- Marriage certificates
A marriage may be celebrated in a Belgian diplomatic or consular authority only if either the bride or the groom is Belgian and lives within the area for which the said authority is competent. Prior to 1 January 2000, both bride and groom had in principle to be Belgian, but now mixed marriages are also possible.
To this end, the two of you, or one of you, must make a declaration of marriage. This declaration replaces the publication of the banns. The registrar will draw up this declaration. If one or both of you is registered on the population registers, the aliens’ register or the waiting register, or if you have an effective residence in Belgium, the registrar of that municipality will receive a copy of the deed. The latter will check that there are no impediments to the marriage, and will notify it within ten days of receipt of the notification to our diplomatic or consular authority.
When the declaration of marriage is made, you must both present the following documents to the Registrar:
a literal copy of the birth certificate;
proof of identity;
proof of nationality;
proof that you are not already married or, as appropriate, proof of the dissolution or annulment of any previous marriages;
proof of registration on the population registers, the aliens’ register or the waiting register and/or proof of your current residence;
possibly, written proof from the future spouse who is absent when the marriage declaration is made, to the effect that he/she consents to the declaration. The signature of an absent future spouse must be legalised;
any other authentic document showing that the person concerned satisfies the conditions required by the law to be able to marry. This document will often be an affidavit of law, in other words a document setting out the provisions of the foreign law and allowing the Registrar to check that the alien satisfies the conditions laid down by his/her national law in order to marry.
Documents from certain countries must be legalised by the competent authorities in the country of origin.
Nevertheless, in the case of a certain number of countries, the documents must not be legalised but bear the apostil affixed by the competent authorities in the country of origin. All documents drawn up in a foreign language must be translated by a sworn translator into French, Dutch or German.
Refusal to draw up the deed of declaration of marriage
It is most advisable, before undertaking the steps necessary to obtain these documents, to contact the officer who will celebrate the marriage. If you fail to file all the documents necessary, or if certain documents are not legalised, the officer will refuse to draw up the deed. He will notify you promptly of his decision, and give the reasons. If one of you is registered in Belgium he will likewise send a notification to the registrar in that municipality. Within one month of the notification, you may appeal against this decision before the court of first instance in your place of residence or the court in Brussels. The marriage cannot be celebrated before the 14th day following the drawing up of the deed of declaration of marriage. This marriage must be celebrated within 6 months from the expiry of this 14-day period. Once this period of 6 months elapses, it would be necessary, in principle, to make a fresh declaration of marriage.
In order to be able to marry, you must both report in person to the registrar, in the presence of two witnesses. You may have to present an attestation from a notary certifying that you have concluded a marriage contract. This attestation must quote the date of the contract and the marriage settlement chosen.
Refusal to celebrate the marriage
The registrar may refuse to celebrate the marriage where it emerges that the qualities and conditions laid down for contracting a marriage have not been satisfied, or if he is of the opinion that the celebration is contrary to public order. He will notify you promptly of his decision, and give the reasons. You have one month to appeal against this decision before the court of first instance.
In the event of doubt, he may postpone the celebration of the marriage, possibly after he has secured the opinion of the Public Prosecutor, for a period of two months at the most from the wedding date chosen by you, in order to proceed with supplementary investigations. If he has taken no definitive decision within that period of two months, you may get married, even if the period of six months has elapsed.
Marriages of convenience
A new article (Art. 146bis) has been inserted into the Civil Code stipulating that a marriage is null and void where, even though the formal consents have been given with a view to the latter, a combination of circumstances show that the intention of at least one of the spouses is clearly not the creation of a lasting shared life together, but simply the obtaining of an advantage in terms of residence linked to married status.
