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4 Documents Always Required to Get Married Abroad

Picture of a couple getting married in Colombia

Documentation and Translation Needed for International Weddings

As a professional document translation service, we see about half of our translations coming from different parts of the world for use in the United States; however, the other half of our work consists of documents that are translated into Spanish for use abroad. Many of these translations are used for marriage abroad or international marriage in Colombia, the Dominican Republic, Mexico and a variety of other countries. It is very difficult to know the required process for marriage in each and every country as many countries have different rules even within their borders and depending on a variety of other circumstances. With that being said, this page provides information about the process based on actual experiences of our customers in the past twelve years. Marriage in another country can be complicated from a documentation and translation perspective. The first and most important step is to get in touch with someone in the country of destination and request a list of required documents in writing, and then, follow that list. Rules change, laws change, and a successful wedding, from a paperwork perspective, will depend on a handful of people, that is, a magistrate, an attorney, a civil registry official or similar, and if you can secure a list of documents from the proper person in advance, success is much more likely. Again, the following is based on experience and should always be considered as part of the information you need. Please continue to investigate and reach out to points of contact and agency in the country in which you plan to get married.

“Always to get in touch with someone (or some agency) in the destination country and request a list of required documents in writing, and then, follow the list.”

Dan Hickman, Ph.D.

Colombia: Documents needed to get married in Colombia

If you are needing information about how to get married in Colombia, there are many resources online. It should be made clear from the beginning that getting married in Colombia is very complicated considering that civil marriages are performed by government officials or notaries and marriage requirements can be very different from notary to notary. As stated earlier, the most important step is to get in touch with the notary or notary office where you are getting married and see about getting a list of required documents. The US Embassy in Colombia also provides information on its website.

The Following Documents are Typically Required to Get Married in Colombia

  • Birth Certificates: Official, certified copies of both spouses’ birth certificates. If one certificate is issued in the United States, it must be translated from English to Spanish and both the original and translation must be apostilled; you will need two apostilles for each birth certificate. Official, there is not expiration date for vital records, but it is always recommended to order a new copy of your birth certificate before requesting an apostille.
  • Proof or Evidence of Marriage Eligibility: This can be a single status letter, negative record of marriage, a divorce decree, a sworn affidavit of single status, or, in some odd cases, some sort of notarized statement from a friend or family member attesting to the fact that one or both of the parties is eligible for marriage. Official legal or government documents are always recommended, yet many choose to include additional proof or letters to support their case. There is a section below that discusses additional proof of eligibility documents. Evidence of marriage eligibility documents or single status letters should also be translated, certified, notarized and apostilled. Again, both the original and translation should be notarized and apostilled.

Regarding apostilles, the general rule for Colombia is that each document needs two, that is one for the original document from the state of issue, and one for the translation from the state of translation. Without these two apostilles, your chance of success is much less. It is important to know that the original document apostille and translation apostille do not have to come from the same state, so for example, if you have a birth certificate from California, only the original birth certificate must be apostilled in California. The translation should be apostilled in the state where the translations was completed and where the translator’s affidavit is sign and notarized. In a perfect world, it would be easiest to get the translation done first, which would be certified and notarized in the same state of issue as the birth certificate, and then send both the original document and translation together to the secretary of state, but this not always possible as most certified translators work regionally or even nationally and do not have notaries in all fifty states, which is why translators typically order apostilles for their own translations.

This process should be followed for religious weddings in Colombia as well as the legal side of the process is similar, although most religious organizations will have a few additional requirements. In the case of a religious wedding, you should always contact the institution in advance to find out what is needed as there are not universal rules or regulations regarding these types of marriages. In many cases, however, customer request document translations for a Catholic Wedding in Colombia, which is pretty standard worldwide. In order request approval from a particular church, parish or diocese for a Catholic Wedding in Colombia (or any country), you must present a certified baptism certificate and a certified confirmation certificate, both of which should be translated by a certified Spanish translator. An apostille is typically not required for these documents.

Learning everything you can is the best way to have a successful wedding abroad, so do all the research you can. The following sites also list requirements and guides for Americans getting married in Colombia:

Please keep in mind that this information should not be considered legal advice. It is only a guide based on past experiences, any of which may not apply to your current situation. Also, rules, regulations and laws change often, so it is always a good idea to do your research.

Dominican Republic: Documents needed to get married in the Dominican Republic

Getting married or having a wedding in the Dominican Republic is also bit complicated. We have found that those planning to have a wedding or ceremony in one of the tourist areas, such as Punta Cana is much different than marriage in Santo Domingo, National District or in Santiago de los Caballeros.

The general rules for foreign weddings, as mentioned in the first section above, should be considered first. From that point, the following section discusses additional, specific documents are discussed below.

Which documents should be translated for an international wedding?

Marriage Requirements for the Dominican Republic

The following is a list of the documentation required by Dominican Law in order to be legally married in the Dominican Republic.

  • Certified, State-Issued Birth Certificate for both parties.
  • Single Status Affidavit or Notarized Declaration of Single status for both spouses. Or, if one or both parties have been married before, an official copy of a divorce decree or death certificate must be submitted.
  • Passport of both parties
  • Passport for the witnesses, who should not be related to either spouse.
  • Entry requirements – in many cases, both parties must enter the country three days before the wedding. This and all other requirements should be verified in advance.

All documents must be translated and then legalized by one of the Dominican Consulates prior to arriving in the Dominican Republic, except for the Passports. The documents should be legalized by the Dominican Consulate no more than three months prior to the wedding date. It is the couple’s responsibility to have all the documentation ready prior to the wedding.

Reading a variety of sites and recommendation is the best way to have a successful wedding abroad. The following sites also list requirements and guides for Americans getting married in the Dominican Republic:

International Wedding Requirements for Other Countries in Latin America

If you are planning a wedding in one of the many other countries in Latin America or the Caribbean, the following guidelines a universal and recommended; nonetheless, you should always verify with someone or some agency in the country of destination as rules and regulations regarding marriage are always changing, especially for non-resident marriage, that is, when one or both parties is not of citizen of the destination country.

These 4 Documents are Almost Always Required in Latin America

  1. Birth Certificate, Both Parties, Certified Copy that has an Apostille
  2. Evidence of Eligibility to Marriage (Single Status Letter, Divorce, or Similar) It should be notarized and have an apostille
  3. Passport or other Travel Document validating legal status in the destination country
  4. Translation of all documents into Spanish, which should have an attached apostille from the state where the translator is located.

“No two situations are alike, but a little research and advanced planning goes a long way when coordinating an international wedding.”

Dan Hickman, Ph.D.

The most confusing part for most people planning a wedding abroad is the translation and apostille process. Please see our page regarding apostilles and translation for additional information, but in short, each original document must be presented to the secretary of state of the state of issue for an apostille. For example, of one party is from Texas, the apostille for the Texas birth certificate must be ordered from the Secretary of State in Austin and if the other party is from California, the apostille for this birth certificate must be ordered from the Secretary of State in Sacramento. Likewise, the single status letters and/or divorce decrees must be notarized and then sent to the Secretary of State for an apostille. From that point, all documents must be translated, certified, and notarized by a professional translation agency that then send all translated documents and apostilles to the Secretary of State where the documents were translated for an apostille for the translation. Again, for example, if the documents from California and Texas were then translated in Tennessee, the translator would send all translations in ordinal form to the Secretary of State in Nashville. Sound complicated? It is not as bad as it seems. Call or email us, and we will walk you through the process.

Summary, Conclusion, Final Thoughts

Getting married abroad or planning an international wedding is very complicated. From a documentation and translation standpoint, it is really pretty basic. All you really need to do is confirm what is needed from an official agency in the country of destination, and get it in writing, prove who you are with your birth certificate, prove that you are eligible to marry, and get everything translated and apostilled. Aside from that, the minor requirement from country to country are fairly easy to satisfy. We are always glad to provide information about what we have seen or done in the past, although our advice should not be considered legal advice. After translating for over thirteen years, we feel as if we have seen a lot of marriages abroad and should be able to provide useful information that helps facilitate the process.

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