted to firms experienced in international civil and administrative law, such as us at Boschetti Studio Legale, to ensure timely and correct completion of the procedure.

The legalisation of the foreign marriage act is the procedure by which both the legal qualification of the public officer who signed the act and the authenticity of the affixed signature are officially certified.

For Italy, a significant innovation in matters of legalisation of acts was introduced with EU Regulation n. 2016/1191, which entered into force on 16 February 2019. This regulation eliminates the obligation to legalise or carry out similar practices for various public, administrative, notarial acts and judgments issued in a Member State and intended to be recognised in another Member State.

In the contracting states to the Hague Convention of 5 October 1961 on the abolition of the legalisation of foreign public acts, legalisation has been replaced by the apposition of an apostille. The latter, applied by the authority designated internally by each State, makes the act immediately valid in the State of destination. Furthermore, numerous bilateral and multilateral Conventions have further facilitated the circulation of documents between different States.

When dealing with acts and documents issued by foreign authorities and intended to be used in Italy, legalisation by the Italian diplomatic-consular representations abroad is necessary. An exception is made for documents drafted on multilingual models provided for by international Conventions. In any case, such documents must be translated into Italian and the translation must be declared compliant with the original by an official translator or by the consular office.

Conversely, if it is an Italian marriage act that must be used abroad, the procedure varies based on the country of destination. In countries adhering to the 1961 Hague Convention, it is sufficient to request the apposition of the apostille from the competent Prefecture or Public Prosecutor’s Office, making the act immediately valid in the foreign country. In non-adhering countries, instead, the act must be legalised first by the Prefecture or Public Prosecutor’s Office and subsequently at the embassy or consulate of the country of destination in Italy. In both cases, an official translation may be necessary, which must be sworn before an Italian court or verified by the foreign consulate. For Member States of the European Union, thanks to Regolamento UE 2016/1191, legalisation and apostille are not necessary, and the act can be accompanied by a standard multilingual form issued by the Italian Municipality to facilitate its use. It is fundamental to verify any bilateral agreements or specific requirements of the country concerned.

The registration of the marriage celebrated abroad represents a fundamental instrument for the formal recognition of the marital bond in the Italian legal system. Through this procedure, the marriage act is inserted into the Italian civil status registers, thus conferring publicity to the bond and allowing legal effects to be produced also in the national territory.

According to DPR 396/2000, marriages celebrated between Italian citizens, or between Italian citizens and foreigners, can be registered, provided that they took place before a competent local or consular authority. However, it is essential that the requirements provided for by Italian law be respected, such as marriage publications. Although some foreign legal systems require equivalent certifications, in Italy the preliminary verification of any impediments to ensure the validity of the union remains central.

On the other hand, the registration in Italy of a marriage celebrated abroad between two foreign citizens follows different rules. The registration, in this case, has merely certifying value: it is not indispensable to attribute validity to the marriage in Italy, which is recognised if celebrated according to the forms provided for by the law of the country of origin (principle of locus regit actum), provided it does not conflict with Italian public policy. The registration, however, allows obtaining matrimonial certifications in Italy and can be useful to prove the civil status of the spouses, for example in case of application for residence permit or in other administrative situations.

As we have seen, the registration of marriages celebrated abroad in the Italian civil status registers follows precise regulatory provisions. Marriage can be validly celebrated abroad both with civil and religious rite, provided it is recognised by the local law. For the registration, the act must be translated and, where necessary, legalised or provided with apostille according to the Hague Convention.

Territorial competence follows a precise order: first the Municipality of current or future residence of the interested party, then the one of AIRE registration, followed by the Municipality of birth and, for those born abroad, the Municipality of birth/residence of the parents.

Particular attention must be paid to same-sex marriages: if celebrated between foreign citizens, they can be registered as marriages; if they involve Italian citizens, they produce the effects of a civil union and must be registered in the appropriate register.

Polygamous marriages are not registrable due to contrariety to Italian public policy, since polygamy is considered a crime. Similarly, marriages that violate other fundamental principles of the legal system are not registrable, such as those involving minors under 16 years.

With many years of experience in international family law, Boschetti Studio Legale accompanies you in the entire process of registration of your marriage celebrated abroad. We are the right choice if you are looking for a law firm to manage every aspect of the procedure, from the preliminary assessment of registrability to the confirmation of the registration in the Italian civil status archives.

Our multilingual team takes care of the preparation and verification of all the necessary documentation, including certified translations and legalisations, identifying the competent Italian Municipality according to the regulations in force. We also competently manage complex situations such as same-sex marriages, which follow different procedures for Italian and foreign citizens, and religious marriages celebrated in countries that do not recognise civil effects. Contact us for a personalised consultation.