Figuring out the legal requirements for a wedding in Croatia is one of the first steps you’ll be taking.
What do you need to get married in Croatia?
Choose what kind of legal ceremony for a wedding in Croatia you would like: Civil, religious or same-sex.
The alternative would be to have a symbolic wedding ceremony. You can read more about it later in the post.
If you’re planning a wedding in Croatia without a wedding planner make sure you check with your embassy in Croatia the EXACT requirements. They change country to country.
Civil ceremony legal requirements:
- Find a registrar’s office nearest to your wedding venue. You can do this online
- All documentation needs to be original or certified copies and translated into Croatian by the relevant authorities with the apostille stamp included.
- Your Certificate of No Impediment or Certificate of Freedom to Marry and full birth certificates must not be older than 3 months (90 days).
- All documentation must be submitted to the Registrar at the Town Hall 30 to 45 days before your wedding. However, if you are using a wedding planner they will organize this on your behalf.
- Certificate of No Impediment or Certificate of Freedom to Marry bearing the stamp apostille.
- Full passport with a minimum validity of twelve months. Photocopies of the picture page of the passports of the bride and the groom. Photocopies of the picture page of the passports for your two witnesses, listing their names, address, and occupation.
- Full Birth Certificate (showing mother and father names), bearing the stamp apostille issued no more than 90 days before your wedding.
- If you are divorced. Decree Absolute and previous marriage certificates
- If you are a widower. Death Certificate of the previous spouse and the previous Marriage Certificate.
- All the documents have to be translated into the Croatian language and have an Apostille Stamp.
- If you do not speak Croatian, a translator is required at the wedding. However, the translator is creating additional costs. The cost varies.
- You can have your ceremony wherever you wish. But keep in mind that having a registrar in a specific location also raises additional costs. Most importantly, the cost depends on the distance between the registrar’s office and the location of the ceremony.
Religious wedding in Croatia
- Civil ceremonies are the only legal form accepted in Croatia for foreigners. However, if you wish to have a religious ceremony, you need to take some additional steps. You should do all the steps mentioned above and, then proceed to plan your religious ceremony.
- The ceremonies and requirements differ based on the religion in question.
Legal same-sex wedding option in Croatia
- If you’re looking to form a same-sex marriage.
- It’s possible to form a same-sex partnership in Croatia.
- The procedure is the same as for a civil ceremony.
- However, it is not considered a legal marriage in the same form as same-sex marriage in Croatia.
- To clarify, the couple is legally married with the exception of being suitable for adoption.
- We do expect this to change soon, too.
- To find out more about what a same-sex partnership means, keep reading this post.
- In conclusion, these legal requirements differ from country to country.
- A wedding planner in Croatia can help you take care of most of these legal requirements.
So we always advise our couples that they get married in their home country and then do a symbolic ceremony here.
Symbolic ceremonies in Croatia can be done by a professional
The average cost is around 250EU when the ceremony is done by a professional.
However, you can save some money and let your close friend or relative do it for free!
We love symbolic ceremonies done by someone who knows and loves the couple. It always turns out super sweet.
A religious ceremony in Croatia
You still need to complete all the steps from the Civil Ceremony Guide.
We will talk about the Catholic ceremony since this is the most common one.
If you wish to have a ceremony in another religion, feel free to contact us at contact@tietheknotcroatia.com
The following documentation is required:
1. Copy of Baptismal Certificate (not older than 6 months)
2. Permission to get married outside your local parish
3. (If the couple is not legally married) Certificate from the local Registry Office (Maticar),
confirming they can enter into a religious marriage.
4. Pre-Marriage Course Certificate
5. (If the couple is already married) Marriage certificate
6. Discharge certificate
You should pick a church where you would like to get married, and then get in touch with the priest to set up the date and time of the ceremony.
If the priest doesn’t speak English, in addition to finding a priest, you’ll need to hire an interpreter.
Traditional Croatian ceremonies last around 30 minutes. However, if you wish to have a whole mass included in the ceremony, the average time is 50 minutes.
Double-check with the priest if the mentioned requirements are enough, Some priests might ask for more materials.
Same-sex partnership
Unfortunately, traditional marriage is still not an option in Croatia, but since 2014, you can form a same-sex partnership.
The Life Partnership Act makes same-sex couples equal to married couples in everything except adoption.
The legal requirements for a wedding in Croatia to form this kind of partnership are the same as forming a traditional civil union.
The ceremony is held in the registrar’s office, or a desired location with the registrar present.
If you want to start planning your wedding in Croatia today, feel free to fill out our form: https://www.tietheknotcroatia.com/form
To read more about how to plan a wedding in Croatia checks out these posts:
Legal requirements by country for a wedding in Croatia
US citizens – Legal requirements for a wedding in Croatia
- Valid passport
- Birth certificate, translated by a court interpreter, was issued within 90 days.
- Sworn statement – This proves you’re an US citizen, but it also proves you’re both free to marry. You can get it in the US or in the US Embassy in Zagreb. Without this document, your wedding won’t be valid in the US.
- If you don’t speak Croatian, a court interpreter is required for the wedding.
- If one of you is divorced or widowed additional paperwork is required.
Canadian citizens – Legal requirements for a wedding in Croatia
- Legalized long-form birth certificate. You can get this document at the Croatian Embassy in Canada and/or the Canadian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
- Sworn Affidavit – a document that confirms you’re both free to marry. You can get yours at your local Canadian Embassy. It must be done in front of a solicitor.
Australian Citizens – Legal Requirements for a Wedding in Croatia
- Certificate of No Impediment – This document proves you’re free to marry. it can be obtained at the Department of foreign affairs in Australia.
- Certificate of Single Status. Obtained at the Registry of Births, Deaths, and Marriages. Status must state “No Record”.
UK Citizens: Legal Requirements for a Wedding in Croatia
- Certificate of No Impediment. It can be obtained at the UK Embassy in Croatia or at the Registry Office in the UK. It must be done 6 months before the wedding and no older than 3 months when received by the Registry Office in Croatia.
- Check with the embassy if additional paperwork needs to be obtained.
German citizens – Legal requirements for a wedding in Croatia
- Passport
- Birth certificate, no older than 3 months, with an Apostille stamp and a verified Croatian translation
- Certificate of Non-Impediment – The certificate is valid for 6 months, needs Croatian translation, and can be obtained at the German registry office or the German embassy in Croatia.
- In some cases, the register will ask for a consular certificated. Can be obtained a the Embassy with the presentation of the no impediment to the marriage certificate.
Fill out form: https://www.croatiaweddingplanner.com/form/