Marriage is basically good. It's even better (from the bride's point of view) if our compatriot marries a foreigner. It may be a hot-tempered Italian or a cool Finn or even an exotic citizen of Sierra-Leone. In this article you are not going to find any advice like "How to marry a foreigner", our information is needed when everything has been decided, the bags are packed and the wedding dress is made. Here comes the question how to make your marriage concluded not only in Heaven but also legal (i.e. operative) in both the countries. You won't need a lot of papers for this but the absence of one of them or even one important seal can prolong the process of the marriage registration, cause unexpected costs and in the meantime the groom may change his mind...

So let us consider two cases: marriage registration in Russia and in a foreign state. To simplify matters, let's use the friendly Finland as an example, as this is most often the place where our female compatriots find their future husbands.

1. Certificate on the absence of obstacles for marriage (issued by the magistrate)
2. Residence certificate (issued at the place of residence or local church)
3. Abstract of court decision on divorce (in case of previous marriage)
4. Passport (passport as well as any other document can be translated in Petrozavodsk at the Bureau of Translations)

All documents except passport must have an Apostille. What it is we described in the previous article. In Finland it can be received at the magistrate notary and it costs 50 FIM. Documents from other countries do not deviate much from this list. The difference is in the place of issuance of these documents and of the Apostille. In the USA it is the Secretary of the State, in Australia - Department of Foreign Affairs, in Switzerland - Canton Chancellery, in Norway - Province Governor, in France - District Attorney and so on. But the Apostille can be issued only in the countries, which signed the Hague Convention. In the countries which did not (like Canada) there is consular legalization in force. In this case the documents must first be certified by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the state, then legalized by the Russian consulate in this state or they can first be certified in the foreign consulate on the territory of Russia and then legalized in the Department of Consular Service of MFA of Russia. As you see, the procedure of consular legalization is quite complicated, so we would recommend choosing your grooms from the countries that signed the Hague Convention.

In this case the foreign agency in charge of marriage registration requires the following documents:

1. Certificate on the absence of obstacles for marriage (there is no agency in Russia that issues such certificates, so its equivalent will be your own notarized statement. Before this you must have an entry in your foreign passport that you are not married made at the Department of Visas and Registrations).
2. Birth certificate
3. Divorce certificate (if you have been married)
4. Passport

All the document must be translated into the foreign language, notarized and have (if necessary) the Apostille. When marrying abroad depending on the country and sometimes even on the city there may be some deviations from the presented list. We would strongly recommend having your groom seek advice at the place of future marriage registration and get the full list of the required documents.

There is one more problem connected with marriage registration abroad. It occurs when upon return to Russia after the marriage you want to replace your maiden name with your husband's name. Usually in all the excitement of the marriage ceremony a lot of people forget to put the Apostille on the new marriage certificate. Remember that without the Apostille your marriage certificate is not valid anywhere except the country of origin. Consequently, you cannot change your last name, put a marriage stamp into your passport, etc.

Good luck and happiness to you!

The Bureau of Translations, Petrozavodsk