Legalization of a marriage contracted in Georgia
Congratulations! You got married in Georgia
and received a Wedding Certificate.
Now you need to complete the registration of marriage documents so that it is recognized in the country of your residence.
What are the options?
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Legalization for the member states of the Hague Convention (apostilization).
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Consular legalization.
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Recognition of documents without legalization for the countries participating in the Minsk Convention.
Notes:
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Some countries, despite being part of the Hague Convention, also require consular legalization of the Georgian Wedding Certificate. Please check with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the country of your residence of the requirements for marriage documents issued in Georgia.
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Some countries, including those included in the Hague Convention, have special conditions for the consular legalization of the registration of a marriage concluded in Georgia, including the issuance of a marriage permit and the legalization of a marriage certificate. For example, France.
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Some countries do not provide services for the consular legalization of the Wedding Certificate on the territory of Georgia. For example, consular certification of a Wedding Certificate for Canadian residents is carried out in Turkey.
We provide all the necessary services for your wedding certificate for the legalization of marriage in the country of your residence (translation, notarization, apostille, registration in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Georgia and the Ministry of Justice of Georgia, consular legalization of wedding certificate).
Legalization of marriage documents
for residents of participating countries
Hague Convention (apostilization)
The Hague Convention of 1961 (full title: "The Hague Convention Abolishing the Requirement of Legalization for Foreign Public Documents, October 5, 1961", "Convention of 5 October 1961 Abolishing the Requirement of Legalization for Foreign Public Documents"), is an international convention abolishing the requirement legalization of foreign official documents for the countries participating in the Convention.
The states parties to the Convention mutually renounce the requirement of consular legalization of official documents that were made on the territory of one of the contracting states and must be presented on the territory of the other contracting state.
The Convention establishes a special sign (stamp) affixed to official documents created in one state and subject to transfer to another state, replacing the consular legalization procedure - an apostille.
Documents certified by an apostille in one of the States Parties to the Convention must be accepted in the other State Party to the Convention without any restrictions.
The Convention was concluded in The Hague on October 5, 1961 by the States parties to the Hague Conference on Private International Law and is open for accession by all interested countries.
Currently, the Hague Convention includes 124 countries. The full list can be viewed here.
For the purposes of the Convention, official documents mean:
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documents originating from a body or official subject to the jurisdiction of the state, including documents originating from the prosecutor's office, court clerk or bailiff
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administrative documents (in particular, certificates of registration of acts of civil status)
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notarial deeds
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official marks such as registration marks; visas confirming a specific date; certification of a signature on a document not certified by a notary.
Apostille on a marriage certificate is affixed by the Ministry of Justice of Georgia.
We provide translation and apostilization services for a marriage certificate concluded in Georgia. The cost of our services for apostilization of a marriage certificate is from 125 USD.
Consular legalization for residents of countries that are not parties to the Hague Convention
Consular legalization of documents is necessary for countries that require legalization, and at the same time are not parties to the Hague Convention. In addition, some member states of the Hague Convention still require consular legalization of a marriage certificate registered in Georgia - for example, Spain.
The consular legalization procedure is rather complicated: the document is certified first by the Ministry of Justice of Georgia, then by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Georgia, and only after that at the embassy or consulate of the country of destination.
The list of countries for which consular legalization is required can be found here (88 countries).
The cost of our services for consular legalization of a marriage certificate is from 250 USD.
Convention on Legal Assistance and Legal Relations in Civil, Family and Criminal Matters of 1993
(Minsk Convention)
Georgia continues to participate in the Convention on Legal Assistance and Legal Relations in Civil, Family and Criminal Matters, signed in Minsk on January 22, 1993. In accordance with Art. 13 of the said Convention:
“Documents that are made or certified by an institution or a specially authorized person within their competence and in the prescribed form and are affixed with an official seal on the territory of one of the Contracting Parties are accepted in the territories of other Contracting Parties without any special certification.
Documents that are considered as official documents in the territory of one of the Contracting Parties are used in the territories of other Contracting Parties as the evidentiary force of official documents."
States parties to the Convention on Legal Assistance and Legal Relations in Civil, Family and Criminal Matters:
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Azerbaijan (Azerbaijan Republic)
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Armenia (Republic of Armenia)
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Belarus (Republic of Belarus)
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Georgia
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Kazakhstan (Republic of Kazakhstan)
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Kyrgyzstan (Kyrgyz Republic)
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Moldova (Republic of Moldova)
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Russia (Russian Federation)
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Tajikistan (Republic of Tajikistan)
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Turkmenistan
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Uzbekistan (Republic of Uzbekistan)
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Ukraine
Despite the fact that Georgia, after leaving the CIS in 2009, remained a party to the 1993 Minsk Convention, the civil registry offices of the Russian Federation often refuse to accept a marriage certificate issued in Georgia without an apostille. We recommend that the marriage certificate be translated into Russian and apostilled in Georgia.