Pre-Marriage Courses

Incy Wincy

Before I lose the plot about this...I cannot get a straight answer as to whether I have to do one of these courses or not....I am getting married in Malta and according to their requirements for marriage of foreigners in their country nowhere was a course mentioned however they say if it is a requirement in your country of origin then you should do it also...thing is our PP asked us to find out was in a requirement for Malta so at the moment it's over and back and meanwhile I am getting no answers!!! I would really appreciate if anyone here could tell me are pre-marriage course THE LAW in this country or is it down to you PP saysing yea or nay???? really need this one pinned down once and for all. Thanks in advance...Incy Wincy

dollybird2

Ok I'm not sure how much help this will be but here's what I know!

Some couples get away without doing a course in circumstances where they have children together or have been together for years and living together - depends on individual couple and individual PP. There is no law regarding having to do one, it won't mean invalidity of marriage or anything. The cert you get from the course is to be presented to the ceremony officiant in Ireland.

The only LEGAL requirement is that you register your intent to marry with the state in Ireland. This has to be done within 3 months of the marriage regardless of where it is taking place so that you are legally married in the eyes of the state.

A friend of mine married in Spain last year and her PP advised not to do the pre marriage course unless they wanted to do it. Needless to say they didn't bother. They registered with state, went to Spain, married and upon return home went to local registrar's office and got their marriage cert.

Perhaps if you want confirmation and aren't getting it from PP or Malta ring your local registrar's office and clear it up for yourselves.

bogtotty

If you are getting married in a Catholic ceremony in Ireland or anywhere else, it is a requirement, although not one that all priests insist upon, just as they don't insist that you go to mass every Sunday even though you should if you are a practicing Catholic. Some priests insist upon it, others are more relaxed. You should probably get in direct contact with the priest who will be conducting the ceremony as he is the only one who can answer your question. There is no legal requirement to do the course, it is a religious requirement. If you don't want to fulfill the religious requirements, why not opt for a civil ceremony?

As an aside, the course is actually quite good. Not at all preachy or churchy, very focused on building communication skills between the couple and learning to deal with conflict and with each others' families - no mention of 'procreation not recreation' or eternal damnation or anything like that. It's well worth doing, even if you're not at all religious.

bamboozle

my take on it is (as someone getting married abroad) that you need to receive a 'freedom to marry' letter from your parish priest, he will not prepare this until presented with a pre-marriage cert. this freedom to marry letter is then sent to the bishop in the diocese of foreign country where u are getting married, at this point the bishop approves your wedding in his diocese.

Simple answer: No, there is no law in this country which insists on you doing a pre marriage course.

As previously stated, if you are getting married in the catholic church then they may require you to have this course completed prior to marriage. But not all priests insist on it. I never had to do a pre-marriage course.

Incy Wincy

Pre-nuptual investigation form has been completed by PP and posted and signed in the local diocesan office...it has arrived in Malta, received confirmation this week....so all in all I feel having been with my partner close to 20 years, living together for 8 years, no kids, we know a bit about each other and our families so am going to give this course a miss I think...thanks a million for all the replies....