Paperwork requirements
Civil Ceremony
. Full Birth Certificate, the shorter version of the Certificate will not be accepted.
. Divorce or Death Certificate, if previously married a certified copy of the divorce decree or death certificate if marriage ended due to the death of spouse.
. Certificate of No Impediment, this document certifies that both parties are free to marry and can be obtained from your local registrar and can take up to a month to obtain, this certificate must not be issued more than three months prior to the wedding date.
. Apostille stamp, this is a special seal applied by an authority to certify that a document is a true copy of the original. These can be obtained by the Greek Embassy or the Secretary of State.
The Legalization Office
Foreign & Commonwealth Office
Old Admiralty Building
The Mall
London SW1A 2LG
. Change of Name or Deed Poll Certificate, this is required in the event that the bride or groom has changed name by Deed Poll or court order.
. Adoption Certificate required if either party was adopted.
. Baptism Certificate, required only for a Catholic or Greek Orthodox ceremony.
. Document Translations, All the above documents, except for the copies of passport must be officially translated into Greek at the Greek Embassy or Consulate. This must be completed at least one month before the wedding. Contact the Greek Embassy nearest you on www.greekembassy.org or www.greekembassy.org.uk.
Religious Marriages
Greek Law does not allow a religious marriage between a Christian and non-Christian, however it is up to the individual parish to decide about the marriage of a non Greek orthodox faith to another Christian belief.
Protestant Requirements
. Both parties must show evidence of Christian faith and baptism
. The couple must have a certificate from their Pastor for a series of pre-marital counseling sessions.
. One of the parties must be of Protestant faith and neither of Greek orthodox.
. Two witnesses must be in attendance
Roman Catholic Requirements
Catholic weddings can only be performed if the bride and groom were not previously married, either the bride or the groom must be Catholic and both must be baptized.
. Each couple must provide certificates of Baptism, confirmation and Freedom to marry.
. Special Privilege is required in the case of a marriage to a non-Catholic; they must obtain certificates of baptism, birth and freedom to marry from his r her church.
Greek Orthodox requirements
Both parties must be baptized and either the bride or Groom of the Orthodox faith.
Jewish Faith requirements
. A certificate of freedom to marry, issued by the senior Rabbinate of the area of residence must be issued.
. A Jewish ceremony can be performed only if both parties are of a Jewish faith.
After the wedding
After the ceremony has be performed the couple have a legal obligation to register the wedding at the local council within 40 days, failure to do so will result in the marriage having no validity.
Important
Please note that the paperwork that you provide to the Greek authorities is NOT returned to you after the wedding, they are kept on record.
