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Marriage with a foreigner. Legal advice for future brides.

The number of international families with beautiful ukrainian women increases every year, so we prepared answers to the main legal issues of marriage in Ukraine with foreigners.

A marriage is a family union of a woman and a man, registered in the state registration body of civil status. According to the laws of Ukraine, citizens, foreigners and stateless persons can enter into marriage. To register wedding in Ukraine it is necessary to observe a number of conditions that are documented:

– achievement of the brides of 18 years of age on the day of registration (or granting of the right to marry a court decision – at the request of persons who have reached the age of 16);

– the absence of an official registration of a marriage with another person;

– absence of obstacles for marriage (it is impossible to marry a brother and sister, relatives of a direct line of kinship, an adopter and adopted child).

Marrying a Ukrainian woman a citizen of Ukraine is the basis for registration of a residence permit in Ukraine.
It’s worth considering that:

– the marriage with the term up to 2 years gives the right to the registration of a temporary residence permit;

– marriage with a long term (more than 2 years) – the basis for the registration of a permanent residence permit.

The procedure for registering a marriage in Ukraine for foreigners:

1. The future of the spouses personally submits to the body of registration of acts of civil status the application of the established sample. Applicants will independently elect the body of registration of acts of civil status in which application will be filed. If a foreigner can not be present for valid reasons, his signature in the application shall be certified notarially, the application itself shall be submitted by a representative acting on a notarized power of attorney.

2. Bodies of registration of acts of civil status accepts the application and acquaintes the applicants with the rights and responsibilities of the spouses, the registration procedure, the obligation to provide accurate information and the consequences of providing false information.

3. Bodies of registration of acts of civil status informs applicants of their right to undergo a medical examination to determine their health status. With the consent of the bride and groom, they are given a form of referral of the approved form. A mark is given on the consent or refusal of medical examination.

4. In agreement with the applicants, the date of the marriage is set. As a general rule, registration of a marriage with a foreigner is made after the expiration of 1 month after filing an application. If there are valid reasons, confirmed by documents, registration can be carried out before the end of the month.

5. A marriage is registered in the presence of both applicants.

A marriage with a foreigner is governed by the general rules for persons with Ukrainian citizenship, but complicated by the need to submit supporting documents.

Foreigners and stateless persons for the registration of marriage in Ukraine must present:

1. A national passport or a passport document with a mark on registration of the authorized body regarding the legality of their stay in Ukraine, unless otherwise provided by the current legislation of Ukraine.

2. Legalized certificate of the competent authority of the foreign country of origin that the foreigner is not married if the passport does not contain information about the marital status.

3. Legalized certificate of termination of previous marriage, if any, with a translation into Ukrainian, certified by a diplomatic mission, a consular establishment and the Ministry of Justice.

Marriage can also be carried out abroad, which also leads to a number of organizational difficulties. It is advisable to know in advance the rules of marriage in a foreign country, whether there are relevant international agreements with Ukraine and which body will be registered.

The approximate package of required documents will look like this:

– passport;

– birth Certificate;

– a certificate of the foreigner’s marital status, confirming the absence of another marriage.

If a person has already been married, then they will need:

– certificate of divorce;

– a court decision if the marriage broke up in court due to the presence of minor children in the family;

– a document on the change of surname if the person after the dissolution of the marriage left the husband’s surname.

In some cases you may need:

– certificate of citizenship;

– a certificate of absence of criminal convictions;

– certificate of registration of the place of residence;

– health certificate;

– birth certificates and / or marriage of parents;

– written permission of parents for marriage to Muslim countries.

Legalization of documents, that is, recognition in a country of registration, translation and apostilization, we advise you to entrust a specialist who will determine:

– in which country to legalize the documents in Ukraine or the country of origin of the foreigner;

– the necessary way of legalizing documents;

– the procedure for translating the document.

In some countries, marriage requires compliance with additional conditions, such as staying in the country for a certain period. It is possible not only the presentation of a large number of bureaucratic demands, but also the unjustified refusal to register marriages.

Our specialists have experience in maintaining marriage procedures with foreign nationals and are ready to provide clarification on the rights and obligations of future spouses. We help to prepare a draft marriage contract and provide advice on any legal issues.