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Where can foreigners get married in Dominican Republic

There are a few requirements that foreigners must meet in order to get married in the Dominican Republic. Firstly, you must have a passport that is valid for at least six months. Secondly, you must provide a birth certificate, as well as proof of single status. If you have been divorced, you must also provide proof of this. Lastly, you will need four witnesses who are over the age of 18 and who have valid identification. Once you have met all of these requirements, you can then go ahead and get married in the Dominican Republic.

Where can they get married? This is the question we will answer next, with all the details.

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Where can foreigners get married in Dominican Republic?

There are a few ways that foreigners can get married in the Dominican Republic. The most common way is to go through a local wedding planner like Mary Pily and Event Studio who can help with all the legalities and paperwork. Another way is to go directly to a government office to get the paperwork done. 

The first thing that needs to be done is to get a Certificate of No Impediment from your country’s embassy. This document basically states that you are free to marry and there are no legal reasons why you cannot. 

Once you have this document, you can then go to a local wedding planner and they will help with the rest of the process. They will need to see your passport and the Certificate of No Impediment. 

The next step is to go to the Civil Registry Office to get the marriage license. This can be done in person or by mail. If you do it in person, you will need to take your passport and the Certificate of No Impediment. 

Once the license is approved, you can then go ahead and get married. There are a few different ways to do this. You can have a religious ceremony, a civil ceremony, or a symbolic ceremony. If you want to have a religious ceremony, you will need to find a church that will perform the ceremony. 

The Catholic church is the most common church that performs weddings in the Dominican Republic. If you want to have a civil ceremony, you can go to the Justice of the Peace. This is the government office that handles civil ceremonies. If you want to have a symbolic ceremony, you can do this anywhere you want. It does not need to be done at a government office or a church. 

After the ceremony, you will need to go back to the Civil Registry Office to get the marriage certificate. This is the document that proves that you are legally married. Once you have the marriage certificate, you can then change your name if you want. You will need to go to your local Social Security office and fill out the necessary paperwork. 

You can also apply for a Dominican Republic passport. This will allow you to travel freely in and out of the country. If you want to have children, you will need to go through the process of getting a birth certificate. This can be done at the Civil Registry Office. Overall, getting married in the Dominican Republic is not too difficult. The most important thing is to make sure that you have all the required documents. Once you have everything in order, you can then start planning your wedding.

Where can I get civilly married in the Dominican Republic?

If you are contemplating getting married in the Dominican Republic, yes, you can get married civilly. There is no law that prohibits foreigners from marrying in the country.

However, as a United States citizen, it is important to clarify that civil marriages cannot be celebrated in the United States embassy or in the Consulate in Dominican territory.

This is because neither the consular officers nor the personnel of the Diplomatic Mission have the legal authority to make a marriage official. Only a civil registry official, or even the Catholic Church, has the legal authority to make a marriage official.

In other words, the first thing you must do to be able to get married civilly is to look for the official office closest to the area where you intend to get married. Or if you want to do it directly in your place of celebration, you must agree with a notary public or official to bring perform a legal ceremony.

What does a Dominican need to marry a foreigner?

If you were born in the Dominican Republic and want to marry a foreigner. And you need to know the documents and procedures that are required to be able to get married under the Dominican Republic Law, know this information below:

  1. Choose an official of the Civil Status.

  2. Request the requirements and the reservation date for the civil judge to carry out the marriage.

  3. Apostilled birth certificate from abroad.

  4. If either is divorced, submit the divorce certificate. If it is a foreign document, it must be in Spanish, and also legalized or apostilled.

  5. Submit the apostilled single status affidavit.

  6. The foreigner must submit a photocopy of the passport and identity document.

  7. They must meet the minimum age required by Dominican law. In case of not having the age, present a notarized and apostilled parental authorization.

  8. Both must physically appear at the ceremony.

  9. Two witnesses must go with a national document and two godparents also with their ID.

  10. Pay the corresponding fees to the Civil Official.

  11. Once married, the Civil Office will deliver the Marriage Certificate. For this to be valid abroad, it must be apostilled at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs or the Chancellery of the Dominican Republic.

What requirements do I need to marry a foreigner civilly?

This might seem like a complicated process, however, we assure you that it is not. You can legally marry a foreigner, complying with the established rules of the country.

The requirements to get married can be very varied, but not difficult to do. In the previous section, we explained the specific requirements that you will need if you are a foreigner and want to get married in the Dominican Republic, with a citizen of the country.

Once you have gathered all the documents, both you and your partner must take them to the Civil Office of the place where you want to get married.

Upon completing this step, the authorities will initiate the corresponding procedures for your file. After this process, they will contact you to give you the document that authorizes the marriage ceremony.

How to get married if my partner is in another country?

If you are in a long-distance relationship, but both of you want to take the most important step of your lives and get married, it is possible to do.

It is not necessary for them to be together, from where they are, they can carry out a procedure called marriage by proxy. This consists of one of the spouses giving a power of attorney to a person and thus giving them the authorization to start the wedding procedures.

This new modality of marriage by proxy is feasible for those cases in which the foreign spouse does not have the possibility of traveling to the country where their partner is residing. Or does not have the corresponding papers to enter the country and get married.

To get married by proxy, in addition to the power of attorney, you need:

  • The birth certificate of the spouses.

  • Single certificate.

  • The document that certifies the identity of both spouses.

  • The foreign spouse must have all their documents apostilled and translated into Spanish.

With all this documentation, the marriage file is created in the Civil Registry of the place of residence of the spouse from where they wish to have the wedding. 

The foreign spouse must present himself at the consulate or embassy closest to his home to give his consent to the marriage. At the end of the entire process, you will be able to obtain the Marriage Certificate.