Generally speaking, love has no limits. But if you want to make the relationship with your partner official, you have abide a few legal conditions, especially if you want to get married in Romania!

What law applies to marriage in Romania?

When we think about the conditions for marriage, we refer to the age of marriage or prohibition of marriage between relatives, according to Romanian legislation. In the case of foreign law, there are cases in which the legislator can prohibit recently divorced couple from remarrying within a period of several years.

Therefore, it is useful to do your research in what the national law specifies (for example, if you are a Bulgarian citizen, you will have to check the Bulgarian civil legislation), but also that of your partner, regardless of whether he is a Romanian citizen or not.

Considering that the Romanian public authorities do not know the foreign citizen’s situation, he will have to bring an official document that shows he meets the conditions provided by the national law in order to get married.

In addition to certifying the fulfillment of legal conditions, the foreign citizen must also bring a certificate of celibacy. Respectively, a document no older than 90 days which proves that on the date of its issuance, he was not married in his country of citizenship.

As a final note, the two certificates can be issued in a single one, as long as the two statements are clearly understood.

What if the national law of the foreign citizen presents an impediment to marriage?

The simple answer is that the civil status officer in Romania will refuse to officiate the marriage between a foreign citizen and a Romanian citizen or between two foreign citizens resident in Romania, if one of them does not provide written proof of compliance with the conditions for concluding the marriage, according to their country of citizenship.

So the law asks for double compliance with the conditions of marriage: for the country of origin and also for Romania.

For example, even if in your country of origin you can get married at the age of 14 and you abide by all their other legal conditions of the foreign law, the civil status officer will refuse to marry you, because in Romania you cannot marry at 14, as the minimum age for concluding a marriage is 18 years or 16 years with prior court approval.

But what about the formal conditions?

Formal conditions refer, for example, to the declaration of marriage or the place of marriage.

In this case, the law of the territory where the marriage takes place will apply. So if you want to get married in Romania, then Romanian legislation will apply.

How is the marriage registered?

You can initiate a marriage by presenting a marriage declaration, that will be submitted to the town hall where the marriage will be concluded, personally, by both spouses (it is just a simple form to be filled in).

If this is not possible, it can also be submitted to another town hall, that will send the declaration in max. 48 hours the declaration to the town hall of the domicile or residence of one of the spouses.

On the day of submission, the document will be published by the civil status officer in an official manner, including on the town hall’s website.

Are other documents required, besides the marriage declaration?

Yes, a series of documents are also required, such as:

a documenting stating the spouses’ identity, both in original and copy. For foreign citizens, it can be their passport.
birth certificate, in original and in copy
medical certificate
documents showing the existence or dissolution of previous marriages, if applicable

The documents that the foreign citizen will submit must be legalized or have an apostille, if the issuing state is member of the Hague Convention.

How soon will the marriage be concluded?

The marriage will be concluded in 10 days after the declaration is displayed. Both the first day of posting and the date of marriage will be taken into account.

For example, if the declaration was submitted on 05.12.2022, the marriage will be concluded on 14.12.2022.

Of course, there are also exceptional situations in which the marriage can be concluded before the deadline, based on solid reasons that will be analyzed by the mayor of the municipality, like if the health condition of one of the spouses requires it. And there are also exceptional situations, in which the marriage can be concluded after the expiration of the 10-day period.

Is there a possibility that the marriage will not be concluded?

Yes, if the registrar finds that the conditions and requirements of the law are not met, in which case he will refuse to conclude the marriage.

Miruna-Casiana Dumitrașcu

Content Creator R&R Partners Bucharest

If you would like to address more questions or if you need a legal consultation, you can contact us at office@rrpb.ro or by accessing our site www.rrpb.ro for more information.