Legal documents for weddings in Greece

Legal documents list may vary from place to place all over Greece. Also, have in your mind that there are more than 200 registry houses all over Greece and an equal number of Town Halls, so this information is subject to change, also depending on the wedding destination.

Details describe herein, are just a guide to legal documents.

We always suggest, contacting us for more detailed information, if you like to have a Religious wedding in Greece or a Civil wedding in Greece, that will be legally recognized by the Greek government and your government as well.

The general rules are:

- You will let us know about the wedding type and desired destination (island or city all over Greece) so we will be able to provide you with legal assistance and help with all the procedures required.

- We will send you the list of all legal documents needed, according to local Town Hall requirements

- You will start preparing and collecting your documents, no more than 3 months prior to your wedding day. When you are ready, you will send us by Fax or Email, copies of legal documents for review, at least 45 days before your wedding day. Our legal department will review and forward these to Mayor for checking by Town Hall also.

- You will bring all the originals with you when you come to Greece for your wedding. Have in your mind that all documents will be kept in Town Hall and Registry office, so they will not be given back to you after the wedding.

Please find below, the documents needed according to wedding type:

Civil wedding documents

• Passport Copies of both parties (Photocopy of original).
• Full Birth certificate of Bride and Groom, with both parent's names inside(one for each of you) certified by Apostille stamp required
• Certificate of non-impediment to marriage from the municipality, where you are registered, or county office, or Town hall certified by Apostille stamp required. This document certifies that there are no any impediment to the coming marriage
• If one or both parties have been in previous marriages, you need to get a Divorce Certificate, or a certified copy of the Decree Absolute, from Civil Authorities. (Please contact us for more information) certified by Apostille stamp required
• Official document from the Court, if you have changed your name.
• Certificate of adoption, Deed poll certificate, or death certificate(Contact us if applicable).
• Apostille Stamp. This stamp refers to the legalization and validity of your documents for international use. (1961 Hague Convention Abolishing the Requirement of Legalization for Foreign Public Documents). The Apostille Stamp is necessary for birth certificates and Certificates of Non-Impediment to marry issued by the Municipality where the person is registered.
• Passport copies of 2 witness

Civil wedding documents

Orthodox wedding documents

• Passport Copies of both parties (Photocopy of original).
• Baptism records of both parties. (you have to be both baptized as Christians, in order to have an Orthodox wedding ceremony in Greece)
• Full Birth certificate of Bride and Groom, with both parents' names inside(one for each of you). certified by Apostille stamp required
• Certificate letter from your church of non-previous marriage, officially certified by the bishop of the area of residence. Also, we need to have written that you are free to have a wedding in Santorini, Athens, Crete, Rhodes, Chalkidiki, etc. (Choose what is applicable).
• Certificate of non-impediment to marriage from the municipality, where you are registered, or county office, or Town hall, certified by Apostille stamp required
• If one or both parties have been in previous marriages, you need to get a Divorce Certificate, or a certified copy of the Decree Absolute, from Civil and Church Authorities. (Please contact us for more information) certified by Apostille stamp required
• If the Bride or Groom is of another religious dogma, not Orthodox but Christian, an orthodox wedding can be performed, but more acts are required. (Please contact us for more information).
• Official document from the Court, if you have changed your name.
• Certificate of adoption, Deed poll certificate, or death certificate(Contact us if applicable).
• Apostille Stamp. This stamp refers to the legalization and validity of your documents for international use. (1961 Hague Convention Abolishing the Requirement of Legalization for Foreign Public Documents). The Apostille Stamp is necessary for birth certificates and Certificates of Non-Impediment to marry issued by the Municipality where the person is registered.
• Greek Orthodox Church, does not perform Religious weddings of a Christian to a non-Christian
• A copy of the newspaper in which the wedding notices were posted, if required by the local church and priest.

Orthodox wedding documents

Catholic or Maronite wedding documents

• Baptism records of both parties
• If one or both parties have been in previous marriages, you need to get a Divorce Certificate, or a certified copy of the Decree Absolute, from Civil and Church Authorities. (Please contact us for more information) certified by Apostille stamp required
• Confirmation certificate.
  This document proves that there are not any impediments to your wedding. a) These certificates must be obtained from the parish priest who baptized you and must be dated within 3 months of your marriage.
• Freedom to marry certificate
• You must obtain written permission from your bishop, saying that he gives you his permission to have your Catholic wedding Ceremony out of your Parish and especially in Athens, Mykonos, Santorini, Crete, Zakynthos, Kerkira, etc (Choose which one is applicable) This is according to Canon 1115" of the Codex Juris Canonici. Please discuss this with your pastor.
• A certificate stating that you have completed the "Pre-Cana". instructions
  

Catholic wedding documents

Mixed religious wedding

• (between an Orthodox & a Catholic)
  It is possible to have a Religious wedding. Restrictions are that the non-orthodox party, bride or groom, must obtain a certificate of Christian Baptism and an official statement that the children from that marriage will be baptized Orthodox.
• (between an Orthodox & a non-baptized party).
  It is not possible to have a Religious wedding. Greek Orthodox church performs religious weddings only if both parties are baptized as Christians.

Apostille stamp

• Any foreign legal documents which are to be used in Greece must be officially legalized with the Hague Convention Apostille. Apostille is a stamp, certifying that this document is original and legal
• If your country has signed the 1961 Hague Convention, then you can have Apostille stamps on your documents. If your country has not signed the 1961 Hague Convention, then you can verify all legal documents with Foreign Ministry or Greek Embassy. Contact us for more information
  

General Notes

• All documents must be translated and certified/stamped in the local Greek Embassy, or Consulate in your Country. You can use the services of official translators who are legally affiliated with the Greek Embassy.
• Take care of all the names on passports and all documents must be exactly the same and match together.
• All the documents, must not be dated more than 3 months prior to your wedding day. This is especially for a Certificate of non-impediment
• We have to confirm that the documents are in order. After that, you just need to bring the originals, with translations and Apostille with you.
• After the Wedding ceremony, you have to go to the office of vital statistics, to have your wedding registered. This means, that if your wedding is Friday, Saturday, or Sunday, you have to wait until Monday, to complete the registration in the Registry office. You have to stay in Greece, at least 1 working day after your wedding, in order to go to the Town Hall to sign your Marriage Certificate.
• The original wedding certificate, Apostille stamped, will be sent to you by our company to your physical address in your Country, approximately 20 days after your wedding in Greece. (Contact us for more details)
• Original documents will be kept at the local Town Hall.
• Few Town halls require a wedding notice published in a local newspaper for each party. This will be in Greek language and the names will also be translated into Greek. One notice must be published for the bride, and one notice must be published for the groom, in Greek characters.
• Few Town Halls require a Wedding License from the country in which the couple resides. This has also to be translated officially and Apostille stamped. In most cases, we will be able to use this marriage license issued in your Country, if the license does not indicate that is exclusively valid in the issuing jurisdiction.
• Since each Church, Priest, Town Hall, Mayor, and Registry office has its own specific restrictions and requirements in order to perform weddings, we will provide you with all the detailed information in question.

Registration of a civil or Religious wedding

• Weddings are registered at the Registry office of each municipality the wedding was performed. This procedure must be done within 40 days of the wedding date.

The bride and Groom must be present in the Registry office in order to sign all documents. A representative is also possible to register their wedding, but he has to be in possession of a power of attorney signed before a Notary Public authorizing him to act as them for any legal part of their wedding.

• Wedding ceremonies that are not registered into 40 days, have no legal validity, so they will not be legally recognized