Consular marriage: what the concept means and in what cases it is concluded

What does the concept of consular marriage mean? This is a marriage concluded in a consular office or diplomatic mission of a particular country. Marriage registration is regulated by the norms of national Russian law and international legislation.

Thanks to international agreements, people can get married while being citizens of different states or the same country outside the Russian Federation. Let's consider what consular marriages are in private international law and what are the features of their registration.

Basic information

The current jurisdiction provides the opportunity to conduct marriages in diplomatic missions. Consular marriages are concluded between citizens of a state in the embassies of their country operating within other states.

The marriage procedure is carried out by an ambassador or consul - this is a person authorized by the homeland to represent the state and carry out legal duties.

The peculiarities of concluding consular marriages are as follows.

The spouses are citizens of the state represented by the embassy. Future spouses, in a legal sense, register the marriage in their country, since a diplomatic institution is an element of the state located at some distance from it.
One of the couple represents the state with which the consul was sent, and the second spouse was born and raised in the state where the institution is located.
Marriage relations are registered between a citizen of the embassy and a representative of another state.

According to Art. 157 of the RF IC , legal consular marriages in private law are of two types:

a marriage union of citizens of the same country, which was registered within Russia;
marriage of Russian citizens outside of Russia.

Concept of consular marriage

A consular marriage is, in fact, the usual registration of a marriage between people. The only distinguishing feature is the location of the procedure. The marriage takes place not in the civil registry office located on the territory of Russia, but in a consular office located outside the Russian Federation. Most often, this need is due to the fact that interested people do not have the opportunity to implement the procedure at home. In such cases, they have the right to contact the nearest consular office of the Russian Federation. Reasons may include working or studying abroad. Also, consulate employees themselves can often choose this option.

Features of private international law

A marriage union can be registered at the consulate or embassy of the Russian Federation in 3 situations:

the spouses are citizens of the Russian Federation;
one of the spouses is a citizen of the host state, and the second future spouse has Russian citizenship;
a person with Russian citizenship registers a marriage with a person who has citizenship of another state.

A marriage union registered between representatives of two different nationalities can lead to unpleasant consequences from a legal point of view. There is a risk of a conflict situation that relates to the legislative norms of different states.

Private international law is a special system of codes and laws of national state law, international consular agreements regulating the norms of registration and recognition of acts of civil status.

The regulatory legal act considers the features of mixed weddings, as well as weddings on a remote basis.

The main regulatory legal act is the Hague Convention of 1979, which establishes the conditions for:

on registration of marriage in contracting countries;
on the recognition of marriage unions in those countries whose citizens have registered their relationships on an official basis.

The RF IC represents the basis of domestic national legislation. In Art. 157 of the RF IC establishes the following factors:

recognition of marriage unions of citizens of the Russian Federation that were registered on the territory of Russian diplomatic missions;
legalization of marriage unions of foreigners that were registered in Russia by representatives of the consular and embassy missions of their country.

Private international law recognizes the principle of reciprocity—coordination by countries of registration of marriage acts of citizens of states participating in the agreement.

Marriage license at the embassy

Almost all countries have strict restrictions on marriages between citizens of different countries. Be prepared for the fact that in addition to age, they will check your criminal record and the presence of diseases.

For example, if the wedding takes place at the British, French or German embassy, the consulate may not give permission for several years. In these countries, newlyweds are required to bring documents that will confirm the sincerity of the relationship between the spouses.

It will be necessary to prove long and hard that marriage is created out of love. Here is just a small list of questions that may be asked during an interview at the consulate:

How long ago did you meet, is there evidence or photographs from this event.
Whether you live together, sleep in the same bedroom or not. For example, in the USA there is a special position of an inspector who can come to your apartment at any time. And if it turns out that before the marriage the bride and groom sleep in different apartments, this will raise many questions, and most likely permission will not be issued.
How do you spend your vacation, where do you fly, are there any tickets or vouchers from joint trips.
Do you spend evenings together in restaurants, do you have receipts or photographs from these establishments?

We also advise you to carefully monitor the information you publish on social networks and Instagram. The employees will definitely check everything that you wrote there and will find out with whom you took joint photographs.

Such bans are made in order to reduce the flow of migrants from other countries.

Marriage Rules

Consular marriages are marriages that can be registered in the following ways:

traditional marriage (husband and wife);
one husband with several wives;
one wife with several spouses;
same-sex marriage (two spouses, only female or only male).

In the Russian Federation, only traditional marriage unions are allowed to be registered. But any other form of marriage deviating from the “standard” form is also possible, if they are consular.

In order for a marriage to be officially registered, several requirements must be met:

spouses must reach the minimum acceptable age (in the vast majority of developed countries this is usually 18 years);
There must be no blood relationship between the spouses entering into marriage: a brother does not have the right to formalize a marriage with his sister, a mother with her son, a father with her daughter, etc.;
There must be no guardianship relationship between spouses entering into marriage;
every person who enters into a marriage must have civil capacity without any restrictions;
marriages are registered exclusively on a voluntary basis - if there are signs of coercion on one side or another, registration will not be carried out.

Advantages and disadvantages

A consular marriage is not only an opportunity for people to consolidate their relationship at a legal level, but also the possible creation of additional problems that do not have very good consequences. Let's consider the advantages that this type of union provides:

A person who marries a foreigner at a consulate in Russia receives a second citizenship corresponding to the place of registration of the spouse.
If children are born in a marriage, they automatically become citizens of both countries.
The family has much more opportunities to travel after marriage.
There is an opportunity to learn a new language and culture of another country.
There are no obstacles to obtaining education in the territory of the spouse’s state.
There is an opportunity to easily get a job or develop a business in both countries.

At the same time, marriage with a citizen of another country also has its disadvantages, which should definitely be taken into account before deciding to go to the consulate and make the relationship legal:

When entering into marriage, a person is obliged to comply with the laws and traditions of the spouse’s state.
It is not always easy to study and understand the mentality of another country.
There is always a threat that the marriage may be declared fictitious or invalid.
If polygamy is accepted in the spouse’s state, then in the end the person may not be the only loved one.
If children were born in a foreign country, it has the right not to allow them to be taken to your homeland.
The spouse's state may value the rights of its citizens less.

How to register a marriage: step-by-step algorithm of actions

Marriage registration consists of the following steps.

A corresponding application is submitted to the mission. Its text contains the personal data of the spouses (full name without abbreviations, date of birth), passport data, residential addresses, age at the date of drawing up the document.
The consul checks the applicants' documentation and makes sure that the citizens are not already officially married and that they have reached the minimum age for entering into a marriage relationship.
Next, you will need to pay a state fee. Its size depends on the norms of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation and the legislation of the state where the marriage was registered.
The final stage is registration and receipt of a certificate of registration of the marriage union.

However, in many states, a list of medical documentation is required to register a marriage. It is necessary to collect certificates for infectious diseases, sexually transmitted diseases, drug and alcohol addiction, mental disorders, and HIV.

A person’s desire to hide the presence of these diseases will bring him to justice, as a result of which the marriage union will be annulled. However, if these diseases are confirmed, there are no obstacles to registering a marriage. The main thing is that the other party is informed about the health status of the other person and the possible consequences for themselves.

When citizens with Russian citizenship register their marriage at a foreign Russian consulate, the documentation has legal force. However, when returning to Russia, you will need to visit the registry office to have the appropriate stamp affixed to your national passport. Employees of the civil registry office will check the provided documentation for the correctness of the information and put a stamp on the required page.

The need to visit the registry office is that this visit legitimizes the marriage procedure carried out at the consulate. Clause 2 art. 157 of the RF IC states that foreign weddings on Russian territory are registered at consulates and are recognized on the basis of reciprocity.

Certificate stating that I am not married from the embassy

As we said above, a foreigner must provide a certificate confirming that he is currently single. You can get it at the consulate or embassy if it is not possible to come to the registry office. Moreover, this document can look like anything; there is no single standard for all countries. The certificate must indicate:

Full name and surname of the spouse;
Name of the authority that issued the certificate;
Date and signature of the employee who checked the information in the archive;
Seal and stamp of the state standard;
Information for what period the audit was carried out.

In Russia, you will need to pay a state fee of 350 rubles, but check the exact amount on site. Don't forget to get a notarized translation, especially if the wedding is in Italy or the USA. Certificates from some CIS countries may be accepted in Russia without translation, but it is better to ask the consul about this point.

Look at a sample certificate that can be obtained from the Russian Embassy.

And here is what the certificate of absence of marriage looks like, which is issued at the Ukrainian Embassy.

Let's sum it up

An individual country is guided by its legislation and regulations when registering marriages between citizens and foreigners. To simplify the marriage procedure, the executive authorities of the world's states have agreed on a decision on the registration of consular marriages. Such marriage unions are registered with the highest collegial executive body of government of another state.

The procedure for registering a consular marriage is almost no different from the standard marriage procedure. You will need to write an application and collect a package of necessary documentation (passport, health certificates and other papers).

Registration deadlines

A consular marriage concluded on the territory of embassies and consulates of the Russian Federation abroad can be concluded no earlier than 1 month from the date of filing an application for the desire to register the relationship. If there is a joint application and valid reasons, the period may be extended by another 30 days. If the newlyweds fail to appear on the appointed day to register the marriage, the application is canceled and the state fee is not refunded.

If there are good reasons, supported by documents, such a marriage can be formalized on the day the documents are submitted. Such special cases include:

Pregnancy, imminent birth;
The presence of a serious illness in one of the future spouses;
The presence of a mortal threat to one of the spouses (for example, the need for one of the spouses to participate in hostilities, special operations, etc.).

So, registering the type of marriage considered is not difficult. To do this, the newlyweds need to collect a package of documents, fill out an application at the embassy or consulate of the Russian Federation in the territory of their country of residence and appear on the appointed day to register the consular marriage. Legalization of such a marriage on the territory of the Russian Federation is subsequently not required.