Civil wedding in Italy for foreign couples: is it legal, and what do you need?

The short answer, then the paperwork

Yes, you can. A civil wedding in Italy is legally valid for foreign citizens too. The hard part is not the ceremony: it is the documents, and the order in which you collect them. I am a wedding planner, not a lawyer, so read this as a map, not as legal advice. The last word on your case always belongs to two offices: your embassy or consulate, and the civil registry of the Comune (the town council) where you will marry.

Who performs it, and where

In Italy a civil wedding is performed by the ufficiale di stato civile, the civil registrar, or by a delegate. It normally takes place at the town hall, but a Comune can authorise other places in its territory, which then count as a Casa Comunale: a wedding celebrated there has the same legal value as one at the town hall. Tenuta Montevitolo is a Casa Comunale of the Comune di Andria, so the registry you deal with is Andria's, and the ceremony is performed by a delegate.

Two practical points. You need two adult witnesses with valid identity documents. And the ceremony is in Italian: if either of you does not understand Italian, the registry will normally ask for an interpreter. Ask them how it works before you choose one.

The documents foreign citizens usually need

Italian law asks a foreign citizen who wants to marry in Italy for a declaration from the competent authority of their own country stating that, under their national law, there is no impediment to the marriage (article 116 of the Civil Code). It is usually called the nulla osta, in English often a certificate of no impediment.

How you get it depends entirely on your country. Some issue it through their embassy or consulate in Italy; others issue a document at home that must then be legalised or apostilled and translated into Italian; some use a different procedure altogether. So I will not give you a list for your country: it would be out of date or wrong. In general, expect to be asked for:

• a valid passport or identity document;
• the nulla osta, or the equivalent document your country uses;
• proof that any previous marriage or civil union has ended, if there was one;
• official translations into Italian and an apostille or legalisation, where your country's documents require them.

Banns, timing and the order of things

Italian law has a procedure called pubblicazioni, the banns: a public notice before the wedding. Whether it applies to you depends on your nationality and on where each of you lives, and the registry will tell you. Timing works the same way: there is no single number for everyone. What I can tell you is the order that works:

• Hold a date with the venue, provisionally, so you know which Comune you are dealing with.
• Contact your embassy or consulate and ask exactly what they issue and how long it takes.
• Contact the civil registry of the Comune di Andria with your nationalities and places of residence, and ask what they need from you and when.
• Book translator and interpreter early, if you need them.
• Ask before the wedding which certificate you will need afterwards to register the marriage at home.

Start months ahead, not weeks. Many registries also ask you to come in person before the wedding day: plan your flights around that appointment, not the other way round.

Already married at home? The symbolic ceremony

Some couples prefer to sign the papers at their local registry office and then celebrate in Puglia. That is the symbolic ceremony: it can be every bit as moving, with your readings, your vows and your family, but it has no legal effect. The legal marriage is the one at home. It is a perfectly good choice, especially when the documents from your country are slow or complicated.

Civil unions for same-sex couples

In Italy two adults of the same sex can form a civil union (unione civile), under Law no. 76 of 20 May 2016. There are no banns: you apply together to the civil registrar, the Comune checks the requirements, and the union is formed by a declaration before the registrar or a delegate and two witnesses. At the masseria, as a Casa Comunale, a civil union is legally valid. If one of you is a foreign citizen, the registry will tell you which documents from your country it needs, and how the union is recognised at home depends on your country's law: ask both offices early, and we will take care of the rest of the day.

Whichever path you take, four things not to do:

• Do not book flights before you know when the registry wants to see you.
• Do not rely on a forum post or a friend's wedding: rules change and differ between countries.
• Do not forget the witnesses' documents. It happens more often than you would think.
• Do not leave the translations to the last week.

If you want to know whether your date is free, write to us: we reply within two working days. And for how the rest of the day works, read our masseria wedding venue near Bari.

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