Requirements To Get Married In India

Note: If you have not read HOW TO GET YOUR X MISC ENTRY VISA FOR INDIA and WHAT ARE THE REQUIREMENTS TO VISIT INDIA, then please click here to read before going ahead with this blog.

(These events too place before our marriage so I will refer my Indian husband as my fiancé.)

Exhausted but definitely happy, I arrived in New Delhi, India on May 29, 2021 and had to undergo a 10-day home quarantine as per the local law. As soon as the quarantine was over, we started working on the requirements for our marriage. For starters, my Indian father-in-law contacted a lawyer for the list of requirements to get married under Special Marriage Act. After getting the list, we started compiling the documents to present at the court. The only thing missing for me was recent passport size photos with white background, which was very easy to get at a local studio.

On June, we visited the court to file our Intimation of Marriage. We presented all of our documents to the assistant of the SDM at court with the help of the lawyer. While reviewing the documents, the officer interviewed me and my fiancé. She also interviewed 3 witnesses – 3 witnesses are mandatory to be present at court along with their original ID cards to file for Intimation. After couples of hours the process was over and we were given a date for the Marriage which was exactly one month after the date of our Intimation.

Suprise Civil Wedding!

In all of this, there is an event which we did not expect at all. Before we filed for Initiation our lawyer took us to a pandit for a Civil Wedding. We were all very surprised since it was not required under the Special Marriage Act! Even though we were not ready for it but for all of us it was a memorable day. It was a quick ceremony and we got a marriage certificate for that too, although later we found out it was absolutely necessary.

The marriage certificate issued by a pandit is not a document that the Philippine Embassy accepts. This document is only valid in India and not anywhere else. The SDM authenticated marriage under the Special Marriage Act is the marriage that is legally accepted in Philippines.

Before travelling to India, following are the documents that the Filipino partner needs to prepare.

FOR THE FILIPINA:

Apostilled Birth Certificate & CENOMAR
Affidavit of Consent to Marry with Red Ribbon
Parent’s personal appearance & signature

– I.D. (Depends on your lawyer)

5. Voter’s certificate

LET’S DISCUSS THEM ONE BY ONE.

1. Apostilled Birth Certificate & CENOMAR.

Before travelling to Manila in order to apply for your visa, you should get your Birth Certificate and CENOMAR at the PSA center near you. Since I put up in the Province, it only took a few hours for me.

Take note that the CENOMAR has a validity of 6 months only. Make sure that it has validity of at least 2 months after you are present in India.

The papers can be Apostilled at DFA Manila.

2. Affidavit of Consent to Marry with Red Ribbon

This document is to be secured from the local Barangay. You can request a lawyer for an Affidavit of Consent to Marry to marry in India. They will know the format of the document but a sample is shared below just in case.

Take note that this document is important. The officer who reviewed our documents for Intimation of Marriage took original copy of the consent. If the Filipina’s parents can attend the Intimation of Marriage and the Court Marriage, then it can be skipped. However if the parents cannot attend, this document is good to have no matter how old the Filipina is.

2.2. Parent’s personal appearance & signature

While getting the affidavit to marry, the Filipina’s parents should be present to sign the papers in front of a lawyer.

2.3. I.D. (Depends on your lawyer)

This depends on your lawyer. If they insist on Identification cards of your parents then they need to present it.

3. Voter’s certificate – The reason to include this document is provided later on.

HERE ARE THE LIST OF DOCUMENTS FOR COURT MARRIAGE UNDER SPECIAL MARRIAGE ACT.

One age proof of both person (bride & groom) 10th certificate, passport, MCD birth certificate and Driving Licences (any one)

FOR FILIPINA – passport & birth certificate photocopies

2. Any Two I.D. including one address proof of bride and groom (aadhaar card, voter card, passport, and driving license)

FOR FILIPINA – passport & voter’s certificate

3. In 8-8 passport size photos of bride and groom

4. Bride single status certificate & valid visa

FOR FILIPINA – apostilled CENOMAR & Visa

5. Three Witness with address proof, pan card and 1-1 passport size photo of witnesses

LET’S DISCUSS THESE DOCUMENTS ONE BY ONE.

1. One age proof of both person (bride & groom) 10th certificate, passport, MCD birth certificate and Driving Licences (any one)

FOR FILIPINA – passport & birth certificate photocopies

Birth certificate is important since it is a proof of age and can be correlated with the passport.

2. Any Two I.D. including one address proof of bride and groom (aadhaar card, voter card, passport, and driving license)

FOR FILIPINA – passport & voter’s certificate

If you have noticed, at the back of the Philippines passport there is an empty space there that leaves a blank for whom to contact in case of emergency. Here your address can be written, name of the person to contact in case of emergency, and his/her contact number/s. This serves the purpose of address proof.

This is when the importance of voter’s certificate comes into play. Since the requirement mentions that 2 I.D.’s for proof of address are a must, voter’s certificate acts as a second proof. I only provided photocopies since the original is not required.

3. In 8-8 passport size photos of bride and groom

As mentioned earlier, photos can be taken in any local studio.

4. Bride single status certificate & valid visa

FOR FILIPINA – Apostilled CENOMAR & Visa

It is to be presented during both Intimation of Marriage and the Court Marriage.

5. Three Witness with address proof, pan card and 1-1 passport size photo of witnesses

Since I didn’t have witnesses from my side (Filipina), the only witnesses who attended the Intimation and Court Marriage were my mother-in-law, my father-in-law and mama-ji (fiancé’s uncle). It’s easier when parents of either spouse are witnesses.

Take note that the 3 witnesses required during the Intimation of Marriage will be the same witnesses required during your Court Marriage.

Lastly

After submitting all of the above documents during Intimation of Marriage, there is a 30-day notice, after which the court provides you a date for the Court Marriage.

Finally, after completing all the procedures and validating all the documents, the court will issue a Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM) attested marriage certificate. This is the legal document that can be presented anywhere as a proof of marriage.