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Non-Greek Mariages in Greece: Civil and Religious

You will need the following:

1) photocopy of passport
2) birth certificate (translated)
3) certificate of NO IMPEDIMENT . Translated there or here at the embassy, or foreign ministry.



IMPORTANT NOTES:

The original birth certificate and letter of no impediment is a must; not photocopied. An exact duplicate. Both BIRTH CERIFICATES and letters of NO IMPEDIMENT MUST contain the stamp of the APOSTILLE CONVENTION of Hague treaty 1961

The passport may be photocopied but the other two items MUST be sent by courier otherwise they can get lost.

I don't need a power of attorney to process the license.

**
IMPORTANT if you are living outside of your native country, then the CERTIFICATE OF IMPEDIMENT must be applied for in the country in which you have stayed for OVER 21 DAYS

You can translate everything at the Greek consul abroad or the embassy here will do it . The cert. Of impediment will take 15-30 days if done here and will cost 60 Euros . . (The birth certificate is done automatically and is included in the price. Ie. The Embassy can do the whole thing but to save time get the IMPEDIMENT paper from there.

**
IMPORTANT: The Town Hall will take about 8 days to grant the license

** If your country does not belong to the Hague treaty then further investigation is necessary.
** The cost of stamps for license (paravola) is about 40 euros per person subject to change. This includes the sub expenses entailed.

Important numbers:

Athens Town Hall: (210) 3602-884, 3605-768
Marriage bureau (civic) tel.(210) 3621-601
Marriage bureau religious marriage tel.(210) 3213-117
Dorian Theodore Kokas (210) 8212-445 or 693-2503723


Some clarifications: The letter of NO IMPEDIMENT is a paper which states that you are free to marry; ie. You are not still married or not "quite divorced" from a previous marriage. If your country is not part of the Hague convention, then a certified letter, from the city hall of your state stating that the document is valid and true.


Let's take a typical case: You are American, Canadian, Australian, EU and need to be married here. Send me photocopies of passports, letters from the Greek consul there or from a town hall with the stamp of apostille stating you are free to marry, and original birth certificates also with the stamp of the apostille, I'll send you by fax two applications and one guide. The applications will be signed by you and your fiancé and the guide is to help you fill it in. It really is simple. You send them back to me by courier, all the originals and applications, and I'll get the license.

More basic information: It may sound complicated but it really isn't. You can get the "no impediment" papers from your city hall or Greek consul. The papers will have either a gold, yellow, or blue color stamp on them and somewhere on the document the words: " Hague Convention "

The APOSTILLE is nothing more than a verification from the town hall or Greek Consul which states that the papers you will send are indeed valid . The Apostilled paper MUST state "Apostille" and have your name on it.

Sending these papers to me via UPS or other credible courier service is preferred to regular mail as they may be delayed or even get lost.

The procedure for RELIGIOUS marriages are the same except that a priest and a church will have to Ok. The marriage and set a date. Here we need a "Best Man" and a few other minor arrangements.

Estimated cost: For a civil wedding where all papers are translated by the Greek Consul there: 250 Euros. For a religious wedding, 350 Euros.
Estimated time needed: 10 days for a civil wedding if all are translated there, and 16 days if I do the translation here. For a religious wedding, 14 days and 20 days respectively.

Note: All extras such as flowers, photographers, music, accommodation, reception, etc. are not included in the price , but I deal with George Gerassimedes , owner of FANTASY TRAVEL << www.fantasytravelofgreece.com >> for this part of the wedding , as he and the agency has proven to be extremely reliable , not a common trait for Greek agencies.

Another note: Best to get the license in Athens and then get married anywhere in Greece. If you want to be married in Athens, then we have to post the announcement in 2 daily newspapers 7 days before the ceremony; if on an island then the announcement will have to be posted outside the town hall (piece of paper no one looks at) 7 days before the marriage.

Don't forget: A civil or religious marriage in Greece is valid all over the world; thus the precise paperwork required.

See also www.greecetravel.com/weddings

For more information contact Dorian Kokas at www.athensguide.com/dorian and for wedding arrangements see  
www.fantasytravelofgreece.com


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