Marriage

Here is some important information that we suggest you read carefully. A distinction is made between consular marriage (celebrated before the Italian consular authority in Lebanon), marriage in Italy of Italian citizens residing in Lebanon and, finally, marriage in Lebanon, in front of the local Authorities.

1. A) If you wish marry at the Italian Embassy in Lebanon (as per article 12 of the Legislative Decree no. 71/2011)

The request for celebrating a consular marriage

If you wish to marry at the Embassy of Italy in Lebanon, you shall submit a Request for celebrating a consular marriage (application). It is a document that you must both sign and submit in person to the consular office with a valid identity document (article 51, paragraph 1, of Presidential Decree 396/2000 or send it by mail, fax or e-mail with an attached photocopy of your identity documents.

If you cannot appear in person to request the publications of marriage, you may appoint a third person by means of a special power of attorney drawn up on plain paper that must be provided with a copy of your valid identity documents.

There are certain cases in which your request may be refused (art. 12 of the Legislative Decree 71/2011 – “The head of the consular office celebrates marriage between Italian citizens or between an Italian citizen and a non-Italian citizen. The celebration of the marriage may be refused when local laws oppose it or when the parties do not reside in the consular district.”

A marriage between a person of Italian nationality and a person of Lebanese nationality cannot be celebrated in the Embassy. In fact, Lebanese law only recognizes religious marriages and therefore it does not allow Lebanese citizens to contract a civil marriage in Lebanon under foreign law (Italian law in this case). Consular marriage, on the other hand, is allowed only if the other spouse is an EU citizen or otherwise of another country.

If the Consular Office accepts your consular marriage request because the requirements of the regulations are met, you may proceed with your request for marriage publications.

Marriage Publications (Marriage banns)

The celebration of marriage in Italy must be preceded by publications by the Civil Registrar. They remain posted on the consular register for at least eight days. You can marry after three days of the complete issuance of the marriage banns and within the following 180 days.

If you cannot appear in person to request the publications of marriage, you may appoint a third person by means of a special power of attorney drawn up on plain paper that must be provided with a copy of your valid identity documents. If you are not an EU citizen and you are not resident in Italy, your signature shall be notarized.

• If you are both Italian citizens residing abroad, you shall request the marriage banns from the diplomatic or consular Representation where the consular marriage will be celebrated. If you reside in two different consular districts, the marriage banns shall be issued and posted at both diplomatic or consular Representations.
• If one of you (Italian or foreigner) resides in Italy while the other (Italian citizen) resides abroad, you shall request the marriage banns from the diplomatic or consular Representation where the consular marriage will be celebrated, which shall in turn request their posting from the Municipality of residence in Italy. The marriage banns shall therefore be issued and posted in both spouses’ places of residence.
• If the Italian spouse resides in Italy, while the other foreign citizen resides abroad, you have two options: request the marriage banns from the diplomatic or consular Representation or from the Italian Municipality of residence, which shall issue a proxy to the diplomatic or consular Representation for celebrating the marriage in accordance with Article 109 of the Civil Code.
• If you are both residents in Italy, you shall request the marriage banns from your Municipality of residence. If you reside in two different Municipalities, the marriage banns shall be issued and posted in both of them. The Municipality shall issue a proxy to the diplomatic or consular Representation for celebrating the marriage in accordance with Article 109 of the Civil Code.

REQUIRED DOCUMENTATION FOR THE PUBLICATION OF MARRIAGE AT THE EMBASSY

N.B. ALL CIVIL STATUS DOCUMENTS ISSUED BY THE AUTHORITIES OF A FOREIGN COUNTRY MUST BE TRANSLATED INTO ITALIAN AND LEGALIZED IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE INSTRUCTIONS PROVIDED ON THE WEBSITE OF THE ITALIAN EMBASSY ACCREDITED IN THAT COUNTRY.

• Marriage publication application form, duly completed in all its parts and signed by both parties intending to marry;
• Copies of the identity documents of both parties intending to get married;

For the Italian citizen registered in AIRE:

• Full extract of the birth certificate issued by the Municipality of birth;
• Single status certificate issued by the Municipality/Consulate.

For foreign citizens:

• Certificate of No Impediment to Marriage (Nulla Osta) or Certificate of Legal Capacity to Marry pursuant to the Monaco Convention of 1980, issued by the country of citizenship (Art. 116 of the Italian Civil Code). The Nulla Osta must contain the exact indication of the applicant’s first name(s), surname(s), place and date of birth, residence, nationality, certificate of single status, and confirmation that there are no legal impediments to the marriage under the laws of the country of citizenship.

For Lebanese citizens, the Nulla Osta must be requested from the Lebanese Embassy in Rome or the Lebanese Consulate General in Milan and subsequently authenticated by the competent Prefecture.

• Birth certificate issued by the competent Civil Status Office, duly legalized and translated into Italian;
• Residence certificate issued by the competent Civil Status Office, duly legalized and translated into Italian.

1. B) If you wish to get married in Italy

If you are Italian citizens residing abroad and wish to marry in Italy, you must request marriage publications from the Italian diplomatic or consular Representation where you are registered.  Once the marriage publications are issued and posted, the Consular Office delegates the marriage celebration to the Italian Municipality you have indicated (in accordance with Article 109 of the Civil Code).

If you are not an Italian citizen and wish to get married in Italy, it is mandatory to submit the “certificate of no impediment to marry” –nulla osta al matrimonio– (pursuant to Article 116 of the Civil Code) issued by the competent authorities of the country of which you are a citizen, duly legalized and translated into Italian, or the “certificate of matrimonial capacity” if you are a citizen of one of the countries that have ratified the Munich Convention of September 5, 1980.

The States that have signed and ratified this Convention and issue the “certificate of legal capacity to marry” are the following: Austria, Germany, Greece, Luxembourg, Moldavia, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Switzerland, Turkey. It should be noted that the aforementioned Convention cannot currently be applied to Belgium, which, although being a signatory country, has not yet ratified it. The certificates issued on the basis of this Convention are exempted from legalization or any equivalent formality in the territory of each State party.

For the other States that are not party to the 1980 Munich Convention, there is no “certificate of legal capacity to marry”, but a “certificate of no impediment to marry”.

If you are nationals of a non-EU Member State and you are not resident in Italy, besides the “certificate of no impediment to marry” you shall also provide the remaining documents proving that you meet the requirements of Article 51 of Presidential Decree No. 396/2000, as these are deeds issued abroad and not registered in Italy or with an Italian consular authority.

Similarly, in the cases provided for by Article 52 of Presidential Decree 396/2000, the spouses may submit a copy of the authorization to marry granted by the court in case of an impediment at the time of the request for the marriage banns, or send it later by ordinary mail.

1. C) If you are Italian and wish to marry in Lebanon

Italian citizens who wish to have a religious marriage in Lebanon should contact the religious authority where they wish to celebrate their marriage and request the necessary documents for such celebration.

In the case of requesting a “certificate of matrimonial capacity”, if resident in Italy, it will be issued to you by your Municipality of residence (Comune) in Italy or, if resident abroad, by the Competent diplomatic/consular Representation.

The Consular Office may issue the requested document only on the basis of the positive outcome of checks, after having automatically acquired the documents required by law and those deemed necessary to prove the non-existence of impediments.

The registration of the marriage certificate

For a marriage celebrated abroad to be valid in Italy, it shall be registered with the competent Italian Municipality.

To register the marriage, it is necessary to appear in person at the Consular Office (prior appointment booked through prenot@mi https://prenotami.esteri.it/ platform) with the following documents:

• Marriage certificate issued by the competent Civil Status Office of the country where the marriage was celebrated, duly translated into Italian and legalized;
• Family status certificate issued by the competent Civil Status Office, duly legalized and translated into Italian;
• Application form for the registration of the marriage certificate, duly completed and signed by both spouses;
• Identity document of both spouses.

The marriage certificate will not be returned.

Alternatively, you may submit the marriage certificate, duly legalized and translated, directly to the Italian Municipality (in accordance with Article 12, § 11, of Presidential Decree No. 396/2000).