Choosing a registry office
In order to get married, it is not necessary to choose a registry office that corresponds to your place of registration. Since the law does not prohibit choosing any registration office on the territory of Russia, for submission you can choose the one that you like best based on the type of architecture, or is located in close proximity to the location of the celebration.
Any branch must accept an application. If one of the pair of future spouses is not a citizen of the Russian Federation, in order to legalize a marriage with a non-resident, a document confirming the absence of marriage in another country is required.
You must also have your spouse’s passport with you (necessarily with a translation). These documents must first be certified by a notary.
What does registry office mean?
Literally, registry office means “Record of Civil Status Acts.” Acts of civil status include those actions of citizens that change their legal status in society. These include:
- Birth
- Marriage
- Divorce
- Becoming a parent
- Adoption
- Change of surname, name, patronymic
- Death
Thus, a huge document flow associated with the life of every citizen passes through this structure.
Submit an application
If both spouses are sure that they want to legally formalize their relationship, they must contact the registry office.
Today, it is possible to obtain documents for a legal marriage at the registry office, either by one spouse or by both of them.
Submitting an application form is a mandatory procedure to formalize your relationship under the law. The application can be submitted by one of the young people, if the second one has agreed, and his consent has been confirmed by a notary.
If it is possible to come and submit an application together, the couple fills out one application for registration of a state marriage, in which separate fields are filled in for each of the newlyweds. If only one person comes to submit an application, young people must fill out two different forms.
It is also necessary not to forget that copies of the documents of the absent spouse must be certified by a notary.
Submitting an application - basic nuances
The basis for registering a family union is an application (Article 24 of the Federal Law on Acts of Civil Status) submitted by the couple in person, through a representative or electronically. The form of this paper can be obtained from the registry office, and it is also available for downloading on the portal of state and municipal services.
In accordance with the norm, the contents of this document are as follows:
- it necessarily records that persons enter into marriage by mutual consent and confirms the absence of circumstances that make registration impossible (more on them below);
- personal data (full name of the bride and groom before and after marriage registration, their full age, age at the time of filing documents, marital status - were not in an official relationship, divorced, widowed);
- passport document data;
- signatures of the applicants and date of preparation of the document.
The rules for registering a marriage at the registry office are such that the bride and groom must present to the specialist of the institution their passports or documents that replace them (diplomatic card, sailor’s passport, etc.), a paper on the termination of the previous union, if one was ever concluded, and receipt for payment of state duty.
The amount of the state duty is regulated by the Tax Code of the Russian Federation and in 2016 is 350 rubles. A receipt for payment of the fee can be obtained directly from the registry office or found on a single portal.
For one reason or another, young people do not have the opportunity to appear together at the government agency and submit a joint application. In this case, the law allows the presentation of papers by a representative, in which the applicant’s signature is notarized, by the second spouse. Official identification is not required if documents are submitted online.
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In accordance with Art. 27 of the relevant law, a family union can be registered 30 days after submitting the relevant application.
There are exceptions to this rule, so officials can reduce this period for good reasons:
- bride's pregnancy;
- birth of a child;
- the presence of a threat to the life and health of persons entering into marriage;
- other reasons (conscription for military service, departure on a business trip).
Reasons why a couple may not be married
An analysis of the legislation (Articles 12-14 of the RF IC) suggests that the civil registry office may refuse to register a union for young people if:
- it becomes known that the marriage is forced;
- 1 or both future spouses have not reached the established age and have not submitted documents giving them the right to sign;
- the bride or groom has not dissolved the previous union;
- the couple is close relatives (these are parents and children, grandparents and grandchildren, adoptive parents and adopted children, siblings or half-brothers and sisters);
- the newlyweds are incapacitated (or at least 1 of the couple).
In addition, marriage registration can be canceled or postponed by a decision of the court or law enforcement agencies if the relationship is legitimized by a person against whom a criminal case has been opened, if there are facts indicating that the registration will complicate the investigation or make it impossible.
Who can formalize the relationship
Citizens who have reached the age of majority can legally marry. Marriage in special cases (for example, when the bride is pregnant) is possible from the date of receipt of a general passport, that is, when the spouses reach 14 years of age, but this may require permission from the regional governor.
In this case, the consent of the parents (or guardians) of the young couple for an official marriage, certified by a notary, is required. Parents must also be present when filling out documents at the registry office.
Couples in which blood relatives want to become spouses cannot be officially registered as husband and wife.
If one spouse is an adoptive parent and the other is an adopted child, such couples cannot apply. Or if one of the spouses has a document stating incapacity, the couple cannot submit an application either.
Also, if one of the spouses is married or married, and the spouse is not missing or deceased, such a marriage also cannot be formalized legally.
Making adjustments to the registry office records
If there is a need to correct existing registry office records, then there must be good reasons for this (for example, an error in spelling the full name, in the date of the event, etc.) and the absence of disagreements among interested parties.
If there are disagreements, adjustments to the registry office database are allowed only by court decision.
For example, registration of divorce (especially if there are minor children) is issued only by a court decision that declared the marriage dissolved.
When to serve
Newlyweds are not prohibited from choosing any day to celebrate their wedding. If the registry office cannot hold an event on the selected date due to lack of free time, you can always find out if this date is available in another department.
Marriage registration takes place at least a month after filing papers for registration.
If weddings are planned in the spring and fall seasons, then the department may need several months.
In general, checking the documents and applications provided by the newlyweds takes the state up to six months. Therefore, it is better not to delay submission, but to fill out all forms on time.
Whose last name should I choose?
To avoid getting into arguments in front of the registry office workers, discuss at home whose last name you will take. Although it is generally accepted that a wife takes her husband's last name, if she wishes, the husband can take his wife's last name or combine it with his own through a hyphen. As a rule, this happens if the husband’s surname is not very beautiful or harmonious. Here, as in everything, the main thing is mutual agreement. But remember, family happiness does not depend on the surname.
When filling out application forms, you need to be as careful as possible. Errors and corrections are not allowed. If you are worried, find a quiet place, sit comfortably in a chair and slowly fill out the forms in legible handwriting. When submitting an application to the registry office, no one should rush you.
Submission and registration in one day
If the newlyweds are in a hurry to formalize their relationship according to the law, it is possible to conclude their marriage right on the same day. For example, if the groom has received a summons and will soon have to go to the army, then the newlyweds can fill out the documents and formalize the relationship in one day.
A sufficient argument for concluding a quick marriage is also the circumstances if one of the spouses has to go on an urgent and long-term business trip. Then the spouses need to have with them a document from the workplace, which will be signed by management.
If one of the newlyweds has medical problems in the family, and he can prove it - he has a document from a medical institution, in this case it is also possible to register the marriage on the same day.
If the bride is pregnant and will soon give birth to a child together with the groom, or the couple already has a child, in such cases you can also submit an application to the registry office with peace of mind.
In cases with children, young people must provide either a medical certificate of pregnancy or a birth certificate of a joint child. The child must also be recognized by the father. The state does not require money for carrying out such an urgent procedure.
Unfortunately, registering a marriage on the day of filing documents has one significant drawback. In this case, it is impossible to hold a beautiful festive ceremony during which the newlyweds can take vows.
However, if registration is carried out on a weekday, you can negotiate with a registry office employee. If you couldn’t agree on a beautiful ceremony, you can always have a beautiful painting done outside, and traditional rituals can be performed by someone close to you.
Which registration option to choose for themselves is decided by each individual couple. The state has done everything possible to ensure that the marriage registration procedure does not overshadow the good mood of the future spouses.
Disadvantages of painting without celebration
We must not forget about the shortcomings. The most offensive thing is probably the lack of gifts. No guests were invited. But you can also get out of this situation without losses, since the newly-made spouses can gather a small number of guests and celebrate the wedding at any convenient time.
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By the way, if there is no celebration, even a small one, many relatives may react badly to this. Just don’t be led, it’s your day, and no one has the right to tell you how to spend it, much less give you ultimatums. The lack of a magnificent celebration can upset the bride, who has probably dreamed of a white dress and veil since childhood. So this is not a problem.
If you wish, you can rent a bride's dress, make it yourself, or buy a wedding bouquet, dress up the groom and take plenty of photographs. Let them prove later that the wedding was not solemn. The same can be done if the couple has flown on vacation to another country. The photos will be magnificent and unusual.
