Malta has easy requirements (I’m comparing docs to Italy mind you).
-You are not required to be a resident.
-Documents are sent in 6 - 8 weeks prior to wedding, civil (non-religious) services are available at the Wedding Registrar’s office. Actual requirements are listed here , there is a .pdf download. They reply promptly to email inquiries as well. If you meant get married in the next 2 weeks, disregard, a min. of 6 weeks is needed for publishing of Baans.
Barbados Marriage requirements
It is very easy to get married in Barbados … there is no required waiting period or minimum length of stay. Application for a marriage licence must be made by both parties in person at the office of the Ministry of Home Affairs.
Documents Required:
* Valid Passports or the original or certified copies of birth certificates.
* If either party was divorced, an original Decree Absolute or a certified copy of the Final Judgement.
* If either party was previously married and widowed, a certified copy of the Marriage Certificate and Death Certificate in respect of the deceased spouse.
* Where necessary, all documents not in English must be accompanied by a certified translation.
* Fees: if neither party is a citizen or resident of Barbados - BDS $150.00 cash and a $25.00 stamp.
I don’t have any links, but Israeli couples who have trouble getting married in Israel for political (Arab+Jew) or religious (Anything else+Jew; Cohen+divorcee; don’t want a religious marriage, etc…) reasons generally either marry by mail “in” Peru, or go to Cyprus. This should work for any couple, not only Israelis. I hope that you have political issues with neither of these countries (or with taking advice from an Israeli, for that matter).
As far as I know, in Peru, maybe you have to show up and show your passports nowadays (in the past this could be done puerly by mail). In Cyprus, you definitely have to show up and have a civil servant marry you, but I don’t think there are any residency requirements.
Sorry, can’t find any relevant-looking links that are not in Hebrew -and I just don’t have the time to read the Hebrew ones for more data right now - but this may give you a start. If you would like me to do a little more research, let me know.
Ditto Malta. My reasoning is suspect because it may be dated or just plain wrong, as it comes from the “Beatles Anthology” documentary. John and Yoko decided to do a quickie marriage, and Malta was (supposedly) the only place they could do it.
I don’t think the kilts are a requirement; my friend just thought the idea was interesting, though neither he nor the bride has any Scottish ancestry. Poliitcs may b a bit more complicated. What are the political restrictions, i.e. what areas are you avoiding?
Okay so excluding preperation time with only 2 weeks travel time, non-religious possibility, no resisdence restictions then you can get married in:
Austria-must register in Standesamt prior to ceremony and US embassy marriage license
Germany-free status affidavit and must register in Standesamt Berlin, Munich, Hamburg or Baden-Baden but check with town before marriage
Greece-get a non restrictive marriage license prior to going
See link for more details and addresses
and these countries are all pretty stable as in you might not even get a stamp in your passport, but check with the embassies there.
Also I think the Czech Republic is a beautiful country to get married in but not in the winter. http://www.usembassy.cz/consular/marr.htm
No I take that back, if you like the cold, it can be very picturesque.
You didn’t mention what type of wedding you’re looking for…if it’s just the certificate then all the ones listed above are good. But if you’re looking for something romantic or private or with a planeful of guests, or skydiving etc. then we could narrow down the options even to specific cities or locations.
good luck whatever you choose.
She’s a big girl, and she has higher net worth than me. Not an innocent.
As to parlo’s question, well the exact character of this little ‘transaction’ if I may amuse myself is yet to be determined.
And thanks to Noone on the Cyprus angle commentary, interesting, I was unaware Cyprus did that much “marriage” business. Cyprus would be a nice choice as well, I have personal and business connexions there.
Come on, Collounsbury, you’re asking us to cough up information for you and that’s all you can give us? Every area in the world has some political issues. How on earth are we to know what issues are acceptable and which issues aren’t?
I’m not spinning my wheels to cough up what I know about international marriages if it’s going to get dismissed because it doesn’t fall into a scheme that you’re not willing to divulge.
The woman has political issues due to certain indirect connections that make certain countries, namely the US and UK right out. I am not explaining further. Other than that, all is game.
OK, I guess a revision of my prior statement is in order. My comments had nothing whatsoever to do with anything so mundane as net worth of the parties involved, of which I have no way of judging the relative levels in any case. It’s just that even for a person with whom I’ve never had so much as a “live” conversation, you yourself seem to me to be someone with, well, rather particular opinions and modes of expressing them, which might be off-putting to some if they manifest themselves in person in an analogous manner to the way they manifest themselves online.
But hey, if it works for both of you, then I wish you the best of luck, you crazy kids!
You speak French, right Coll? I know you don’t want to have the wedding in France, but you could take a look at Switzerland.
I have a Swiss-born friend who should be able to tell me all about the whole procedure. Unfortunately, he’s vacationing back in CH at the moment and is rather hard to get in touch with. I’ll let you know as soon as I get more reliable information; in the meantime, I did find the following sites (which I’ve summarized below):
There’s no residency requirement. Paperwork seems to be minimal (fill out a couple of forms from the local Swiss mission; supply the local authorities with a birth certificate and proof that you aren’t two-timing). I’m not sure how long from now you plan to hold the wedding, but it apparently takes the authorities less than a week to certify the documents, at which time they’ll give you an authorization valid for three months. The process costs 500 Swiss francs (about 370 USD, if I got this week’s exchange rate right).
There’s no religious fuss involved at all, and I imagine Switzerland fits your political requirements rather well. Heck, I imagine your fiance’s family does some business in the country.
Sorry I can’t offer anything more authoritative than a few websites, but I’ll let you know if I learn anything else.
As far as I can see, the process definitely can be completed in 15 days (“Marriage by Notice”), and can probably be arranged within less than a week (“Marriage by Special License”).
