Portugal

If you are an Australian citizen wanting to marry a Portuguese citizen resident in Portugal, you must contact the Portuguese Civil Registry office nearest to your fiancée’s Portuguese residential address, to obtain information with regards to the appropriate requirements.

In general the requirements * are:

All documents must have at least six months validity.

It usually takes a minimum of four weeks to process each application and once approval for marrying in Portugal is granted, the marriage must occur within a three month period.

Due to regular changes and updates by the local authorities on requirements * for foreigners wanting to marry in Portugal, the Australian Embassy strongly recommends that you recheck marriage requirements at the nearest Portuguese Civil Registry office.

The Portuguese Civil Registry Office also has a central email contact address for further queries at dgrn@dgrn.mj.pt. It is advisable to enquire in Portuguese for a prompt response.

One of the requirements from the Portuguese authorities is to obtain a Certificate of No Impediment to Marriage (CNI), in Portuguese. This document can be issued by the Australian Embassy in Lisbon. You will need to fill out an application form, sign it and have it witnessed by a person stated at the bottom of the form (this can also be performed by a Consular Officer at the Embassy).

In order to obtain the Certificate of No Impediment to Marriage, you will need to lodge the application form at the Embassy in Lisbon with your original current Australian passport, your original divorce papers (which states Decree Absolute) if you have previously been married, a copy of your fiancée's identification (Portuguese bilhete de identidade), and pay the fee.

Note:  If you are required to submit your original divorce papers to the local Portuguese authorities, the papers may require an Apostille of the Hague to certify their authenticity.

Please check the current fee for the issue of the Certificate of No Impediment to Marriage. The fee can be paid at the Embassy in person if you are making a personal application, OR by "Vale de Correio PAGAR AO DOMICĺLIO" – sent from Post Offices in Portugal. In the text of the "Vale de Correio PAGAR AO DOMICĺLIO " slip, you should state it is for a CNI and give your full name. The receipt given to you by the Post Office should be sent with your application to the Embassy.

CHEQUES WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED.

Important: If you are an Australian citizen visiting Portugal and planning to marry an Australian citizen or non-Portuguese resident, you will have to contact the Portuguese Civil Registry Office for further information.