The complete how-to for British citizens getting married in Italy

From 1st March 2013, the procedure for British Citizen who are residents in the UK, planning to marry in Italy are as follows; You can't start the process more than 6 months before your wedding date, or 3 months if you are resident in Scotland. There are 5 steps that you must follow to get the paperwork for marrying in Italy:

Step 1- Contact the Comune

Contact the local town hall (‘comune’) where you want to get married to find out about local marriage laws, including what documents you and your partner will need.

Step 2- Certificate of No Impediment (CNI) ‘Nulla Osta’

You need to apply for a Certificate of No Impediment, which is issued in the UK. To do this you must give notice of marriage to your local registry office. After your notice has been posted for 28 days you will be issued with a Certificate of No Impediment to Marriage, signed and dated by your local Registrar. It is essential that the names you give to the Registrar, which will appear on your Certificates of No Impediment, are exactly the same as written in your passports. For example, Jenny Harrington on the Certificate, and Jennifer Harrington-Thomas on your passport might mean that the Italian authorities will not accept your paperwork. Please check with your local registry office to see what documents you need to take with you. A CNI costs £35. A CNI is valid for 6 months under Italian law.

Step 3 - The Statutory Declaration


Whilst waiting for your Certificate of No Impediment you should make a Statutory Declaration before a solicitor or public notary. We can send the declaration form to you via email. The declaration is required by the Italian authorities and gives additional information that isn't detailed on your Certificate of No Impediment. The solicitor or public notary will charge a fee for this service; fees will vary.

Step 4 – Legalising your documents for the Italian authorities


When you have your Certificate of No Impediment and you have made your Statutory Declaration, you need to send them both to the FCO Legalisation Office in Milton Keynes for each to be legalised with a Hague Apostille. The Legalisation Office will charge for this please check the current charges and procedure on the UK Government Website.

Step 5 - Translation of your Certificate of No Impediment

Once both these documents have been legalised, you will then need to have the legalised Certificate of No Impediment translated. As it becomes an Italian legal document it should be translated by a translator based in Italy and sworn before the Italian courts or an Italian Justice of the Peace. We can organise this with a local certified translator. A fee will be charged by the translator, plus a delivery fee to have the translation couriered back to you or to our office.


The final Documents;
• A Certificate of No Impediment issued & legalised in the UK and then translated officially in Italy.
• A bilingual Statutory Declaration legalised in the UK. (The Statutory Declaration does not need to be translated since it is already in both languages.)
• A UK Passport.

Once all of these documents have been prepared, they should be sent directly to us which we will then take/send to the town hall where you will get married.

There is no longer any requirement for wedding documentation for British Citizen resident in the UK to be sent to any British Consular Section in Italy for further processing. Please note, under Italian law, a woman who has been divorced or widowed and wishes to re-marry in Italy cannot do so until 300 days have passed from the date of her divorce/death of husband. It is possible, however, to apply for a dispensation to this through the Civil Law Courts (Tribunale Civile). Finally please note that your Certificate of No Impediment will be valid for six months from the date on your English, Welsh or Northern Irish CNI or three months if presenting a Scottish CNI.

Below is a useful video which gives clear instructions on how to proceed with getting a CNI in the UK for your marriage in Italy. http://youtu.be/EhPz7-wjWjc

After you get married

Your marriage will be recognised in the UK if:
• you follow the correct process according to the law in Italy
• it would be allowed under UK law
You won’t need to register your marriage in the UK. If you need extra copies of your marriage certificate, you can apply for them at the local comune.

Getting married in Italy after EU Exit

The UK´s exit from the EU will not affect the right of UK nationals (resident in Italy and elsewhere) to get married in Italy. However, there may be some changes to the documentary process required for getting married, including a new legalisation requirement for the Certificate of No Impediment (‘Nulla Osta’) issued by the British Embassy in Rome.

Those wishing to get married in Italy should consult getting married abroad website and follow the current guidance.

If you are a British citizen living outside of the UK, please contact us for further details on the procedure as it does differ.