Paperwork Requirements for Australian Citizens

While there are no residency requirements to marry in Italy, depending on your nationality there are specific steps that must be completed in order to formalize your Italian wedding and make it legally binding.

AUSTRALIAN CITIZENS WISHING TO BE MARRIED IN ITALY – DO NOT START THE LEGAL REQUIREMENT PROCESS PREVIOUS THAN 6 MONTHS BEFORE THE WEDDING DATE

Australian citizens wishing to be married in Italy require the following documentation:

-  original full birth certificate, translated  into Italian and legalized (both certificate and translation) by means of an Apostille (issued by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade)

-  Single Status Certificate (issued by the Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages),  translated into Italian and legalized (both certificate and translation) by means of an Apostille (issued by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade)

-  valid passport

The abovementioned documents must be presented to the Registrar of the chosen Italian municipality within 90 days from their date of issue.

In addition, Australian citizens are required to obtain an “Atto Notorio” which is a statutory declaration that must be signed individually by each of the parties, along with  4 able witnesses, in which it is stated that, according to Australian law, there is no impediment to the marriage.

The 4 witnesses must be over the age of 18, hold a current form of photo i.d. and must not be related to the future bride or groom. In the event that you are not able to obtain this declaration before your departure, the “Atto Notorio” can be prepared in Italy via an Italian Tribunal (Tribunale). Should you wish to obtain the document locally before leaving Australia, please contact the Consulate no later than 2 months prior to departure, in order to arrange for its issue.

An appointment will be given for this purpose. In order to prepare the “Atto Notorio” the Consulate will need to receive, at least a week prior to the appointment date, all the relevant information required to draft the document, such as:

•    name, surname,
•    place and date of birth of bride and groom
•    name& surname of parents of bride & groom (mother's maiden name please)
•    passport number, date and place of issue of bride and groom
•    residential address of bride and groom
•    if one of the parties is not an Australian citizen, if either party is divorced, supply the citizenship of other party  name & surname, place & date of birth of previous  spouse, as well as date of divorce and name of the Court that issued the divorce  decree.

On the day, you will be required to produce: birth certificate, passport, proof or residential address and, if the case may be, the decree nisi or certificate of divorce.

All four (4) witnesses will need to accompany you on the day - bride and groom may use the same witnesses if both require the issue of an “Atto Notorio”.

Along with your personal details (as above) please supply the following information regarding the witnesses:

•    name, surname, place and date of birth, residential address
•    details of their photo-id (passport or license): number, place  and date of issue, expiry date (the same document will need to be presented on the day).

The cost for the issue of an “Atto Notorio” is € 30,00 (subject to change).

The “Atto Notorio" must then be presented to the Australian Diplomatic Missions in Italy (either the Australian Embassy in Rome or Consulate in Milan) in order to obtain the “NULLA OSTA”  (NO IMPEDIMENT CERTIFICATE), as required by art.116 of the Italian Civil Code.

If one or both of the future spouses is divorced, the original Divorce Decree, translated into Italian and legalized (both certificate and translation) by means of an Apostille (issued by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade) will need to be submitted to the Registrar of the chosen municipality, along with the rest of the documentation.  All original documents must be translated by a professional, certified translator.  The translation must then be stamped/authenticated by the Italian Consulate official.

DECLARATION of INTENT

If the wedding hall requires it, we will set an appointment with the Wedding Hall authorities, about two days before the wedding. At this time, you will make a Promessa di Matrimonio, or Declaration of Intent to Marry. Sometimes the appointment for the Declaration and Wedding may fall on the same day.

If one or more of the parties is Italian or is an Australian with Italian residency, then Banns (pubblicazione di matrimonio) must be posted for at least two weeks before the date of the marriage.

IMPORTANT!
It is extremely important that your full name is written in the same way in all the following documents, otherwise the wedding office will not accept the paperwork:

* Passports
* Atto Notorio
* Nulla Osta

 Please be sure that your passport, Atto Notorio and Nulla Osta contains the bride's maiden name.

PLEASE READ CAREFULLY also the details on the Australian Embassy link:  http://www.italy.embassy.gov.au/rome/Marriage.html