Belgian weddings: engaged and getting married in Belgium

If you’re likely to get married in Belgium, this guide describes the paperwork and papers you ought to prepare a marriage in Belgium.

Even though nation is well-known for its bureaucracy, engaged and getting married in Belgium is not too difficult. Both heterosexual and same-sex partners in Belgium could possibly get hitched, maintain a subscribed cohabitation or live together without having any status that is legal.

Only civil marriages are lawfully recognised in Belgium. Following the ceremony that is civil which has to take place at a registry workplace, couples frequently have a spiritual or secular ceremony as an element of their event but this isn’t needed.

Belgium ended up being the 2nd country to legalise same-sex marriage, in 2003. The procedures, ceremonies and legal rights for same-sex partners are nearly the same as those for heterosexual partners, therefore unless otherwise stated the given information below pertains to both. Usually the one critical exclusion is parental legal rights, which use immediately up to a birth-mother’s partner if he could be male yet not if this woman is feminine.

Throughout this document, translations are placed in the format that is following English (Dutch/French).

May I get hitched in Belgium?

To have hitched in Belgium, either you or your personal future partner needs to be A belgian resident or are resident in Belgium for at the least 90 days. In line with the Belgian federal government, atmosphere seats and leasing agreements may be used as evidence of residence.

During the time of writing, an informal reading associated with the English website for the Belgian division of immigration shows that foreigners could possibly get married in Belgium having a ‘class C’ Schengen visa. Nevertheless, this can be a misunderstanding due to your website being under construction, and it is maybe maybe perhaps not sustained by the texts that are french.

You both needs to be over 18 rather than currently hitched. Those over 16 could get hitched because of the authorization of the moms and dads as well as the courts. Foreigners must meet the requirements for wedding within their house nation, including age limitations. Nonetheless, it is almost always, however constantly feasible for same-sex partners to obtain hitched in Belgium, even in the event their status that is new will be recognised within their house nation.

Would a registered cohabitation be better for me personally?

Authorized cohabitation (wettelijk samenwonen / cohabitation legale) in Belgium is notably uncommon. Whilst in other nations comparable terms can be used to describe partners residing together or same-sex wedding (as an example, ‘registered partnership’), in Belgium what this means is a shared residence and obligations, certainly not a relationship that is sexual. Therefore, as well as partners, additionally it is feasible to own an appropriate cohabitation with an user of the household who you can perhaps maybe perhaps not marry (a moms and dad or adult sibling, for instance). Nonetheless, you simply cannot come right into a authorized cohabitation if you should be hitched or currently in a cohabitation that is registered.

Both parties have the right to live in the family home, and the duty to maintain it, including paying costs in a registered cohabitation. Also they are jointly responsible for debts associated with household help in addition to grouped house, such as for example home financing or car repayment, whether or not they have been just held within one name.

Pre-wedding preparations

You need to inform the registrar of one’s intention to marry at the very least fourteen days in before your wedding. Expect you’ll offer detailed information regarding your self along with your future partner. A listing of paperwork you will probably below require is.

The registrar will likely then issue an ‘act of intent to marry’ (akte van aangifte van het huwelijk / acte de declaration de mariage) which can be shown publicly. Provided that there aren’t any objections, your wedding may then just do it between fourteen days and 6 months later on.

Documentation for the wedding that is belgian

Have a much to deliver:

  • ID (eg passport);
  • Birth certification;
  • Prenuptial contract (if needed);
  • Proof target (eg. leasing contract, current bills);
  • Evidence of nationality;
  • Proofs of civil status (eg. a death or divorce certification, when you yourself have been married formerly);
  • Evidence of residence authorities that are– belgian expect this to be a certification, as described below, nevertheless, if the host to residence just isn’t Belgium, and doesn’t issue these certificates, other evidence will soon be needed.
  • ukrainian dating

One or more partner must create evidence of residence in Belgium. The authority that is local manage to issue a (bewijs van woonst voor huwelijksdoeleinden / certificat de domicile pour mariage) literally a ‘certificate of residence for marriage’. You will have to show your status that is residential to authority, eg. by bringing your leasing contract.

International papers might have to be authorised with an Apostille stamp, also referred to as ‘Apostillisation’ or ‘legalisation’, or an equivalent. The issuing federal government stamps a document with an original ID, showing it is a real and accurate content for recognition abroad. Any papers perhaps perhaps not granted in Dutch or French must be translated by way of a ‘sworn translator’. In the event that interpretation just isn’t carried out in Belgium, it too needs to be authenticated by the Apostille stamp, or equivalent.

Belgian marriage ceremonies

The lawfully binding ceremony has to take destination at a registry workplace, that will be typically into the neighborhood city hallway (stadhuis / mairie). Lots of city halls are breathtaking structures, usually 200–600 years of age. Area might be restricted, however it is typically feasible to create 20 or more visitors.

The civil registrar / council officer (ambtenaar van de burgerlijke / l’officier de l’etat civil) will conduct the ceremony, which include reading out specific sections for the Belgian appropriate code since the liberties and duties of a married few. The couple will be issued with a family record book (trouwboekje / livret de mariage), which acts as your copy of your marriage registration at the end of the ceremony.

The few may provide as much as four witnesses, who should all be over 18 and bring ID. You should supply a translator if you, your partner or your witnesses are not fluent in the local language. The translator doesn’t need become an avowed professional but ought to be competent.

The civil ceremony typically costs EUR 250–300, though the fee for the Saturday afternoon in a favorite area are double this.

Prenuptial agreements

A prenuptial agreement must be drawn up by a notary and registered at the time of the marriage to be binding in Belgium. Partners may choose certainly one of three home ownership policies, or produce their unique arrangement with a prenuptial contract (huwelijkscontract / contrat de mariage).

The default choice is wettelijk that is het / le regime legal, for which each spouse retains their particular home, and it has joint liability/ownership just for joint debts/assets obtained through the wedding or particularly designated as a result.

Getting citizenship that is belgian

Marrying a Belgian resident will not immediately give you Belgian citizenship. The standard application procedures use. Typically, you really need to have been resident in Belgium for 36 months before using. Nonetheless, in the event that you have the right to remain in the country for more than three months) or three years (if you don’t) if you are applying for citizenship on the basis of your relationship, you must have cohabited with your partner, in Belgium, for at least six months (. Learn about obtaining Belgian citizenship.

Which title?

Under Belgian legislation, both partners retain their initial title. Options can be permitted for members of EU states along with other criteria.

If a married girl in a heterosexual relationship has a kid, her spouse is immediately regarded as a moms and dad, and offered parental legal rights. If she actually is in a same-sex relationship, her partner must follow the kid to own parental legal rights.

Kids simply just just take their mother’s surname unless the dad is registered as his or her parent during the time of their delivery. This happens immediately in the event that mom and dad are hitched. Further information is present regarding more unusual situations, such as for example in the event that dad is married to a lady who is maybe perhaps not the caretaker.

Comments are closed.