Getting Married Abroad – How To Get Your Marriage Recognized in Serbia Without Any Difficulties
You got married abroad, but you don’t know if your marriage produces legal effects in the Republic of Serbia? Then you’re in the right place. We offer you answers to all your important questions, such as – how to make your marriage official in our country and why it is very important.
When you get married abroad, it is convenient – if not necessary – to register your marriage in the Republic of Serbia. This will give you access to important procedures in our country such as mutual inheritance of property located in the Republic of Serbia, use of family pension, and a number of public and property law relations.
How can I register my marriage in Serbia?
The first step you should take in order to make your marriage official is to submit a marriage report to the competent registrar of marriages in the Republic of Serbia.
You can submit the report through the competent diplomatic and consular representation in whose territory the marriage took place, but they will, regardless, forward your application to the competent registrar of marriages in the Republic of Serbia for processing.
Another option is to submit the marriage application directly to the municipal or city administration. Which registrar will be competent is determined according to:
- the last place of residence of the spouses at the time of the marriage;
- the place of residence of one of them (if they did not have a common residence);
- the place of birth of one of them (if the last place of residence is unknown).
But how can I avoid these difficulties?
You can also submit the report through a plenipotentiary. The plenipotentiary can be any person of legal age and legal capacity whom you will authorize by issuing an appropriate proxy (depending on the person or profession) and who will be authorized to complete the entire procedure without your presence and struggle with bureaucracy.
When will my marriage be considered valid in Serbia?
Immediately after receiving the request for registration in the register of marriages, the competent registrar will check the authenticity of the documentation, and if it is correct, make the entry. Enrollment is done without delay. Exceptionally, registration can be postponed for the purpose of verification, i.e. determination of missing data.
The marriage concluded abroad will become recognized, viz. valid in Serbia at the time of registration in the marriage register.
What if my request is denied?
If your request is rejected, you have the right to file an appeal. The appeal needs to be submitted within 15 days from the day of notification of the decision. It is submitted to the Ministry of Public Administration and Local Self-Government.
Are there any obstacles to registering my marriage?
When registering a marriage, the domestic authority assesses the legality of the form of marriage according to the regulations of the country in which you concluded the marriage. For example, this would mean that if you concluded a “church marriage” abroad, it will be recognized in Serbia if the foreign country in question accepts “church marriage” as a valid form of conclusion.
Recognition can be refused if the regulations applied at the time of the marriage are in conflict with the public order of the Republic of Serbia. This is why you may want to consider hiring professional help.
P.S. keep in mind that marriage will produce its legal effects in our country only when it is registered. Until then, your love will be invisible to the state.
For more info on this or any other legal, tax or business topic, please feel free to write to us at [email protected] at any time OR contact us via telephone number +381113281914 during working days from 08:30 to 16:30