Marriage between Czech Nationals and Foreign Nationals in the Czech Republic

A citizen of the Czech Republic may enter into marriage with a foreign national in the Czech Republic through a civil or religious marriage. A marriage is contracted by the free and complete consent of the man and woman who intend to enter into marriage (the fiancés), declaring that they are entering into marriage. A joint declaration of consent is made publicly during the wedding ceremony in the presence of two witnesses.

Fiancés
Offices of Vital Records ('matricni urad') require documents through which the fiancés can prove legal competence to enter into marriage. The documents to be submitted are stipulated by Act No. 301/2000 Coll. on Offices of Vital Records, Names and Surnames and on the Amendment to Some Other Related Acts, as amended.
Submitted documents must satisfy the prerequisites of public deeds. If they are issued by foreign authorities they must be furnished with the required authenticated documents (they must be notarised) unless an international agreement stipulates otherwise. Such authenticated documents must be translated into the Czech language. For more details contact any Office of Vital Records ('matricni urad').

How and Where to apply

• to preliminarily decide on the place and intended date of a marriage;
• to contact the Office of Vital Records under the jurisdiction of which the place selected for the marriage falls (at these Offices of Vital Records it is possible to negotiate the place and date of an intended marriage; at the Offices fiancés are also provided with necessary information concerning the marriage itself).
  Offices of Vital Records are to be found at municipal and city authorities, and authorities of city boroughs and districts. In particular it is the Office of Vital Records under the jurisdiction of which the place where the intended marriage is to be contracted falls. 'Questionnaire for Entering into Marriage' is available at the relevant Office of Vital Records. The form must be completed by both fiancés and submitted to the Office of Vital Records under the jurisdiction of which the place where the marriage is to be contracted falls, alongside the documents required for contracting the marriage.

A fiancé who is a Czech national submits the following documents:

• birth certificate (original or officially authenticated, i.e. notarised, copy);
• Czech ID card or regular travel document of the Czech Republic (if the Office of Vital Records receives a travel document then the fiancé must also submit an extract from the Information System of Inhabitant Records on his/her personal status and the place of his/her permanent residence); in the case that the fiancé has permitted permanent residence abroad he/she will submit the above-mentioned extracts on personal status and the place of permanent residence abroad or a similar corresponding document if such are issued by the country in which the fiancé concerned permanently resides;
• a final and conclusive judgement on divorce with regard to any previous marriage or the death certificate of any deceased spouse, or an officially authenticated extract from the register of a registered partnership proving that such registered partnership was terminated by a court decision, or the death certificate of any deceased partner.

A fiancé who is a foreign national submits the following documents:

• a document proving his/her identity and nationality (passport is typically required);
• his/her birth certificate (in original or certified true copy);
• a certificate proving his/her legal competence to enter into marriage - which may not be, as of the date of the marriage, older than six months;
  NOTE: Canadian citizens must submit a Statement In-Lieu of Certificate of Non-Impediment to Marriage, issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Trade (information on obtaining the document can be found hereand the document specimen here);
• a certificate proving his/her personal status and residence if such certificates can be issued by the country concerned; if such data is part of the submitted document on legal competence to enter into marriage such certificate is not required;
  NOTE: Canadian citizens may submit an Affidavit sworn before a Notary Public, lawyer, solicitor or commissioner of oaths in Canada or a Canadian Consular Officer abroad. The document must include his/her full name, date and place of birth, marital status, nationality, passport No., date and place of its issuance, permanent address, and also his/her fiancé(e)'s full name, date and place of birth, and permanent address;
• the death certificate of any deceased spouse (in original or authenticated true copy), if the foreign national is a widow(er); such certificate is not required if this fact is included in the certificate on legal competence to enter into marriage;
  a final and conclusive judgement (decree absolute) on divorce with regard to any previous marriage if the foreign national concerned is divorced (in original or authenticated true copy).
• additional documents for religious weddings (baptism certificate, Marriage Preparation Course Certificate, Letter of delegation from priest).

Documents to be submitted issued by foreign authorities must be notarized, unless an international agreement stipulates otherwise, and must be officially translated into the Czech language. An Office of Vital Records may waive the requirement for authenticated documents if there is an almost insurmountable obstacle to obtain them. For more information please contact any Office of Vital Records.
NOTE: All documents issued in Canada must be first authenticated for their use abroad by Foreign Affairs Canada, 125 Sussex Drive, Ottawa, ON, K1A 0G2, tel.: (613) 995-0119, and subsequently superlegalized by a Czech Embassy or consulate general in Canada. With the exception of passports, each submitted document must be presented to the local authorities in the Czech Republic officially translated into Czech. Applicants can either seek the services of commercial translators certified in the Czech Republic, or may translate the documents themselves and have the translation subsequently authenticated by Czech embassies or consulate generals. The verification fee for each translated page varies depending on the currency exchange rate (typically from 15,- to 18,- CAD per 1 page of text).

A fiancé who is a foreign national must further submit to the relevant Office of Vital Records, not later than on the date of the marriage, a certificate issued by the Police of the Czech Republic that he/she may legally stay in the Czech Republic. Such certificate may not be on the date of the marriage older than seven working days. This certificate is issued by the Police of the Czech Republic regardless of whether a foreign national has been permitted residence in the Czech Republic. The fiancé must apply for such certificate personally and needs submit only the passport of the country of which he/she is a citizen. Foreign nationals are charged a fee for the issuing of such certificate.
This rule is not applied for citizens of European Union, Iceland, Norway, Liechtenstein and Switzerland and their family members.
For further information concerning the issue of such certificates (for example the opening hours of the igration Police, duration of the residence of a foreign national in the Czech Republic and so on) please contact the Police of the Czech Republic, at the Alien Police Service Directorate, Olšanská 2, 130 51 Prague 3.

Forms
Fiancés may obtain the Questionnaire for Entering into Marriage at any Office of Vital Records. Part 1 of the Questionnaire will be filled in along with an official of the Office of Vital Records (registrar). Part 2 is completed only by the relevant registrar.
The Protocol on Contracting the Marriage is filled in by a registrar together with the fiancés, or at least one fiancé in accordance with the public deeds and documents submitted by both fiancés.

Fees
Entering into marriage between two persons one of whom has permanent residence in the Czech Republic will cost CZK 2,000.
Permission to enter into marriage outside business hours or not in an office officially designated for marriages will cost CZK 1, 000.
In all other cases an administrative fee for entering into marriage is not set.
A fiancé will pay CZK 500 for the issuing of a certificate on legal competence to enter into marriage.
Fees are paid in cash or by a postal cheque before the date of the required marriage.

Time limits
The application of a marriage contract should be submitted in advance (allow one week to one month - depending on the location of your wedding) of the wedding ceremony , to the City Hall (Městský úřad, Obvodní úřad) authorised to keep the records for the district in which the bride or groom is residing permanently, or to the local church.

Further Participants
If one of the fiancés does not speak or understand Czech, or the fiancé/s is/are deaf and/or mute the presence of an interpreter is required during the ceremony. The interpreter should be brought by one of the fiancés who will also cover the relevant costs. In such cases the marriage cannot be contracted without the presence of an interpreter. If an interpreter has not been officially appointed by the Ministry of Justice or the Chair of a Regional Court the interpreter is obliged to take an oath in the presence of an official from the Office of Vital Records. The wording of such oath is prescribed by the special legal regulation (Act No. 36/1976 Coll. on Official Experts and Interpreters). The wording of the oath is submitted by the registrar. Therefore it is necessary for fiancés to inform the relevant registrar of the fact that they do not speak Czech, or they are deaf and/or mute, while their documents are being processed before the marriage itself.

The interpreter signs the Protocol on Contracting the Marriage. He/she proves his/her identity to the registrar.

A declaration on entering into marriage is made publicly during the wedding ceremony in the presence of two witnesses. The first name(s), surname, birth number or date of birth, place, and district (country) of birth are included in the Protocol on Contracting the Marriage. Witnesses prove their identity using valid ID documents.

Further Activities
A declaration on entering into marriage is made in the presence of two witnesses. The first names, surnames, and birth numbers are included in the Protocol on Contracting the Marriage. If a witness is a foreign national who does not possess a birth number then his/her date and place of birth are included. A witness proves his/her identity by an ID document, i.e. by his/her ID card or passport.

Notes:
If you are not sure you will be able to arrange all necessary details of the wedding ceremony from abroad, you may always use the services of one of the wedding agencies specialized in wedding organization in the Czech Republic, such as the White - Prague Wedding Agency . Please note however, that such agencies are not state agencies and operate as private enterprises.