If you intend to get married in Greece, congratulations you have made an excellent choice! You must considered though that there is a lot of paperwork involved. Since some legal requirements may vary depending on the region or island where you plan to get married you must come prepared.
Here’s what you need to know about hosting your special day in Greece and all the necessary documents required (for EU and non EU citizens worldwide).
For the ceremony couples must submit two sets of documents as per below:
- A passport
- A birth certificate with an Apostille stamp certifying the copy
- A Certificate of Marital Status, known as affidavit of marriage, with an Apostille stamp
- An official document about changing your name, if any
- An adoption certificates, if any
- A death certificate of previous spouse if any
- Your wedding announcement published in the local newspaper
- Each witnesses’ passport
Photo by George Pahountis
Additional information:
You don’t need to be a citizen or a resident to get married in Greece.
The legal minimum age for marriage is 18 years old.
All required documents must be officially translated into Greek.
When you will come in Greece for your wedding you will need to bring all the originals documents with you. Please note that all copies of the above required documents will be retained by the local Greek authorities. Therefore, we advise you to retain copies of any important documents back at home, as they will not be returned to you.
You will start collecting your documents, no more than three months prior to your wedding day and you need to be in Greece eight days prior to the wedding day.
It is also important to know that many archaeological sites don’t permit weddings.
Photo by George Michalas
After the wedding day, whether civil or religious, you have 40 days to register the union at the local Registrar’s Office (Lixiarhio). The marriage certificate is issued within three days of the registration and can be collected or be mailed to the couple. Please note that any marriage that has not been registered at the lixiarhio has no legal validity.
