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Pre-nuptial arrangements protect one party from liability of debts accrued by their spouse and allow you to maintain wealth and property accumulated during the marriage. Contact Migrate With Q to assist you with a spousal visa. We are based in Cape Town and can assist you from anywhere in the world. The process to get married can belong if you are not familiar with what needs to happen.
Another option is if you have a family member residing in South Africa, you are allowed to authorize your family member to apply for an unabridged marriage certificate on your behalf. This is the latest info from Home Affairs but can change without notice. A new regulation is that Marriage officers are no longer allowed to apply for unabridged marriage certificates on behalf of couples. An unabridged marriage certificate is like an international marriage certificate that couples who get married in South Africa require in order to register their marriage overseas . Unabridged marriage certificates are issued to non-South African couples, couples in which one partner is not South African, and couples that are not living in South Africa. You should also apply for an unabridged marriage certificate if you plan to be out of the country for an extended period of time shortly after marriage.
Marriages at Home Affairs or court
When the foreign partner gets to South Africa, they need to have a valid status like a visit visa for instance which allows them to stay for thirty or ninety days with the option to extend. Thesevisa exempt countries for South Africado not require a visit visa for South Africa. You will need to bring your birth certificate, passport, and any other relevant documents. These include ID documents (passport, birth certificate, etc.), proof of residency, divorce papers , and more.
We left slightly confused but confident to get married because our priest and the Home Affairs had confirmed we didn’t need to do the interview. In South Africa, couples who do not want their ceremony to take place at a church or other public location can exchange their vows at any South African Home Affairs office. Pre-nuptial arrangements protect one party from liability of debts accrued by their spouse and allows you to maintain wealth and property accumulated during the marriage. Couples that intend to marry outside of a religious or public location may hold their ceremony at any Home Affairs office. Marriage ceremonies at a Home Office are free of charge.
Validity
Hopefully, this blog post gives you all the information you need. The interview is to check whether you are a genuine couple and that both partners entered the relationship willingly. The purpose of this letter is to state that you are not married in your country of residence and that you are free to marry in South Africa or any other country.
Visit the nearest DHA office and request to make an appointment to get married at Home Affairs, from the concerned department. Both persons may not be already married in terms of any other Act. If your parents and/or a Commissioner of Child Welfare refuse to grant consent for your marriage, you may then apply to a judge of the High Court for consent. The judge will not grant consent unless there is sufficient evidence that the marriage is in the interest of the minor and that prior consent has been unreasonably refused. Not all countries issue the letter of non-impediment like the United Kingdom and in this instance, you would need an official letter stating this. Copy of the passport of the Non SA Citizen together with the copy of the page containing the entry stamp into SA.
How to Claim Provident Fund Online in South Africa
Once you have found the form, you will need to fill it out and submit it to the address listed on the form. The waiting time can be quite long, so it’s best to schedule well in advance. The wedding is valid by complying with all South African laws. Before applying, please make sure that you and your partner satisfy all the eligibility criteria that are listed in the Eligibility section of this page. Please explain what are other uses of obtaining this document/certificate.
A marriage officer will not be allowed to marry you and your partner and you will not be allowed to register your marriage at the Department of Home Affairs. Before getting married, you are required to present the ANC to the marriage officer with a letter from your lawyer confirming the agreement was mutual. Before marrying, you must present any prenuptial agreements to the marriage officer with a letter from your lawyer confirming mutual agreement. The foreign national marrying a South African is required to submit certain documents at the interview which will be thoroughly investigated by the Immigration officer. Still, there are still a lot of couples that do not want to separate the legal signing of documents from their celebration and elopement.
How to Find Marriage Officers in Johannesburg South Africa
Before you can get married in South Africa, however, you must prove you are legally eligible to marry. Non-resident couples may get a South African marriage license if they follow the procedures. Whether the couple would like to marry at the Department of Home Affairs or in the form of a formal wedding is irrelevant. The document permitting the marriage allows the marriage to take place anywhere in the country. Should the interview prove successful, the couple will be issued with a document which permits them to legally marry in South Africa.
To start the process, you must first register an intention to marry with the Department of Home Affairs and apply for a marriage certificate. Couples must apply for a Department of Home Affairs marriage certificate at least three months prior to the wedding date. Couples are given a free marriage certificate South Africa also known as BI-27 from the person officiating the ceremony.
You and your better half should have your valid identification numbers. You are also be required to apply for a nuptials certificate from the Department Home Affairs three months before the preferred wedding date. A certified copy of the foreign partner’s letter of non-impediment from their country’s embassy .
Abridged marriage certificates are free of charge for first-time applicants; subsequent copies may require a small fee, such as R75 for unabridged marriage certificates. Two witnesses and the marriage officer must sign the marriage register after the solemnisation of a marriage. After the interview, the official should give you a verbal go-ahead to get married. They will also draft a report which will be sent to the required home affairs marriage department. This report is one of the documents the marriage officer must hand in or collect when lodging the marriage at home affairs. Technically, you can get legally married on the day of your interview if you have received the go ahead.
You can find a full list of required documents on the Home Affairs website. If any of the required documentation cannot be produced, one of the partners must submit an affidavit confirming the documents cannot be made available for the purpose of concluding the Civil Union. The Civil Union Act allows anyone – regardless of their sexual orientation – to marry either through a civil union, a civil marriage or a customary marriage. Affidavit or no lawful impediment oath where a country does not issue no lawful impediment letters. If any party is divorced a copy of the final decree of divorce is required. If the wedding includes a minor , the written consent of both parents/legal guardian or the Commissioner of Child Welfare or a judge should be submitted on Form DHA-32 as well.
A similar provision is also applied to customary marriages entered into from 1 December 1988. My former colleague wrote this article just after she got married and her wedding was beautiful. We have received many inquires since then asking us how to get married and what questions are asked in the Home Affairs interview. Legislation has changed over time and couples must evidence two years of marriage to qualify for a spousal visa. Or the couple can evidence two years of cohabitation and shared finances to qualify for a Life Partner visa. Couples can marry here at any stage in their relationship.
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