How to get married abroad

Many couples dream of “sacramental” to say it in extraordinary natural circumstances, for example on the beach or in the mountains. Currently, some European cities such as Santorini, Paris and Barcelona are very popular. In the era of cheap air tickets, various occasions and offers of travel agencies, the organization of a wedding abroad is extremely simple. We are limited only by the budget and imagination.

Depending on the place (country) of the wedding, the wedding may be a concordat wedding, which has legal force or only a religious ceremony, then it is also necessary to marry a civilian (in Poland or abroad). Formalities to be carried out with a foreign wedding depend on religion and local law.

Roman Catholic wedding

To marry abroad one should prepare in the same way as for a wedding in Poland, and so take a premarital course, announcements, meetings in the marriage counseling center and 2 confessions. The parish priest from the bride’s parish issues a document called a “delegation” in which information is provided in which parish abroad we can get married. After the ceremony, the spouses receive a wedding certificate valid in Poland. Such formalities can be settled by contacting the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, who should direct future spouses to a Polish priest who is abroad. It is important that the wedding takes place in a State where Catholicism is a recognized religion (Europe, America).

Orthodox wedding

In the case of an Orthodox wedding, one should submit a baptism certificate and a document confirming the lack of obstacles to the marriage in the church. Witnesses on such a wedding should be an Orthodox confession. In the case of an Orthodox wedding, premarital education does not take place. A meeting with a priest is enough.

Protestant wedding

Here, too, there are no premarital teachings, only a meeting with the pastor is enough. It is enough to show a baptism certificate and a document confirming the lack of obstacles to the marriage.

In the case of a civil marriage, the formalities are unfortunately much more. At the wedding, a Polish consul and a local civil registrar must be present. The desire to have a marriage must be reported to the consulate at least 2 months before the planned wedding date. The future spouses must obtain a certificate of legal capacity to marry outside the territory of the Republic of Poland. The application for issuing the certificate is submitted to the Civil Registry Office. It is also necessary to translate the document by a sworn translator from Polish into the official language of the country where the wedding is to take place. For the ceremony, it is also necessary to present birth certificates, passports or ID cards and in the case of persons who in the past were married to a document confirming the cessation or annulment of marriage.

After the ceremony of marriage abroad, the Civil Registry Office in Poland shall provide the following documents – which will make the wedding valid also on the territory of the Republic of Poland – the act of concluding the marriage in the original and a sworn translation into Polish. The personal ID of the spouses should also be available for inspection at the Office.