Getting Married in Colombia Civilly totally confused

[AllanPoe 0]

hello,

I will be getting married in May in Colombia. I am totally confused as to what it is that the Notary public needs there. They ask me for a Cedulla and we dont have that in the US. They also want a copy of my divorce decree in Spanish ApostilledDo I do that here in the US or in Colombia? Why would I need to send my divorce decree to the department of state if it has the seal of the court here in Nevada saying that I am divorced??

I am totally confused and stressed, I call the notary publics in Colombia but they dont seem to know. Can someone plz help me with this if you have been through this in Colombia. Thank you.

[payxibka 10,045]

probably best posted in the regional forum... moving to regional forum

[Mononoke28 135]

The best thing would be for your fiancé to ask the notary that will be marrying you exactly what they need from you since you're a foreigner. They need to know you're not Colombian so that they don't ask for a cédula, which is the national form of I.D. used there.

And yes, you need translations for every document that is not in English since they only speak Spanish there. All documents need to be originals or certified, no photocopies are accepted and they need to be apostille since the Nevada Notary Seal they currently have means absolutely nothing overseas. An apostille is pretty much an international notary seal and is the only thing they will accept in Colombia. I also believe the translations need to be apostilled but tell your fiancé to ask them. It's always best to find out EXACTLY what each notary is requesting so you go fully prepared.

Diana

[eric_and_teresa 10]

You should be able to use your U.S. Passport instead of the cedula, the passport is the document that a foreign person uses for I.D. purposes while abroad.

About the documents that come from the U.S. such as your divorce decree, what they are asking for is called "Pases de Ley"(not sure if they are called like this in Colombia too) this is something that is done to make sure that the document that is being provided and that was issued by a foreign authority and that will be having effects in Colombia, is authentic. The way they prove the authenticity, it is nothing more than the signature of another person certifying that the person who signed first actually did it and that the document is true. Sometimes a "chain of signatures" is required, the Consulate signs the divorce decree and then the Ministerio of Relaciones Exteriores in Colombia, certifies that the Consulate's signature is authentic too. Don't ask me why... this is just how our legal systems work

I supouse they are asking for you to take the divorce decree to the Department of State as in the U.S. they are the competent authority to certify that the Nevada Court's signature on your decree is authentic. I'd try to contact them and ask.

I suggest you contact the Consulate of Colombia in the U.S. they are ussually the ones in charge of certifying or apostillar documents that are issued in a foreign country and that will be having effects in their country. At least, this is how it works for many other latin american countries so I think its worth to give them a call, maybe they can tell you what to do. You can google their address and phone number.

Also, like the previous poster said, the Notario in Colombia should be telling you exactly what you to do, because you are paying him not only to celebrate the marriage but to instruct you on what is needed to celebrate the marriage of a foreign person, if he does not know... contact another lawyer-notary (not sure if in Colombia lawyers are also notaries but in many latin countries they are). They should be able to tell you exactly what to do, if not hire a new one!

[elkfarmer 4]

I'll try and help you out a bit. First of all you will need to get a translation of your birth certificate and your divorce decree into Spanish. Then you have to take the originals and the translations to your Secretary of State office in Nevada, and get an Apostile for each document. While there, ask them if they can provide you with a Certificate of Singlehood. "Solo certificado" This too will have to be Notarized. They should know about it at the state level.

It will have to be in English and Spanish. Basically it can even be done by you even, but is better if the state can provide one. You can have two people say they have known you for 5 years, and they know you are single at this time, Date. Then, signatures of you And the the two people are Notarized. Not sure of the Apostile on this, but might as well be on the safe side. Do it. My state is $10 an Apostile. If I can help you further, give me a shout.

[jboy119 0]

hello,

I will be getting married in May in Colombia. I am totally confused as to what it is that the Notary public needs there. They ask me for a Cedulla and we dont have that in the US. They also want a copy of my divorce decree in Spanish ApostilledDo I do that here in the US or in Colombia? Why would I need to send my divorce decree to the department of state if it has the seal of the court here in Nevada saying that I am divorced??

I am totally confused and stressed, I call the notary publics in Colombia but they dont seem to know. Can someone plz help me with this if you have been through this in Colombia. Thank you.

Here's what I did:

Birth Certificate (apostilled) -- I had to go the NJ Dept of Health and Senior Services. Ordered the BC.. found out it takes 8 business hours...picked it up the next day...mailed it to my wife in Bogota and she had it translated by a Notaria

Divorce Decree (apostilled) -- I had to go to the County Court House where the divorce was finalized and pick up the "gold seal" document (certified by a Judge and the court clerk). This was ordered a week in advance, but the normal processing time is 4 weeks. mailed to my wife and she had it translated.

[Marymoon 1]

hello,

I will be getting married in May in Colombia. I am totally confused as to what it is that the Notary public needs there. They ask me for a Cedulla and we dont have that in the US. They also want a copy of my divorce decree in Spanish ApostilledDo I do that here in the US or in Colombia? Why would I need to send my divorce decree to the department of state if it has the seal of the court here in Nevada saying that I am divorced??

I am totally confused and stressed, I call the notary publics in Colombia but they dont seem to know. Can someone plz help me with this if you have been through this in Colombia. Thank you.

Here's what I did:

Birth Certificate (apostilled) -- I had to go the NJ Dept of Health and Senior Services. Ordered the BC.. found out it takes 8 business hours...picked it up the next day...mailed it to my wife in Bogota and she had it translated by a Notaria

Divorce Decree (apostilled) -- I had to go to the County Court House where the divorce was finalized and pick up the "gold seal" document (certified by a Judge and the court clerk). This was ordered a week in advance, but the normal processing time is 4 weeks. mailed to my wife and she had it translated.

You just have to get the apostille in Nevada for all of your documents, your passport will be good enough you do not need cedula because you are not Colombian citizen. You need also the statements from two people telling they know you at leats for the last 5 years and they can state you are single (not married).

Also is very important to be sure your girlfriend does not have underage kids. If she has a son (daugther) You have to tell her she has to go to the family Judge (Juzgado de Familia) and ask for the Inventory of Goods (Inventario de Bienes) of her son (daugther). THis process takes at least 6 months and it cost about 1000 USD. If you do not do this and get married your marriage wont be valid (Legal). Because in the marriage document (Escritura publica de matrimonio) Both of you have to tell how many children are you adding to the marriage society.

Good Luck

PD: It will be so good if you contact the notary as soon as possible because the notary has to put a legal advertising that includes your names asking if someone is not agree with your marriage, and this is a main requirement.

[rcems543 0]

I just returned from Colombia on the 11th and was married on the 5th of May. From what i experienced is what the others have said.

I got my birth certificate with apostille and spanish translation, on my birth certificate i printed on the computer that i had been married previously but currently an divorced and is eligable to marry.

I got my divorce documents with apostille and spanish translation.

Copies of my passport.

Her birth certificate which shows if she has been married before, etc...

Then there was the 6 day waiting period to see if anyone would protest the marriage, the waiting period was done prior to my arrival luckily

I even had to have a translator due to the notaries request since i do not speak much spanish.

I had even gone to the embassy in bogota and obtained a sworn statement that i was single and had the US seal and everything.

It was somewhat of a pain but eventually we got it done. From what i have been told one notary can request this or that and another request something different. Like it was said before have your spouse call and ask before hand obviously. Anything else let me know if i can help. I am getting ready to start the I-130 stuff here shortly.

By the way where is your spouse located? Mine is in the city of Ibague....

Paul

[EddieG 0]

Hello, I am going through the same thing but with one difference, I live in Germany. So therefor,e there will be a lot of mailing back an forth from my location to the states. What I'm wondering is the original English documents will be the ones notarized and apostilled while the certifed spanish translationes will stay as is correct? Since each document (Single Status Affidavit and Birth Certificate) after being apostilled and notarized will be bound together. They should honor/accept the english original copies which are the ones that will be apostilled and notarized, since they will be included with the certified spanish translations. Is that correct? Or will they expect in Colombia that the certified translated copies be apostilled and notarized as well?

[Mononoke28 135]

Hello, I am going through the same thing but with one difference, I live in Germany. So therefor,e there will be a lot of mailing back an forth from my location to the states. What I'm wondering is the original English documents will be the ones notarized and apostilled while the certifed spanish translationes will stay as is correct? Since each document (Single Status Affidavit and Birth Certificate) after being apostilled and notarized will be bound together. They should honor/accept the english original copies which are the ones that will be apostilled and notarized, since they will be included with the certified spanish translations. Is that correct? Or will they expect in Colombia that the certified translated copies be apostilled and notarized as well?

EddieG,

Colombia is very uptight when it comes to any document that was not issued in Colombia. You will need all documents to be notarized and apostilled, including the translations. I know it seems like a lot but they don't consider anything without the proper seals and stamps as valid.

Diana