Marriage in the Czech Republic
INFORMATION ON REQUIREMENTS FOR MARRIAGE IN THE CZECH REPUBLIC Please be advised that the following rules and procedures apply in case you wish to conclude a marriage in the Czech Republic: 1) The application to conclude marriage should be submitted sufficient time in advance before the
INFORMATION ON REQUIREMENTS FOR MARRIAGE
IN THE CZECH REPUBLIC
Please be advised that the following rules and procedures apply in case you wish to conclude a marriage in the Czech Republic:
1) The application to conclude marriage should be submitted sufficient time in advance before the planned wedding ceremony to the City Hall or the Municipal or District Office (Radnice, Mestsky urad, Obvodni urad) authorized to keep the records for the district in which the wedding is to take place, or to a local church.
2) United States citizens are required to present the following documents to the local authorities:
- valid passport
- Birth Certificate, e.g. an Abstract of the Register of Birth
- if widowed, Death Certificate of the former spouse
- if divorced, the Final Divorce Decree
- Document certifying the applicant's capacity to marry, e.g., that he/she is, pursuant to the provisions of the respective State legislature, free to marry. Such Certificate can be issued by the Department of Health in the State where the applicant lives. As an exception, an affidavit as mentioned bellow will be accepted instead of the Certificate.
- Document confirming citizenship and permanent residence. These documents may have the form of an Affidavit sworn by the U.S. citizen before a U.S. Consular Officer abroad or a Notary Public in the United States. The documents must include his/her ful name, date and place of birth, marriage status, nationality, passport No., date and place of its issuance, address and also his/her fiancee's full address.
NOTE: All documents issued in the United States of America must be certified with an Apostille issued by the appropriate office of the Secretary of State or Lieutenant Governor for legal use in the Czech Republic. (please see the enclosed information)
Please note that each document (except the passport) must be presented to the local authorities in the Czech Republic translated into Czech language. Although the Consulate General is not able to provide the translation, we will gladly provide you with a list of translators who are available to provide translation services for a fee. We can verify the translation submitted to the Consulate. The verification fee for each translated page is $8.00. Please note that the translation may also be done and verified in the Czech Republic by a certified translator.
3) If the American bride or groom does not speak Czech, it is necessary that the wedding ceremony be attended by a sworn interpreter.
4) Please, remember that the passport or visa cannot subtitute any of the above mentioned documents, which must be presented with the application for marriage in the Czech Republic.
5) It is beneficial to find out from the local office of the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service about legal requirements if the foreign spouse-to-be plans to immigrate to the United States after the marriage.
Los Angeles, Febuary 4, 2005
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