Wedding abroad. Legal aspect.

AckwelFoley

If my Fiance and i were to get married in the USA or South Africa in a Church wedding woud the wedding be considered legal in Ireland automatically or would we need to have a civil regestered wedding (regestary office) in Ireland to make it legal in Ireland?

mrdave

hi there as far as i know you might have to get a civil one done first . i know in spain and portugal this is the case so best way to find out is to contact the forigen office in stephens green dublin 2 and see what they say,

BC

It depends on what you mean by legal.
You could get a certificate of marriage from the USA that could be used for tax purposes etc. You would not be married under Irish law though. The marriage law in the country you get married in is what applies - not the law in the country you live in.

seamus

You wouldn't have to go through a civil ceremony here, but in order to be considered legally married here, you need to provide your marriage certificate from the other country, assuming that you are getting legally married in that other country.

You would obviously have to provide identification as well as proof that you are are eligible to be legally married in this country - i.e. you're both over 16, both of different genders, not siblings, etc etc etc.

Where the marriage cert is in a different language, you need to provide a certified (afaik) translation of the document to the GRO.

AckwelFoley

seamus wrote: »

You wouldn't have to go through a civil ceremony here, but in order to be considered legally married here, you need to provide your marriage certificate from the other country, assuming that you are getting legally married in that other country.

You would obviously have to provide identification as well as proof that you are are eligible to be legally married in this country - i.e. you're both over 16, both of different genders, not siblings, etc etc etc.

Where the marriage cert is in a different language, you need to provide a certified (afaik) translation of the document to the GRO.

Thanks Seamus, so in essance what yu are saying - regardless of wheather its a civil or church wedding in say, the USA - you wouldnt be considered legally married in Ireland until you furnish a certifiate from the US, but would be married in the eyes of the church?

seamus

That's correct.

Most people who go for a church wedding abroad, opt for a small civil ceremony in Ireland beforehand, as that makes life a lot simpler.