Marrying Overseas

[ESunlin 0]

Hi everyone,

I've been reading these forums for information, and finally have one that I can't seem to find elsewhere on the site.

I am a US citizen, and I am marrying a Dutch citizen. We want to get married in Holland, but I can't see to find ANYTHING on what paperwork I need to do to have it legal and valid there AND here.

Any suggestions/help?

Thanks!

[M in CA 9]

My Swedish husband & I married in Gibraltar, UK. We ordered extra copies of the marriage certificate, and we made sure to pay extra for the "appostile" stamp on the back that makes it a legal document in the USA.

Here in the USA, I foudn that nobody really seems to care about people being married or not. That is to say, I went to each governement agency (Social Security, Country Recorder, etc.).

Social Security photocopied it b/c now I don't qualify for survivor benefits anymore (widowed in 2008).

County Record told me they don't do anything with that kind of information.

At least in California, there are no true vital statitstics. Births & Deaths & Marriages are recorded only in the county in which they take place. The State has no record of any of it.

You will like need teh appostile, however, for real estate transactions, tax issues, loans, bank accounts, credit cards, etc.. So be sure to get a few appostile copies. You keep a few to take to USA (you will need at least one to send to NVC). You might even get one translated to english if needed. Then the Dutch citizen needs one to register the marriage with the tax authority or population registry people there.

So - the Swedish government knows we are married, but the USA doesn't know. Doesn't care, until some kind of event, and then I have to find that piece of paper. crazy, but true.

Best wishes,

M.

[payxibka 10,045]

Hi everyone,

I've been reading these forums for information, and finally have one that I can't seem to find elsewhere on the site.

I am a US citizen, and I am marrying a Dutch citizen. We want to get married in Holland, but I can't see to find ANYTHING on what paperwork I need to do to have it legal and valid there AND here.

Any suggestions/help?

Thanks!

US automatically recognizes legal marriages in almost all the countries of the world. If you are legal in Holland, you are legal here

[~Hot Mama~ 3]

From what I understand after going through this process is that a marriage performed in another country is valid in the US as long as it does not violate any US laws (Ex.. marrying more than one person or something). I was married in the Republic of Georgia and we had to have our marriage license notorized/recorded, apostilled, translated, and notorized again.

You do NOT have to register the marriage in the state/city/county that you live in when you return to the US.

The Netherlands, including Aruba, Curacao, Holland, and Netherland Antilles are all part of the Hague Convention. The Hague Convention is a treaty that allows other countries to "Apostille" the documents... essentially verifying the authenticity and certifying them as true and valid. This then makes them acceptable in the USA. Be preparred to pay through the nose to have all of your documents apostilled and notorized!!!

[M in CA 9]

BTW:

BEFORE the Gibraltar Marriage Authority would issue marriage license, I had to do get a "record of no record" from the local county recorder office in order to prove to the UK that I was free to marry. I had to supply an original marriage and death certificate from 1st marriage as well. And my original birth certificate.

They call it "proving there are no impediments to marry."

Swedish husband had to simply get an official original "extract from Population Register" because it serves as the birth certificate and shows the marital status. Maybe The Netherlands has a similar registry?

[ESunlin 0]

Wow- thanks guys for the fast replies!

So, what I am getting out of this is that I need to follow the Dutch laws for getting married, have everything notarized and apostilled (several copies), and that's it?

Neither of us has been married before- so do we need proof that we are legal to marry? I can't think that we do, but I want to check.

What should we expect to pay to have things notarized and apostilled (since you say it is a lot)?

[M in CA 9]

Wow- thanks guys for the fast replies!

So, what I am getting out of this is that I need to follow the Dutch laws for getting married, have everything notarized and apostilled (several copies), and that's it?

Neither of us has been married before- so do we need proof that we are legal to marry? I can't think that we do, but I want to check.

What should we expect to pay to have things notarized and apostilled (since you say it is a lot)?

the Dutch marriage authority can give you a quote - just send them an email. They likely have a website with all the info there.

To show "no impediments", go to your USA county recorder office and have them issue you a certificate that serves as a "record of no record" - it is a signed document that shows they serached for record of you being married, and they found none.

Fees for appostile.. I cannot even remember... it was something like $20... $40... something around there. But that fee woudl be on dutch website re: marriage licences and certificates.

M.

[M in CA 9]

info on marrying in the netherlandslots of sources on the web

see if you can find a municipal website for the info and forms.

Note: you probably have to show up at least 14 days ahead of marriage in order to file the license and have it approved. I know in Sweden the wait would have been 2.5 weeks.

[M in CA 9]

dutch foreign affairs - marriage

better link - this is the ministry of foreign affairs.

"google is your friend"