Colombia-Civil Wedding in Notaria

[Roxyroo 1]

Hi VJ,

I am a resident of Colombia (have lived/worked there for 3 1/ years) and my fiance and I plan to marry in a civil ceremony this spring.

I am at home in the US for Christmas and want to go back with documents I may need for the notary.

I know according to the Embassy's info (http://bogota.usembassy.gov/marriage.html) that I need an apostilled birth certificate and I also need the equivalent of a Colombian registro civil saying I am unmarried/have never been married.

Quoting from the embassy's site here:

No such document exists in many jurisdictions in the United States, however, and most U.S. citizens will therefore have to discuss with the notary what substitutes will be acceptable. Some notaries may allow you to present signed, notarized letters from friends or family, swearing that you are unmarried.

Has anyone done this? Can anyone give me any ideas on even what exactly the letter should say? I am planning on just having a letter from my father/parents---or 2 letters, one from my dad and one from my mom.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

Happy holidays!!

[E and J 0]

I had to do the exact same thing to get married in Panama. It was not easy, but I was able to work it out by calling the state agencies in the state where I was born and where I had been living. Luckily, both states were "apostille states" and they were able to produce the certificado de naciemento and certificado de solitaria with appropriate international notarization. Although Virginia does not have an official certificate of "singleness", I was able to talk to a person in the Virginia Department of State who deals with these things regularly - basically they end up certifying that the State's records show that I have never been married in that state and their records currently show that I am single.

I saw another website, specifically about Panama marriages for U.S. citizens, suggesting that a notarized statement from two unrelated people who have known the husband and/or wife for at least 5 years would suffice as a substitute, but your appropriate Department of State should be able to handle a notarized/apostilled document. It's not that unique of a situation, after all.

Hi VJ,

I am a resident of Colombia (have lived/worked there for 3 1/ years) and my fiance and I plan to marry in a civil ceremony this spring.

I am at home in the US for Christmas and want to go back with documents I may need for the notary.

I know according to the Embassy's info (http://bogota.usembassy.gov/marriage.html) that I need an apostilled birth certificate and I also need the equivalent of a Colombian registro civil saying I am unmarried/have never been married.

Quoting from the embassy's site here:

No such document exists in many jurisdictions in the United States, however, and most U.S. citizens will therefore have to discuss with the notary what substitutes will be acceptable. Some notaries may allow you to present signed, notarized letters from friends or family, swearing that you are unmarried.

Has anyone done this? Can anyone give me any ideas on even what exactly the letter should say? I am planning on just having a letter from my father/parents---or 2 letters, one from my dad and one from my mom.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

Happy holidays!!

[payxibka 10,045]

look to your secretary of state's website for info on the "apostille" process