Greek Wedding - Documents Required

The following is a list of documents and other requirements for a legal wedding in Greece:

Bride's and Groom's passports. Both bride and groom should hold a full British passport; passport holders of other nationalities should check with their embassy.

Both parties must obtain a 'full' birth certificate with parents' names as the shorter version of the Birth Certificate will not be accepted.

This document certifies that both parties are free to get married and can be obtained from your local Registrar's Office. It may take up to one month to obtain as the local Registrar's Office will place the document on public display for three weeks. The certificate has a 'shelf life' and must not be issued more than three months before the wedding day.

An Apostille is a special seal applied by an authority to certify that a document is a true copy of an original. Apostilles are available in countries which signed the Hague Convention abolishing the requirement of legalizing foreign public documents, and making document certification much easier. This certification is supplied by the Foreign Office.

If either party is divorced, a Certified Copy of the Decree Absolute must be obtained.

If either of the parties is a widower, a Death Certificate is needed.

This will be required if either bride or groom has changed name by Deed Poll.

If either of the parties was adopted then this will be required.

Although not required for a civil ceremony, Baptism Certificates will be required for a Catholic or Greek Orthodox church wedding.

All the above documents must be translated into Greek at the Greek Embassy or Consulate and this should be completed at least one month before the wedding. See the Greek Embassy's website www.greekembassy.co.uk for a list of professional translators. As there is no official translation department within the Consulate General of Greece, they provide a list of translators from which to choose. As you will require authentication of a translated document for official use, the Consular fee for the legalisation varies from 20 to 25 Euros per document.

Both parties must be baptised and either the bride or groom must be of the Orthodox religion. Firstly the couple must tell their parish priest at their local Orthodox church of their intention to get married abroad. He will then view both parties' Birth Certificates and Baptism Certificates and advise on further documentation requirements. These in turn are passed on to the Orthodox priest of the church in Greece where the ceremony will be performed.

Two witnesses are required for all types of wedding ceremonies.

For a valid marriage, the couple must visit the Registry Office at the town hall to declare that the wedding has taken place. The official wedding certificate is issued within three working days after the wedding and can be sent on to the married couple's home address. On return from your wedding, don't forget to have your wedding certificates translated back into English, which then must be represented at the local Registry.

To be sure you have all the current information, send a self-addressed envelope and a stamp to the Consulate General of Greece requesting the pamphlet entitled Working and Living in Greece.
Address in UK:
Consulate General of Greece
1A Holland Park
London W11 3TP
Tel 020 7221 6467
Fax 020 7243 3202
e-mail consulategeneral@greekembassy.org.uk
www.greekembassy.org.uk