Indian marrying French Documents For Marriage n Moving2paris

[smarty_paris]

I am Working in London on work permit,Marrying my French girlfriend and Moving to Paris.
Please Help me .What documents i need to marry her, I have tourist schenegen stamped for 1 year.do i need other visa or i can go to france and marry her on this visa and apply newone or else i should apply from London .how much time do i need to stay in france before i can marry her.what is the procedure and please advice that what are the marriage laws ,how much time required to
get French Nationality.

I dont speak french but wiling to take lessons,please advice if local communities can help or how can i approach them

Thank you so Much

Raj

[SwatiSG]

There are three documents a foreigner has to submit at the City/Town Hall in France for a marriage registration. You can find more details on all three in another post in the mixed couples section in this forum itself so maybe you can have a look at that too and see if it helps. Otherwise, here are the bare details:

1. Certificat de coutume: issued by the embassy of the foreigner
2. Celibacy Certificate
3. Birth certificate ( not less than 6 months old): You will need an Apostille on this from the designated office in India.

Every City Hall has its own idiosyncrasies so the best would be for your girlfriend to approach the City Hall where you would have to register whether they would accept to get you married on a tourist visa. She should also confirm the documents required in your particular case. That would be the first thing to do.

When I had inquired about it, I was advised not to wait for a tourist visa and get the registration done while I still have a student visa. But it really depends on the particular City Hall you would be approaching.

Good luck!

[ellem]

Hi. Everything mentioned in the above posts are of immense utility!

I just spent a day running from consulate to internet to phone booth to phone the indian embassy in france... all this to figure out the documents needed to get married in france to a french national.

I still have a couple of questions. Will be grateful if anyone could reply to these and put in their views.

I am Indian, as of now in India and my fiancé is french as of now in france. We plan to get married in france towards the end of October. The date is set in the mairie. The only thing remaining are the documents.

1) The certificat de coutume: From what I get from the previous posts on this subject, this document is available within 48 hours in the ambassade d'inde à paris. I guess there is no need to translate this document as it is provided in French, right??

2) The certificat de célibat: i) Is this by any chance also available in the Ambassade d'Inde en France? ii) If it is not and if it is indeed the affidavit of honour made in front of a notary, does this required to be translated? iii) Any apostille needed on this document?

3) Certificat de naissance: I already do have my original birth certificate. I can easily get it translated by a translator at the Alliance Française. Is any stamp or apostille needed on this document?

Those are my questions concerning the documents to be given. Any ideas if one needs to take a special visa to marry in france? Or can I marry on a tourist visa?

Really looking forward to answers!

[SwatiSG]

Just a quick reply:

1. Yes, it will be issued in french and no need to translate it.

2. The Indian Embassy does not issue certificat de Célibat. Yes, the affidavit has to be translated but you need to get it translated here in France by a traducteur assermenté. An Apostille on this is good if you can get one. You will be on the safe side.

3. Your original birth certificate is not enough. They want one which has been issued not more than 6 months from the day you submit your file. So you will have to get a new one and get an Apostille on it. Please look up the thread on mixed marriages. There is another post where I have included a much more detailed response.

The best thing to do is to talk to them directly and ask them what are the required documents including visa. Please don't think that by asking them directly you will be prejudicing them against your case. No. It is in your best interests to work with the mairie.

[chazman]

Hi,

1) Certificat de coutume - You get from Paris. 25 euros. Same day or Next day. No translation needed as it is in French. No other stamps needed.

2) Certificat de célibat - It is not issued by Indian Embassy. Get it as affidavit that you are a bachelor. Then get on the back of affidavit the 'Apostille' by MEA. AFter you get it translate. The translation should be from certified organism.

3- Certificat de naissance - My suggestion > get it as affidavit like certificat de célibat. Just change the topic that you are born at this place and at this date. Then get on the back of affidavit the 'Apostille'. After get it translate from certified authority. Now, why I say this because French do not recognize old date of birth certificates. It may sound funny but there might be problem.

I don't know from which part of India you are coming. I am saying it because it depends from where you will get the Apostille. There might be regional centers too but I am not sure. Generally, it is from Patiala High Court, MEA division, if I remember well.

Whatever document you bring from India, Apostille is must. Without Apostille, nothing is recognized. India has signed a kind of Hague Convention.

Wish you good luck and very happy marriage life !! : - )

C.

[SwatiSG]

NO. Please no. You cannot get an affidavit for your birth certificate. New birth certificates are issued in India. I had it done so I know. Please check the thread on documents required for mixed marriages. And please do not give wrong or misleading information. Getting a file together is difficult as it is.

I had come back to add on the visa that I forgot to mention earlier...every town hall has its own rules on visa. so whether you can get married or not on a tourist visa depends on the Mairie where you will be getting married. Which is why I was asking you to speak to them and clarify matters but I realised I had not been clear.

There is no general rule on this subject and the Mairie has discretion, so ask them.

[chazman]

I still have the copy of ''affidavit birth certificate". : -) With Apostille.

Yes, it is better to have a new birth certificate issued.

[SwatiSG]

You were probably extremely lucky it got accepted. And again it depends on the mairie. I have heard of different kinds of experiences from different people. Some had an extremely tough time while others had a smooth ride. Which is why it is best to speak to the mairie first.
For me it was made clear from the start that an affidavit for the birth certificate or even a document from the Indian embassy attesting my birth date would not do.

[ellem]

Hi. Ok big thanks to everyone. This thread helped immensely.

I somehow cannot access the thread on mixed marriages. It would be extremely helpful if anyone could drop in a word on this thread with information about how to go about making a new birth certificate. Who do I contact in such a situation? Also, another unclear thing is the famous 'apostille'. I live in Bangalore at the moment. Could any court offer this stamp?

Again big thanks to everyone on this thread. Its amazing how all my questions were answered overnight!

[Universal]

An "affidavit" is not a Birth Certificate ! An affidavit is just certain declaration, which you get through a Notary.

Swati has already explained very appropriately and clearly.

Such affidavits( declaration of date of birth ) used to serve several purposes and still do in India , for admissions to schools, applying for passports, etc. But even in India such affidavits are not acceptable for those born since 1990, and must have a proper Birth Certifcate, issued by the Registrar of Births & Deaths.

( Registeration of Births and Deaths and Mariages were not mandatory in India, so many do not have such documents from the appropriate authorities. Only recently, such registerations have been made compulsory for all, so now such things are being focussed on, but in majority of the cases during our parents generation and so many of the present generation do not have such documents. )

In most of the places in India, it's the Municipal Corporation, or Mayor's office which has such sections, like "Health Department", which issue the Birth Certificates, provided you submit the doctor's or hopital's birth records.

I case you do not have a doctor's or hospital's documents to justify the birth, then you have to apply to the First Class Magistrate , to pass on order for the " late registeration of your birth ". ( submitting all the evidences of your date of birth like schools records, voter card, ration card, passport, your parents documents, etc.)

If your birth was already registered with the proper authorities, that is the municipal corporation, you can apply and get a copy of your birth certificate the same day.

If not then you will have to be patient and keep running to the department to get your work done.

Once your birth is registered, you can always apply for copies and duplicate copies , whenever you require and as many as you want, on paying Rs. 100 for each copy.

Since the "Birth certificate" is not valid for more than 3 or 6 months ( for foreign authorities), so you have this option to keep applying and getting fresh and latest copies of your birth certifcates. As I mentioned getting fresh copies is very simple and you get that within a few hours the same day.

So the most important is to make sure that first your "Birth" is "Registered with the Registrar of Birth & Death" , in your place/city.


( Many ask this question that why a Birth Certifcate is not valid for more than 3 or 6 months , when the date of birth NEVER changes during the 3 or 6 months or even in years. To explain this it will take too much space here, so it's better you may ask your french fiancee and she will be able to expalin you properly).

For "Apostille" : it's the authentication of the concerned documents.

First you have to get ( for example Birth Certificate, etc ) the document Attested/Authenticated/Legalised, at the Interior Ministry/Home Department ,
and then it is Authenticated/Legalised ( or the International Term = Apostille ) by the MEP ( Ministry Of Exetrnal Affairs).

If you are in Bangalore , just google search for Apostille, and you will get all the details and addresses of Home Ministry and MEP in Bangalore. There are also many authorised agents/travel agencies which offer their services.

All this might sound difficult and complicated, but one needs to understand and follow the procedure step by step.

Good luck to you.

Razi

[ellem]

Great. Much much clearer. Thanks to everyone on this thread for their help.

[paname]

HI
THIS TO REPLY THAT WHY HERE IN FRANCE THE BIRTH CERTIFICATE IS ONLY VALID FOR SIX MONTH BECAUCE ON THE DEATH OF A PERSON IT IS NOTED ON THE SAME REGISTER IN THE MAIRIE .IT TAKES ABOUT MAX SIX MONTHS . IF YOU ASK THE BIRTH CERTIFICATE OF A DEAD PERSON, THE DATE OF HIS DEATH WILL BE MENTIONED ON THE CERTIFICATE. IN SOME COUNTRIES IT IS NOT SO.


IHOPE THAT IT WAS HELPFULL

PADAM

[chazman]

If I said that birth certificate affidavit works (with apostille), it was not only in my case, but in many other cases that (intercultural marriages) I know. Saying that I was extremely lucky would not be appropriate. Swati does not know herself how to gather documents as evident in her new post. I wish her good luck & happy marriage !

I think it is better to give information when one has undergone the experience.

Cheers