WEDDING IN ITALY: please refer to form modulo M/1 – in this case, the reference procedure provides for marriage banns at this Embassy (both in the case of a civil rite and in the case of a concordat rite).
PRESENTATION OF THE REQUEST FOR PUBLICATIONS: the request may be presented to this Embassy by e-mail using form modulo M/1, available on our website (total cost to be paid at the time of the convocation: €28). Citizens residing here are invited to present a request for publications no earlier than 6 months before the expected date of marriage in Italy (in general, however, especially if one is already duly registered with the A.I.R.E. and in possession of all the required documentation, the request for publications may be presented up to a few weeks before that date, without this constituting a problem).
SPECIFIC CASES:
– in the event that one or both of the bride and groom is not resident in Ireland (and provided that they are both Italian citizens), double banns will be issued by the chosen venue for signature (total cost: €44). In this case, the request may be presented at this Embassy or at the other administration involved (Italian Municipality or other Italian consular office abroad), according to the free choice of the applicants, who will be summoned together at the venue chosen by them
– In the event that one of the two parties intending to marry is unable to appear for the signing of the publication record, a written proxy from the other party will be required. If the delegating party is not an EU citizen, the proxy must be made in the presence of a notary/lawyer, whose signature must be legalized, along with a certified copy of their identification document. The proxy can also be drafted at the Embassy/Consulate in the country of residence outside of Ireland.
– in the event that one of the betrothed is a foreign national, he/she will also be required to present (1) marriage clearance or an equivalent Certificate of Marital Capacity (in the case of countries that, among themselves, adopt the alternative Certificate of Marital Capacity, i.e. the multilingual model established by the Monaco Convention of 1980 – the updated list of adhering countries may be consulted at the website provided below) and possibly (2) a birth certificate (to be attached only where paternity and maternity are not indicated in the nulla osta itself – and in all cases concerning a Certificate of Marital Capacity) issued by the competent authorities of the country of origin (in the case of nulla osta/Certificates of Marital Capacity, with a validity period limited to 6 months; in certain cases, the nulla osta may have a validity limited to 3 months). With the exception of specific cases (detailed below), these documents must also be legalised and accompanied by their respective certified translations in Italian; all the documentation thus obtained may simply be attached in copy to the M/1 form, in order to examine it in advance and to start the file; the originals must, however, be delivered on the next agreed date for the signing of the record of the marriage publication. Finally, the request for publications may also be presented if you do not already have the nulla osta/Certificate of legal capacity to marry – it will be a good idea, however, to specify in the accompanying e-mail that the document has been requested and will be attached as soon as it is obtained, so that you can proceed with the convocation at the Embassy
– legalisation of original documents issued by foreign authorities for delivery to this Embassy (equivalent to their legal use in Italy): with the notable exception of public documents for matrimonial purposes issued to the foreign bride/ groom by the authorities of a European Union member state (accepted as authentic in another member state without the need for legalisation and Apostille), documents issued by competent local authorities of a non-EU country may either (a) be legalised by authorities of the issuing country itself by means of an international certification called an Apostille (this applies to the many states that are parties to the 1961 Hague Convention, an updated list of which can be consulted at the website provided below); or (b) must be legalised by the Italian consular representation competent for the foreign district (countries that are not parties to the aforementioned convention) in the case of documents issued by foreign consular representations in Italy, the signature of the consular official must instead be legalised at any Prefecture in Italy; whereas (c) in the less frequent cases of documents issued by foreign consular representations accredited in Ireland, the documents may be presented directly at this Embassy even if they are not legalised (however, if in a language other than Italian or English, a certified translation will still be required: see next point); (d) other cases relating to countries whose clearances are exempt from legalisation by virtue of specific bilateral agreements are rare exceptions.
– certified translations: in certain cases, the nulla osta is issued in Italian (generally, when it is the responsibility of a consular office of the foreign country in Italy) or in a multilingual version that includes Italian (countries that, among themselves, adopt the alternative Certificato di capacità matrimoniale, according to the model established by the Monaco Convention of 1980, the updated list of which can be consulted at the website provided below), and therefore do not require translation; on the contrary, all the foreign documents requested, if issued in a foreign language or in a multilingual version that does not include Italian, must be translated into Italian and the translation must be certified (at the same time or subsequently) by the competent authorities Depending on the case, this may be the Italian consular representation competent for the place of issue of the document, or an authority of the issuing country itself (in which case the certification will include a specific Apostille); alternatively, the translation may be sworn at any Italian court (referring to local sworn translators). This Embassy is in any case competent for the certification of translations into Italian of documents issued in English also from countries other than Ireland (for this purpose, a complementary request to that of publications can be submitted by form modulo TC/1.
OTHER FREQUENT CASES (in addition to the previous paragraph)
– WEDDING IN ITALY WITH AN IRISH CITIZEN: in the case of Irish nationals, it is the understanding of this Embassy that the nulla osta must be requested via the Foreign Office website and will be issued, in Italian (no translation is therefore required), by the Embassy of Ireland in Rome (IMPORTANT: obtain directly or indirectly the delivery of the clearance to one’s own address in Ireland, for the subsequent delivery to this Embassy on the occasion of the next convocation) – as this document normally also indicates the paternity and maternity data of the interested party, it is not necessary to provide the birth certificate
WEDDING IN ITALY WITH A BRAZILIAN CITIZEN: in the case of Brazilian nationals, the required documentation (to be delivered to this Embassy in the original on the occasion of the convocation) is as follows (1) Full birth certificate (“Inteiro Teor”) issued no more than six months ago, apostilled and translated into Italian (the translation must also be apostilled); (2) Notarial deed of absence of impediments to marriage (“Escritura de Ausencia de Impedimentos”) issued no more than six months ago, apostilled and translated into Italian (the translation must also be apostilled); as an alternative to document (2), where required by the Brazilian authorities, a Declaration for the purposes of marriage in Italy issued no more than six months previously by the competent Brazilian consular office in Italy, with only legalisation carried out at any Italian Prefecture (translation is not necessary, as this declaration is generally issued in Italian)
TIMING OF THE MEETING FOR THE SIGNING OF THE VERBAL (THE MEETING DATE IS GENERALLY AGREED ON WITH THE INTERESTED PARTIES): the application can be started promptly when the applicants’ address of residence is up-to-date and the A.I.R.E. registration is regularly confirmed by the respective Italian Commune, and when the possible foreign bride or groom is already in possession of the required authorisation. A.I.R.E. registration is regularly confirmed by the respective Italian Commune, and when the possible foreign bride or groom is already in possession of the required authorisation: furthermore, if the planned date of the marriage is imminent, the appointment at this Embassy may be established as a matter of urgency (the applicants will be contacted by e-mail or telephone). When opportune, however, the verification procedure may include a “contextual certificate” (a document summarising the applicant’s data, including residence and civil status), which this Embassy requests from the competent A.I.R.E. Commune – or, when there are spouses residing in Italy (or in another foreign district), from the respective Commune (or consular representation) of residence. Obtaining such a certificate takes, on average, about ten working days – response times may, however, vary greatly, depending on the Commune involved.
LENGTH AND CERTIFICATION OF THE PUBLICATIONS: the total duration of the publications may not be less than eleven days, according to the law – generally (but not necessarily), the marriage record is published on the day following the signing of the record at this Office. Once the publications have been completed (in both of the Offices involved, in the case of double publications mentioned above), a Certificate of Execution of the publications is issued – this document will be collected directly from the interested parties, for delivery by them to the celebrant, in the case of religious marriages according to the Concordat rite; on the other hand, it will be sent by this Embassy (by e-mail) directly to the Commune chosen for the marriage, with a specific proxy for the celebration of the ceremony, in the case of civil marriages (the interested parties will be notified for information). It should be noted that the certificate is valid for six months from the day of issue (therefore, in the event of a postponement of the wedding, it may still be used at a later date, as long as it is within that period – after which, unfortunately, the procedure will have to be repeated from the beginning).
AFTER THE WEDDING, finally, it is recommended to obtain from the City Council the issue of an Extract of the Marriage Certificate in multilingual format to be presented, if requested, to the local Irish authorities (or to the bank, etc.): for further information, please consult the citizensinformation.ie portal. Please note that the extract of the marriage certificate cannot be obtained from consular offices; moreover, it cannot generally be requested from Italian Public Administration offices, where one’s civil status can always be self-certified (any checks will be carried out directly by the offices involved).
MARRIAGE ABROAD (IRELAND OR OTHER FOREIGN COUNTRIES): please refer to modulo M/2 – this procedure does not provide for marriage publications at this Embassy.
DOCUMENTATION GENERALLY REQUESTED BY THE COMPETENT FOREIGN AUTHORITIES:
– Nulla osta for marriage abroad or Certificate of Marital Capacity (depending on the country of destination – see below): apply to this Embassy if you are resident in Ireland and duly registered with the A.I.R.E., by submitting the request by email using form modulo M/2, available on our website
– Extract of the birth certificate: apply directly (or through a delegated person) to your A.I.R.E. (or birth) authority in Italy; where possible, request an extract in multilingual format (including English) – the document in Italian language only must be provided with a certified translation in the language of destination, by the competent Italian consular representation (any certified translation into English for use in Ireland can be requested from this Embassy by form TC/1, together with the request for nulla osta)
TYPE OF CERTIFICATE: (1) authorization (also known as Certificate of Freedom to Marry / Civil Letter of Freedom / Certificate de Coutume), the document required in the majority of cases – including Ireland – and which is normally issued by this Embassy in a bilingual Italian/English version (its possible translation into a third language may subsequently be requested from the Italian consular representation competent for the country of destination or from any Court in Italy); (2) Certificate of marital capacity, a similar document in a multilingual version, mutually adopted and recognized only when both countries involved are parties to the 1980 Munich Convention (the updated list of which can be consulted on the website provided below).
VALIDITY: authorization and marriage capacity certificate are valid for 6 months from the day of issue (validity is generally requested at the time of presentation of the documents to the foreign authorities – not necessarily until the following day of the wedding).
SUBMISSION OF THE REQUEST AND ISSUE TIMES: the request for Nulla osta / Certificate of matrimonial capacity can be submitted via email (to the address consolare.ambdublino@esteri.it or other address indicated on the website of this Embassy) attaching a copy of form M /2 provided with the handwritten signature of the interested party, available on our website (attention: if both the bride and groom are Italian citizens and resident in Ireland, each must present their own individual request) and the required identification documents; the issuing times are timely (on average less than a working week) when the data of the interested parties are regularly updated (including the address of residence and, in the case of previously married people, the registration of the divorce decree) and the A.I.R.E. registration. duly confirmed by the Italian municipality; in general, it is therefore advisable to submit the request 2-3 months in advance of the date of intended use (and in any case not more than 6 months in advance from that date). At the end of the data verification, the Embassy will issue the required document depending on the case (Nulla impediment or Certificate of matrimonial capacity) and will inform the applicant, by telephone or e-mail, for collection purposes.
SPECIAL CASES (HIGHER THAN AVERAGE ISSUE TIMES): according to the ordinary practice indicated above, the declared data and the attached documentation are verified and therefore the requested document is issued generally quickly (a few working days, variable depending on the number of applications in the queue). However, when appropriate (for example, in the case of recent registrations with the A.I.R.E. and not yet confirmed by the competent Municipality), the verification procedure may require a cumulative certificate of the applicant’s data (including residence and marital status) which this Embassy is held to request (via PEC) directly from the A.I.R.E. Municipality. Italian of the interested party. In such cases, verifying the data requires, on average, around ten working days more – response times can however vary greatly, depending on the Municipality involved.
SUBMIT: once confirmation of issue has been received, the authorization/certificate of matrimonial capacity can be collected in person or obtained by post, following the methods indicated below. In order to send the document, it will be necessary for the applicant to send by post to this Embassy, after confirmation of the issuance of the requested document, a package containing (1) the M/2 form already submitted via email, provided a handwritten signature (i.e. hand-written on the printed page), (2) copy of a valid identification document, (3) Postal Money Order corresponding to the total amount due (the cost of each authorization/certificate of matrimonial capacity is equal at Euro 6.00) and (4) a pre-stamped envelope (capable of containing a foldable A4 sheet of paper) for subsequent delivery to the address of residence (or other chosen address).
Alternatively, it is possible to present yourself personally (or delegate a third person) for collection at the Embassy, showing a valid identification document (passport, Italian identity card, driving license) and paying the required amount (the cost of each authorization/certificate of matrimonial capacity is equal to Euro 6.00), in cash, according to an appointment that will be agreed following the issuing of the document.
AFTER THE MARRIAGE, it is essential to request the transcription of the act in Italy via form modulo SC/1 (marriage in Ireland) or form modulo SC/4 (marriage in another foreign country), for the effective updating of one’s marital status: detailed information on procedure are available on our website.