Updated 23 October 2017*** Rules often change, so be sure to check with the Municipality where you're going to get married.***
Visas
If you'd like to live in Peru after you get married, you can find the information that you need in steps for a marriage visa and getting a CE (resident permit).
Cultural Issues
Learn about cultural issues. There are lots of good books written about Peruvian culture that can help you learn more about your spouse's culture. Another tip to remember is that speaking Spanish will help you greatly. If you're looking to learn Spanish, check out Rosetta Stone.
Practical Advice
I know you're head over heels in love, but take a look at reality and the stats about divorce. People are living a long time and you need to think about the future. Sit down with your spouse to be and have a heart to heart. Decide if marriage is right for you. Things I wish I'd known before I got married and 10 conversations to have before you get married are incredibly useful. If this isn't your first marriage, then you have more stacked against you: you're more likely to get divorced, yet again. Saving your second marriage before it starts should definitely be on your reading list. If you're sure that, they're "the one", then be sure to make a wedding registry!
Civil and Religious Ceremonies
Only civil ceremonies are legal, so if you want to get married in the church, first you have to get married in the municipality (town hall). Exact requirements vary, so check with your municipality.
Name Changes
Name changes are optional. If you change your name and get a new passport, you MUST transfer your visa from your old passport to your new passport. You cannot just simply leave on a completely new passport. The only exception would be for Peruvian citizens.
Requirements Vary from Municipality to Municipality!
People have reported that getting married in a small town is much easier since they often have more lax requirements, may not require things such as an AIDS test or apostillisation, may accept documents last minute, and may not have a waiting period before you can get married. See Tanya's story below.
Preparation Time
Getting married in Peru can be a headache. It usually takes between 2-4 months if your documents are not in Spanish; it will take less time if they're already in Spanish. If you both are foreigners, you can still get married in Peru. Just follow get the documents required for foreigners.
Documents should be recent
In theory, all the documents that you use should have been issued within the last 90 days. However, some countries don't issue new birth certificates. Don't worry. You should be fine. If you can get a new birth cert then ask the municipality if you need it. If you were born in the USA, you have to have the records office at the county clerk and they will issue you another birth cert or a certified true copy. The same goes for single certificates or divorce papers, they should be recent. You can get them from the records office in your country or get a single certificate from your embassy.
Getting Married if You're Divorced
- If you get married after a divorce you will have more paperwork to do. Both sets of birth and divorce documents must be signed by apostillised. See Peru and the Hague Agreement for more info. If your country is not part of the Hague Agreement (Canada for example), then you have to get your documents legalised at the Peruvian embassy in that country, then legalised at the Ministero de Relacciones Exteriores (RREE). The same process is required for the divorce certificate, except what you seek from the court is the official judgement nisi. So you must find out the process within the county in which you were divorced to acquire that judgement nisi. Some Secretary of State's office will accept the judgement nisi directly without a notary or county clerk signature.
- Once legalized, the documents must be officially translated by accepted translators, see the list on the Ministerio's website.
- Some municipalities have waiting periods after a divorce. Ask yours if they require you to wait a certain amount of time.
- If you're a woman, foreign or Peruvian, you may have to undergo a pregnancy test if you get re-married within a year of your divorce. If found to be pregnant a DNA test will probably be requested to find out who the father is.
- Follow the rest of the steps below for marriage.
You have a few choices to get a single certificate.
- If you're from the US you should go to the county where you last held residency and ask them to search for your marriage. They will get you a page that says "Record Not Found", which means that you're single. If you're divorced, ask for your divorce certificate.
- You can sign an affadivit of single status. You might want to use the affadivit anyways because then you don't have to pay for the translation.
- You can go to your embassy here in Peru and ask them to give you an affadivit that says you're single. Most embassies will give you one that's in the country's language and in Spanish so you don't have to get it translated, but you will have to get it legalised by RREE. In the US, most banks have public notaries that will notarise documents for free if you have an account at their bank.
What You Need to Get Married in a Civil Ceremony in Peru
- Peruvians need: Original birth certificate and DNI (National ID Document).
- Foreigners need: Original birth certificate, a certificate saying that you are single (or your divorce certificate), a photocopy of your passport, your CE (if you have one). All documents need to be appostillised or authenticated at the Peruvian embassy / consulate. Documents not in Spanish need to be translated and then apostillised.
- Documents required: An application form listing basic information as well as the information about your two witnesses (they should be Peruvian citizens or hold Peruvian residency). An AIDS test, a newspaper clipping showing you published your marriage announcement in the newspaper.
- All documents from abroad first need to be apostillised. If your country is not in the Hague Agreement you can either get your documents stamped at the Peruvian consulate or embassy in your home country or get them stamped at your country's embassy in Peru. For example, a Canadian could take their documents to the Canadian Embassy in Lima or the Peruvian Embassy in Canada. See Peru and the Hague Agreement for more info.
- If these documents are in another language besides Spanish, you will have to get them translated by a certified translator, (see translations for more information). Then get the translation legalised by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Ministerio de Relacciones Exteriores, RREE). Some people have gotten their documents translated by translators who are not certified translators in Peru. It's up to the municipality as to whether or not they accept them. Address, directions, costs, and more information can be found at RREE. Most official translators will translate the document as well as get the RREE stamps on both the original and the translation. You might have to pay a bit extra, but it's well worth it.
- While you are waiting for your documents, you can go to the Municipality and pay a fee in order to get an AIDS test form. Then you take the form to a certain medical post, pay another fee and take the AIDS test. The next day you can pick it up. Some people have reported not even needing an AIDS test or doctor's visit.
- Bring your apostillised birth certificate and apostillised certificate saying that you are single, (with translation if needed) the photocopy of your passport, the AIDS test, your soon-to-be-spouse’s DNI, their birth certificate, and photocopies of your witnesses DNIs or carne de extranjeria. You will then have to fill out the application forms and pay a fee.
- Publish your marriage announcement in the newspaper. You pick the day and then they give you a choice of newspapers you can publish it in. From the time you go to the Municipality, you usually have to wait a certain number of days, usually 7-15 before you get married. You also have to buy the newspaper and bring the entire page that has the marriage announcement to the municipality the day or day after it was published.
- Finally, you’re ready, bring your receipt from the municipality, your passport, your soon-to-be-spouse’s DNI and your witnesses DNIs or carne de extranjeria. The whole ceremony takes about five minutes and then everyone has to sign and fingerprint the paperwork. Then you are given your Partida de Matrimonio. Congrats!
- You can find more information at this discussion and here at Marrying a Peruvian
We got married last Friday (Sept. 2nd, 2016). Everything was very easy. My mother sent me my birth certificate (original) with a notarized translation from Russian to Spanish. It wasn't too expensive and it only took 4 days to get from Ukraine to my town in Peru by DHL.
My birth certificate was NOT apostatized, since the old format of my certificate doesn't allow to get an apostille.
We did not have to go to Lima neither to get an "official" translation neither to get the single certificate which the Ukrainian embassy indeed can provide Ukrainians with, should one require so. The municipality advised us we can get the single certificate with them.
The documents did NOT need to be recent. This cased me unnecessary stress.
I was born in Germany as a Ukrainian, 2 months after Soviet Union fell apart. My father was serving there as part of the Soviet army at that time.
When my mother tried to get an official copy (you cannot reissue a birth certificate in Ukraine) from the archives I was not found in the system. 2 companies were investigating about my papers and found my documents in the Moscow archives as we suspected. The companies asked for ridiculous money for making an official copy from the government archive and getting the birth certificate apostatized. Thank God by that time I have long known that this copy was unnecessary.
Regarding the AIDS test, we were only required to provide a certificate saying we were healthy. That was really easy to get. According to the forums the smaller the town the less religious they are with the papers. This turned out to be very true.
We live in a small town, the capital of the region. To get the health certificate we visited a private clinic, where the doctor not only didn't check us but didn't even ask us about our health. According to the forums I read this is widely practiced in smaller towns and villages. We got married in a tiny village 15 minutes away from our town(less paperwork). The last document I dropped in was the day before the ceremony. The photos, we brought them on the day of the wedding.
From what I've learned the information on your website is strictly regarding Lima and the bigger cities. For the rest getting married is quick and simple.
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This is a good source of info. Thanks for your post. What about a US citizen and a native Peruvian, soon to be a US citizen getting married in a church in Peru? Would it be easier to have the civil ceremony ahead of time in the US?
ReplyDeleteYep, that sounds good. You should get the civil ceremony doc legalised at the Peruvian embassy ahead of time. Some Peruvian embassies or consultates might be able to help you register your marriage with RENIEC as well.
ReplyDeleteSome churches in Peru will marry hold a religious ceremony for you even if you haven't been married civilly. Just keep mind that if you do that, it's not legal in Peru.
Best bet would be to get married in the US, if you're planning on living there and have a religious ceremony in Peru. Have your fiance ask around for churches that are easy to get married at. Often it's simply a matter of paying the priest for the privelege.
Hey SUPER SUPER THANKS- I found a GREAT lawyer after close to 10000 emails to my x husband - I got my marriage certificate- I have an amazing life lined up now- may things go well for you!!!!!!!!!!! I will pray for you cheers sometimes when do the right thing- and someone messes it up you just have to keep going.
DeleteCongrats! Can you give me the contact info for your lawyer? My ex gave me ONE copy of our divorce certificate and the Peruvian embassy kept it when I registered the baby's birth there. My lawyer charges $60 an hour and says I need another POA to do it. When I'm pretty sure anyone can do it.
DeleteI am from the United States and my Peruvian girlfriend and I are in the process of getting married. We live in Tacna, where it is truly a headache to get all of the paperwork approved. In Tacna they are not flexible at all. For example, we cannot publish the announcement until all of the required documents have been approved by the Civil Registrar. The Civil Registrar looks at every detail and will not approve the documents until they meet her total satisfaction.m We are quite concerned because the Partida de Nacimiento for my girlfrend expires very soon.
DeleteCan you go somewhere else? I got married in Piura and also had to wait until they approved the docs in order to publish it. Even if her partida expires, she can easily get a new one.
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Re: Birth certificate for getting married in Peru
Postby deeteeakl » Wed May 12, 2010 4:58 pm
I have my original birth certificate. It has been legalised by the British Embassy, it has been stamped by the Peruvian foreign embassy (I paid extra to have the stamp that you should have got from the Peruvian embassy in the UK), it has been translated and the whole thing bundled up with extra pages, more stamps and signatures.
You would think I would be "home and hosed". But no. The municipality here in Surco has rejected the birth certificate because, they say, its too old. Apparently the original document is not acceptable. They say that I need to have a more recent "updated" version of the document. Anyone heard of this before?
HI yes many country's require now for me many illegal transactions like a marriage did the birth certificate is not older than 3 months Peru is one of the countries that require that to get marry I run in this problem last year, and if your birth certificate is not in Spanish, you have to translate that in Spanish,wen I requested my new one they send it already apostillado
DeleteI'm glad it worked out for you!
DeleteYep, they do that for a couple reasons I believe, to prove that you're still the person on the Birth cert, and to get you to buy a birth cert. They're only valid for 30 to 90 days. Yet another reason why I left Peru.
ReplyDeletein the US, we can order birth certs pretty cleaply, but I know that other European coutnries, such as Romania, only give you ONE birth cert. Contact the UK Embassy and ask what you should do.
my fiancee and i are planning on getting married in peru in december. i was planning on getting all my documents that are needed and sending them to her so she can start on the paperwork. i will not be there however so i was wondering if i needed to send her anything else besides what you have stated in this blog.like a paper giving her the permission to use the papers that i send her.just to make sure all the papers that i send her would be my birthcertificate, copy of my passport, aids test. anything else please let me know. thankyou for your time.
ReplyDeleteJust the docs that are listed are needed, HOWEVER, keep in mind that municipalities are free to make their own rules. It's best for your fiancee to ask exactly what the municipality where you are going to get married requires. Then give her the carta de poder so she can sign for you.
ReplyDeleteHm, you might run into probs with the AIDS test, usually they require you to get it done in a specific place. Ditto for the fact that you have to sign a paper together saying that you want to have a civil ceremony.
Best thing to do is ask, like I said before, each municipality creates their own rules.
You will for sure need a paper stating that you're single. If you're from the US, go to the county records dept and ask for a copy of your marriage cert (I know, you won't have one, that's the point). They'll give you a "record not found" which proves your single.
In addition, all docs in English must be first legalised by the Peruvian consulate, then once in Peru have to be legalised, translated and legalised once again. A good translator will do those three steps for you.
Great inf. Thanks you so much.
ReplyDeleteI am peruvian naturalized us citzen married in USA to a peruvian naturalized us citizen. My question is if the marriage in USA is recognized/valid by Peru authorities? or we have to get marry againg in peru if we decide to move back to peru.
Please let me know, thanks for your time.
You'd have to get it registered. You can do that through the Peruvian embassy or consulate closest to your home.
ReplyDeleteSaludos Sharon,
ReplyDeleteI love your website. The information here has been invaluable to me.
I am planning to get married in late September or early October 2010 to my Peruvian fiance. I am divorced and have had my divorce certificate legalized by the Peruvian Consulate in the jurisdiction where it was issued. I am wondering if, in addition to the divorce certificate, I still need the Single Certificate?
Also, the divorce was finalized in April 2010 and the legalization was done by the consulate in July 2010. You have mentioned that documents have to have been issued within the past 3 to 6 months. Is this from the issue date of the document itself or from the date it was legalized by the consulate in the jurisdiction in which it was issued. I obtained a new birth certificate in February 2010 and had it legalized by the Peruvian Consulate in April 2010. I now fear that all that effort and cost may have been wasted if it expires 3 to 6 months from February 2010.
Thanks for any help and advice you can provide.
One of the requirements for a foreigner to get married in Peru is a photocopy of your passport. I have read some of the requirements for the various districts in Lima and I am unclear about which part of the passport they want the photocopy of. Is it the part with my name and information and/or the page with the last stamp of entry into Peru?
ReplyDeleteAlso, does the photocopy of the passport (which is in English) have to go through the same process of being legalized, translated and legalized?
I am divorced and want to get remarried in Lima. The requirement for many districts say that if you are divorced you need not only the certificate of divorce, but also the marriage certificate of the prior marriage. Your website only mentions needing a birth certificate and a divorce certificate. Have you ever heard of needing the prior marriage certificate? Do you know if there are any districts in Lima where they do not require this? I am Canadian, but was married in California so it might be difficult for me to get my prior marriage certificate legalized in the jurisdiction in which it as issued, especially since I am currently living in Lima.
ReplyDeleteQUESTION 1
ReplyDeleteCongrats on your upcoming wedding.
If I were you, I'd get the single cert anyways. What you have to do is go to the county where you are and ask for your marriage record. (That being said, it might just be the same thing as your divorce cert.)
The 6 months are from either the document was issued, when the first legalisation in Peru goes on it, or the last legalisation. I know that's not very helpful, but Peru doesn't really stick to its own rules.
Your birth cert should be ok as well.
Have you started the paperwork in Peru itself? Go to the municipality where you want to get married and put in a married request.
Honestly, I believe you have nothing to worry about.
Your single cert is the one thing I'm not sure about, but since it's pretty cheap, I'd get it just in case. Like I said, Peru seems to make rules, then follow others.
QUESTION 2
The copy is of the biodata info, which is your photo and signature page. Open your passport, lay it flat, and photocopy it.
The passport doesn't have to be legalised. You'll have to bring the orginal with you when you get married.
QUESTION 3
I have never heard of having a prior marriage cert. WHich districts require that? I believe your divorce cert should be enough. But if the district where you want to get married requires a prior marriage cert, you have two choices.
1. Get it.
2. Get married in another district.
If you do get it, talk to the US embassy, they can help you. They have a diplomatic pouch.
First, you'll have to get your marriage cert. That's easy, you can order it online. Have it sent to you, then go to the embassy.
Use the diplomatic pouch system. You pay them to get it sent to the Peruvian consulate in California and they send it back to you in Peru. Costs a bit more, but it's WAY cheaper than a flight.
Hi Sharon,
ReplyDeleteThanks for your response. We went to the Municiplidad de Miraflores this morning and here is what I found out.
1. It appears that the requirement to present the prior marriage certificate only applies to Peruvians who are divorced and want to remarry and not extranjeras. I showed him my divorce certificate and he didn't mention anything about needing my prior marriage certificate.
One interesting thing I have to do is have a pregnancy test as I have not been divorced for more than 300 days.
2. The man at the Municipalidad confirmed that it is the biodata page of my passport that is required but he said that the copy has to be notarized (not legalized).
3. I told the man in the Municipalidad that the Embassy of Canada can't provide me with the Single Certificate. He said instead of that I can use a form called "Declaracion Jurada" which I have to get sworn before a notary. It basically says I am divorced and have no children. He gave a different form to my novio called "Declaracion Jurada de Estado Civil & Domicilio" which also needs to be notarized and can be used as the single certificate.
So, our next step is to get all my documents legalized, translated and legalized again. Do you know if the notary Jose Antonio Nino de Guzman in Miraflores will do all these three steps for me? I think your advise to find a notary that can do all the legalizations and translations at once is very valuable.
The only tricky part now is finding a date when we can be married. Almost all the Saturdays are booked up already into October. September 11th is the only date that has openings. I guess some people are superstitious about this date.
1. That's great. But a pregnancy test? Wow. NEVER heard of that one. Are you sure? What's the logic behind that?
ReplyDelete2. Notarisation is cheap, about 3 soles
3. The declaracion jurada is just the same. You go to the embassy and swear you're not married. They stamp it. They'll have it in English and Spanish, maybe French too?, so it saves you from getting it translated.
4. I don't know about that specific notary. AS for translations, it MUST be done by an official translator. Look here
http://theultimateperulist.blogspot.com/2008/12/6b-official-translations-notarisation.html
I just used to go to an official translator and pay for them to do the running around. AS for the simple things, like legalisation of your passport, that can be done in any notary.
JUST make sure that it's an offical translator. You can look on the RREE website.
Why not get married during the week?
Hello there-
ReplyDeleteI have a recent birth certificate I brought from the USA, and now i'm living in Peru. I won't be able to go back to the USA before the wedding in Peru. How can I get my birth certificate legalized in Peru? I can't travel to a Peruvian consulate in time in the USA.
You'll have to have a friend or family member help you out. Or you can go to the US embassy and ask about the "diplomatic pouch system"
ReplyDeleteHi,
ReplyDeleteI'm from California. I was told that I had to get my birth certificate, single status record from my county and a photocopy of my US passport notarized and apostille by the Secretary of State notary in Sacramento, California...and so I went ahead and did that. But now I find out that my documents must be legalized by the Peruvian consulate. So today I went to the Peruvian consulate in San Francisco...I took my 3 apostille documents done by the Secretary of State and they told me that it was unnecessary for them to have it legalized by the Peruvian consulate. They said if it's already done by the Secretary of State then the country of Peru must recognize it because of some sort of agreement both countries have or "convenio". I didn't understand that but they assured me that I'm good to go. Has anybody else done this?...I'm leaving to Peru in a couple of weeks and want to make sure I've done everything correctly before I leave. Any comments or advise is appreciated. Thanks. :)
OK, here's the problem. Peru got approved in December 2009, I believe, for the Hague Agreement. That's the apostillise or convenio.
ReplyDeleteMy understanding, according to the Hague Agreement Website, in the first column, is that they're STILL not approved for the apostillisation. Rather, it hasn't taken affect yet. See the website,
http://hcch.e-vision.nl/index_en.php?act=conventions.status&cid=41
So the apostillisation that you have isn't going to work for Peru just yet. The Embassy has to legalise it for you. Seriously, you're paying. They can't tell you that they won't do it. Tell them you need it for a job. Ok, wait. Here's what you do. Forget about the apostillisation. Make copies of your documents again. Simple photocopies. Take the copies and the original to the embassy or consulate. Ask them to leglise them. It should be about $20.
Then when you get to Peru, find an official translator. The translator can take care of two things for you: the translation and the legalisations. It should be about 100 to 200 soles for simple documents, such as birth, death, marriage certs, and degrees.
Ignore what they said about the agreement, they have no idea what they're talking about. You can check the Hague Agreement's official website, look at the link above, and it's in black and white stating that Peru is NOT part of the apostillisation agreement as of yet.
Hope this helps
Pleaseee help! how can i say: abrir el pliego matrimonial in english? is to make the power of attorney...hope u can help me!
ReplyDeletethanks
Power of attorney is carta poder.
ReplyDeleteAbrir el pliego de matrimonio is the paperwork you have to do to get married in the church.
http://www.webdelanovia.com/boda-religiosa/requisitos-para-abrir-el-pliego-matrimonial
I’m replying to my original posting from Thursday, 09 September, 2010. I’m from California. Reading your reply I called the Peruvian Consulate in San Francisco….and once again they’ve confirmed that starting on October 2010 Peru is now accepting apostillisations….this is so frustrating. How can I make sure that’s correct? …I’ve scanned and email my boyfriend in Peru and he will take the copies of my apostille documents to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Lima. I’m still waiting to hear back from him regarding the subject. Once again thank you and I will keep you posted.
ReplyDeleteDid you refer them to the official Hague Agreement website? If they say that they're accepting apostillises, ask them to give you written evidence. OR, what you could do is to do both. Get two copies of all your docs. Send one to the apostillisation and one to the Peruvian embassy. Legally speaking they HAVE to legalise them. All you have to do is snail mail the docs and a cover letter saying that you want them to legalise it. Don't say why, it's none of their business. Don't forget the money order for the amount.
ReplyDeleteSimply call and ask how much it is to legalise things. Like I said before, if push comes to shove, say that your employer in Peru wants it.
Hey,
ReplyDeleteMy documents for getting marriedare on there way from the UK. i have had them legalized by the FCO and at the peruvian consulate by a friend. I thought everything was in order, until a few days ago, when i realized by birth certificate is too old. When i kept reading blogs saying you need you 'original' birth certificate. Now realizing i should have ordere a new one I'm, kind of stuck. Is there anyway around this? anywhere in Peru that will accept the birth certificate?
They might. Supposedly you're supposed to get one no older than 90 days, however, I know in Europe you only get one birth certificate. In Peru, you can simply go to the municipality and print another one. I think if you explain that you only get ONE birth cert, you should be fine.
ReplyDeleteThe Hague Apostille Agreement took effect on September 30, 2010, according to these sources:
ReplyDeletehttp://apuntesperuanos.com/2010/09/apostilla-de-la-haya/
http://www.rree.gob.pe/portal/boletinInf.nsf/mrealdia/DE0480B7F4CD4175052576AA007E6E24?OpenDocument
The link that Sharon posted
(http://hcch.e-vision.nl/index_en.php?act=conventions.status&cid=41)
also lists Sept. 30, 2010 as Peru's EIF date (entry into force). The date appears as 30-IX-2010 in the chart.
Thanks, but do you know if this has gone into affect? can people now get this apostillised instead of going to the consulate?
ReplyDeleteTwo Peruvian consulates (Hartford and Paterson) told me over the phone that I can use the apostille. According to my husband-to-be, the municipalidad in Miraflores told him that we should use the apostille. I am about to try it so I will let you know if it all pans out in about 2 weeks.
ReplyDeleteOK, great. Good luck!
ReplyDeletehi,
ReplyDeleteI just got married on thursday in peru, wondered if you know what we need to do with the marriage certificate, basically in order to apply for the spouse visa for the UK?
Im thinking it needs to be legalized, translated to english and then legalized again? Is that all or am i missing out any stages?
Is it required for me to record the marriage in the UK or can i do that at a later date?
Also in regards to the visa application, when should i change my surname, after the visa application? as the surname on my passport and documents is still my maiden name, would this interfere with the visa application do you know?
thanks for any help
Sorry, I don't. I think that your best bet would be to contact the UK embassy. I'm sure they could give you step-by-step about what you needed.
ReplyDeleteAs to recording the marriage, if it's anything like the US, then you can basically do it whenever, though sooner is always better. I recorded my marriage four years after the fact.
AS to your name change, that's up to you. I'm almost 100% sure that it won't interefere with the visa paperwork as long as you change your passport and write your married name on the visa applicaton. As long as the names match, it shouldn't cause any problems. IN fact, it might, but might, help the visa application. If you change it, make sure you change it straightaway before filing the paperwork. If you decide to wait, I'm sure that's fine as well. I changed my name after a year of marriage and recorded my marriage after four years, but we stayed in Peru until this year when we moved to Korea, so haven't had to deal with my country's (America) visa stuff.
Hi everyone!
ReplyDeleteJust an update, I am an American citizen who is marrying a Peruvian in Peru next month. Peru is, as the Hague Convention website states, now an active member of the apostille agreement. I had my birth certificate apostillized at the Secretary of State (of RI, my home state)'s office and sent it to Peru without legalizing it first in a Peruvian embassy. My fiance brought the document to the municipality in Miraflores in Lima and he was told it was good, and that all he had to do was translate it into Spanish (no need to legalize it at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs). This is a big relief for me because I no longer live full time in RI and therefore traveling to the appropriate Peruvian consulate would have been very inconvenient!
That's fantastic!
ReplyDeletei am a Peruvian citizen with us residency and i married a peruvian in peru and we went to live in the united states, things did not work out and we wanted to get it annulled, but never did, this was several years ago. can i get a divorce, here in the united states on my own and if so how?
ReplyDeleteI don't know about annulment, you should check with the church. If you are both in the US, then you should contact a lawyer together.
ReplyDeleteNice blog.
ReplyDeleteThank you! And yes it is :)
ReplyDeleteWhat if someone wanted to cancel the process? I went to Peru in October and have sent all the necessary papers to the municipal. They still haven't issue the marriage certificate, and they are saying that the marriage isn't final yet. Now I want out of it. What can I do?
ReplyDeleteDo you mean that you did the ceremony or you have just submitted the paperwork? If you've just submitted the paperwork but haven't done the ceremony just don't show up on the day the ceremony is scheduled.
ReplyDeleteIf you've gone through with the ceremony and have signed and put your fingerprint on papers, then you'll have to get a divorce.
What if there is an issue with the paperwork after the ceremony? I was told that if the proper documentation wasn't completed that it was going to be cancelled back in December by the Municipal.
ReplyDeleteWhat's the issue with the paperwork? If you presented void or falsified papers, then MAYBE. However, if you've been fingerprinted, then it's on the records. At least for now. And if you don't do the proper documentation and they say that it will be cancelled in December. Then my advice would be to go back in January and see if you can get a marriage record. If nothing comes up, you're fine. If they find your marriage record and it wasn't annulled, then you'll need to get a divorce.
ReplyDeleteSo you can either wait until next year or see if you can get it annulled NOW and get paperwork that shows that you got it annulled.
Regarding the paperwork is that I had sent down my birth certificate with the Apostille Stamp on it and my perspective husband indicated that it was the wrong documentation. When I found that out I emailed the municipal to see if they could help me and they haven't responded with what they are needing. This was on October 23rd, 2010 that I was at the municipal and they took my birth certificate without the Apostille Stamp until that came after. So, what do you suggest or think?
ReplyDeleteAre you the same person that is trying to cancel this?
ReplyDeleteThe birth cert with the apostillise IS the right doc. YOu'll also need something proving that you are single and able to get married. You can get a "no record found" for marriage at the county clerk if you're in the US.
If the municipality says that you don't need the apostillisation, then I suppose you don't. But just in case, I'd have both ready, with official translations.
Basically, if you haven't signed and fingerprinted a book and the munipality has told you that you don't have the correct docs, I'd say you're still single. We were given a cert immediately after our ceremony to prove that we were married. The official marriage cert was available about a week later. From the sounds of it, it sounds like you're not married.
There's an easy way to check. Go to the same municipality and try to get your marriage record. If there isn't one, you're fine.
Thank you, I am actually back in the states and my friend is down there checking for me. I did all of the above and basically like you have answered that I was only give a card indicating that we applied for the marriage certificate and that the Official was going to take 20 days from 10/23/2010. I have not yet received anything and I was told that we were still missing documents.
ReplyDeleteI guess I will believe that I am Single.
Thank you for your information.
Ok, I would make sure though. I do think that it's odd that the municipality gave you a card saying that you had applied, but were still missing docs. We had to show ALL our docs before we could even request getting married.
ReplyDeleteDouble check though, all you need is to find out years down the road that you're married and then try to get divorced.
Was this a municipality in the countryside?
The Municipal was El Augustino, Lima, Peru. I have a contact number that I will contact stateside to be sure, because I am being told that there are still papers needed to complete the process.
ReplyDeleteOK, look, if I were you, I'd do everything I could to make sure that those papers don't get processed somehow.
ReplyDeleteMy husband and I were married in the U.S. He is a Peruvian citizen and has his U.S. greencard. He can't find work here and we want to move back to Peru. We want to get married in Peru as well, but since we are married in the U.S. how do we handle documentation?
ReplyDeleteYou need to go to the closest Peruvian consulate or embassy and register your marriage with Peru. Then you can start the documentation in Peru. Keep in mind that Peru is going through elections are things could change drastically. Also, salaries are much lower in Peru than the US.
ReplyDeleteHello, great site.
ReplyDeleteI have an issue, was wondering iof you could help me. Recently got married in Peru (May 8th 2011) and went through the civil ceromny becasue I was leaving the next day. I had all docuemtns and we went through everything i.e. blood tests, fees, and my docuemnts. I was however told that my documents were not good enough.
SO I am back in Boston and just got Apostilles for my birth certificate and divorce decree. What do I do now.
My wife is still in Peru and I was thinking that I get the Apostille translated into spanish and then send to my wife so that she can obtain the official marriage certificate. Can you help??
Thanks,
Jim
jcarey6993@yahoo.com
Send everything to your wife. translations must be done in Peru.
ReplyDeleteHi. The link at the top to the British Citizens thing doesnt work - it goes to a gay bar link on Living in Peru. Though you should know.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, don't you need to get a permiso especial para firmar contratos to get married or not?
Also, whats this apostille thing all about? Maybe its an american word us Brits arent used to. Please enligten me.
Sorry, about the link. They re-did the forum and it was lost.
ReplyDeleteApostillise isn't an American word. It's through the Hague Agreement. Basically it's an agreement between countries which recognises legalisations. So if you have an agreement between the UK and Peru (they're both members of the Hague Agreement), then both countries will recognise documents if they have the apostillisation. Canada isn't a part of it and Peru wasn't. Which is why you had to go through the embassy
Hi
ReplyDeletei am Iranian and we don't have this single certificate in our country and i want to married with my fiance in peru what is possible for me and what and what i have to do
Thanks
You need to go and ask for your marriage certificate. They will give you a piece of paper that says they can't find your marriage certificate. That's a single certificate.
ReplyDeleteOk so i'm about to leave for Peru in a couple of weeks. I have my Original Birth Certificate and my Single Certificate both apostillied. I dont think i will be able to get a copy of my Birth Certificate made before i leave. My question is, What happens if i get to Lima, get all my papers translated/legalized and then get to Tacna only to find out i need a different birth certificate? Are there any ways around that, or can i fight it somehow?
ReplyDeleteWhy would you need a different birth certificate? As long as it's the original and has been apostillised and then translated and then the translation has been legalised, you will be fine.
ReplyDeleteI've read on a couple of comments on this blog and on another blog where people say that they get to the municipalidad and they tell them that their birth certificate is too old :\
ReplyDeleteIn theory, they're supposed to be less than 6 months old Some places ask for 3 months. It wasn't an issue for me though.
ReplyDeleteHI. I am in the Army and i am Deployed to afghanistan. When i ge done i will have 30 days of vacation when i am planning on getting married to my Peruvian love. I am not going to have time to go to the states and go to the peruvian embassy to get the stamp that they require on the papers. i am stationed in germany. on the army base they have notarization services where i can get the affidavit of single status notarized. I was wondering if the rest of the paperwork could be done at the embassy in peru? tranochak@gmail.com
ReplyDeleteYes, that's fine. You can EITHER get it done in the US or done at a US embassy. YOu'll need a single certificate as well as your birth cert. They should be apostillised. Ask the US embassy if they can do it. I know they can only apostillise documents from about 20 some states. They wouldn't apostillise my birth cert from California.
ReplyDeleteHi Sharon,
ReplyDeleteThank you for your great blog. I'm a US citizen who spends many months a year in Peru with my Peruvian boyfriend. We are planning to marry in a year or so. We hear conflicting things about whether or not it's best for us to marry in Peru or the US. At first glance, it seems easier to marry in Peru (process and timewise). But we want to travel to and live in the US if/when we choose and that seems like quite a process for him to get approval from both the Peruvian and US gov'ts. So from that aspect, does it make more sense to go through the paperwork process up front and to marry in the US? In your experience, does one option give us more rights or freedom to live and work in the country of our choosing? Another rumor I have heard is that Peruvian marriages may not be recognized in the US. A US friend of mine and her Peruvian fiancee are marrying in the US for that reason - what are your thoughts on that?
It's easier to get married in the country that you're going to live in. Peruvian marriages are recognised in the US. All you have to do is take your marriage cert to the county register and ask them to RECORD, not register it. They can't register non US marriages, but they can record them. So you'll appear as married in the US.
ReplyDeleteI cant' speak for getting married in the US. It takes a couple months to get the paperwork for Peru. I know that for the US, in theory, you're supposed to get a finace visa, which can take up to 9 months. BUT, it's worth it if you're going to live there.
Our Peruvian marriage has been recognised in Peru as well as Korea. No probs.
Either option will allow you to work legally in the US or Peru. But like I said, I think it's best to get married in the country where you're planning on living. HOpe that makes sense.
You could always get married in Peru and then immigrate to the US. We haven't done that, so I have no idea what it involves.
Quick question. I got my Certificado de Solteria and my Birth Certificate both legalized/translated, but i read that i might need to get my passport legalized too??
ReplyDeleteI know different departments require different things, but have u ever heard of such a thing?
I mean isn't the point of a passport that its already legal in pretty much every country in the world?
Might, but probably don't need it done. If you do, you can get it done at any notary in Peru and it should cost less than a couple of dollars.
ReplyDeleteThe point of a legalised passport is to show that the copy is a real copy. Not that the passport is legit.
We were married in Teheran Iran, I am from Spain he was from France. my question would be, is the Iranian Marriage recognized in Peru? We were divorce 20 years ago, in B.C. Canada, is the divorce in Canada recognized in Peru?
ReplyDeleteAny marriage is if you get the docs apostillised in countries with the Hague Agreement or legalised in the Peruvian embassy. So both the marriage and divorce would be recognised: just get the necessary paperwork.
ReplyDeleteHi, I am a UK citizen planning to get married to a Peruvian girl in march next year. I am going over there in december for 2 weeks and hopefully I can sort everything out then? Is this too early? my documents (birth certificate, notarized passport, oath affidavit) will all be dated November or december 2011. is there a 3 month validity period on everything?
ReplyDeleteAlso, regarding the certificate of no impediment, can this be obtained here in the UK, legalised and then used over in Peru. i have already established I do not have enough time to go through the process of obtaining the Certificate of No Impediment at the British Embassy in Lima!
thanks
Supposedly there is a 3 month validity, but it depends on the municipality where you'll get married. HAve your girlfriend ask them.
ReplyDeleteYes, the single cert can be gotten in the UK. I believe. I know I got mine in the US.
I am an Englishman and i have lived in peru for nearly 4 years. I have a Residence Visa in my Passport and a Carne de Extraneria.On my card it states that i am retired and i need to change this so that i can start a small exporting business
ReplyDeleteEverything is fine but my Marriage to my Peruvian wife was in Las Vegas and when i took our Marriage Certificate to Immigration they would not accept it as proof. I had an Apostille sent from The County Clerk in Las Vegas but Immigration will still not accept it as proof of marriage.
Can you please explain to me exactly what i need to do next because it seems that i can do nothing right. I would reall appreciate your help and even if i need to pay someone to help me i would not mind.
johnbickerton222@gmail.com
I've only heard of people registering their foreign marriages before the Hague Agreement and this is what they did.
ReplyDelete1. They took the marriage cert (Las Vegas one) to the nearest Peruvian consulate (or embassy) and got it legalised.
2. Then in Lima, they got it translated and got the translation and original legalised at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. THe easiest way to do this is to take it to a translator and pay them to do all of these things.
3. Then they took that to RENEIC.
I suggest trying that. Or asking RENIEC what the heck they want. Or contacting a lawyer. Or getting married in Peru.
I hope this helps, that's what I would do. This is just one of the many reasons I left Peru.
Hi. Thanks for this wonderful source of information. I have been engaged to a Peruana for 8 months and we will be getting married in February if all goes to plan. But, I have a question. Because of my job, I am only in Peru every other month, so I come in as a tourist. If we get married, will this have to change? We rent an apartment in Lima that is in her name, and we plan to continue to live in Lima. I don't have a problem with applying for a residency visa, but my time in Peru after the wedding is very short. And I will not return to Peru until April.
ReplyDeleteAlso, we are curious about the process for her obtaining a US visa after we are married. Just to visit her new relatives, and maybe Disney World...haha. We are discussing the possibility of getting married in the US as well, but I am not sure if that is necessary. Any advice on these matters that you can provide would be greatly appreciated. As well, if you need anything from Saudi Arabia, I would be happy to bring with me as a token of my appreciation...haha. Thanks, and have a great day.
Hey,
ReplyDeleteIt doesn't HAVE to change, but you're entitled to the PEB (marriage) visa. If you get that visa, she'll have to change her DNI to say married and then the apartment will also have to be put in your name.
If you want the residency visa, you don't have to apply right away, so you could do it in April.
As far as getting a US tourist visa. It's hard, very hard, especially if you're married. My husband was rejected in Jan 2009 and we had an apartment in our names, jobs, cars, money in the bank, and I got Peruvian citizenship. They rejected him, but called him back the same day and gave it to him. Their logic is that since he's married, he'd stay in Peru, despite the fact I hadn't lived there in nearly 10 years.
Will they reject her? I don't know. It depends on a lot of stuff, including if she's ever been to the US before, overstayed her visa, had ties to Peru, and has family in the US.
My advice to you is to get married where you're going to live. You want to live in the US, get married there. Get her a fiancee visa and go there. You want to live in Peru, get married there.
I actually left Peru back in Jan 2010 and live in Korea, though I'm hoping to head over to Saudi in a couple years. You wouldn't happen to work for Aramaco, do you?
No, I work for Halliburton, and we work for Aramco. Thank you very much for the information and your advice. Now, if I can get my fiance to understand...haha.
ReplyDeleteOk, I've been looking at working for Aramaco. Saudi sounds great. I know I could handle it. Best of luck!
ReplyDeleteHey Sharon, just to touch base, my novia and I managed to get hitched with relatively lisst unexpected events. Thank you so much for all of your info. Now, I just need to figure out if I have to somehow register it with the US embassy now. Thanks again!
DeleteAwesome! Glad to help out. To register your marriage, just do it at county records when you go home. Just need your original and a translation. You can translate it.
DeleteWhat are the documents that take 2 to 4 months if they are not translated into Spanish or 1 to 3 months if they are in Spanish?
ReplyDeleteIs the document my birth certificate? or other documents that are required for me to show for Marriage in Peru?
How long will it take to bring my wife to the United States after marrying in Peru and after petitioning/sponsoring for her?
Do you know which financial forms are usually sent out by the U.S. Government for the sponsor to fill out and send back? I know it is either the I-864 form or the I-134 form.
Birth cert and cert that says you're single. Docs may vary, as each municipality requires different things. I have NO idea about going to the US. Generally, if you want to live in the US, you should get married there. So get a fiancee visa rather than a marriage visa. Check visajourney.com
ReplyDeleteNO idea about financial forms either. I just know about Peru stuff, not US stuff. Sorry. I'm sure a quick google search will bring up all the info you need.
Thank You for your help and this great website with all of the information to help us.
DeleteSo I will need to send my birth certificate and single status document before I go to Peru to marry my fiancee? My fiancee and I are planning to marry in Peru.
The documents that I will need to get married are my birth certificate, single status document, the certificado de solteria, and the photocopy of the first page of my passport?
I do have single status document that says that I have never applied for a marriage license in the county that I have lived in for my whole life. Will this document work?
No, you don't need to send anything. You just have to go with them in hand to the municipality. You're going to present them there, then you have to wait a week or so and they you can get married.
ReplyDeleteThe single status doc is the same as the cert de solteria. YOu'll also have to bring your original passport with you.
Like I said, have your fiancee check with the municipality as different ones have different reqs.
The doc that you got from your country is fine. Now you'll just have to get it and your birth cert apostillised in the US, then translated and apostillised in Peru.
Though like I said, if you want to live in the US, get married there.
what if I have my birth certificate here in Lima and I didnt have it apostillised because I though I could have it notarized in the consulate here ... do I need to send it back?
ReplyDeleteI'd say that you'd either need to get another birth cert sent to your friend's or family's house and have them apostillise it. Or send the one you have back. Check with the municipality though to be sure.
ReplyDeleteAlso, for the US, they only notarise about half of the state's docs. They'd do IL, but not CA. GO figure. So much for the UNITED States.
hello, what is visacion consular??? the miunicipality of barranco says it wants any foriegn documents with apostille, stamped by the ministery of foriegn affairs and visacion consular.... i know the sheet they give is kind of old, since the times of day for the med exam were wrong....but i havent found any info on what a visacion consular IS...I already got my new birth certificate apositallized by teh state of ny and legalized by an official translator in mira flores ..... so my question is do i need visacion consular? and do i even need the ministry of foriegn affairs to legalize it? i went to see them in los olives the other day and they told me it is unnecessary to legalize it because its already apostillado por the state of ny....then offhandly she said they ¨would¨ legalize the officially translated copy if ï want¨
ReplyDeleteI have no idea. The apostillise is all they should require: legally. To get married you need your birth cert and single cert and divorce cert if you have one. Apostillised and legalised. I'd ask the Municipality of Barranco for more info. Each municipality is different.
ReplyDeleteHello, i got my single certificate from the us embassy here in peru and its in spanish. I read it has tobe legalized too, i just want to ask if my translator is right aboutthis : he says we need to abonar el costo del reintegro consular? And that the cost is 40 us dollars plus the 24 soles from ministerio del extrerior? Is he right? Or trying to rip me off! Thank you
ReplyDeleteSeems about right. Check with a couple different translators just to be sure. I know I had to get stuff legalised, then translated, then the translation legalised. Cost about 100 soles for my birth cert and that was a while ago.
ReplyDeleteI think if i don t want to have any problem here in the municipalidad or in the future, I will send my fiancee to legalized birth certificated, single certificated and divorce papers at the pruvian consulado in miami. Then I will bring them here, translate them, legilized and translated again. U answered all my questions... thank u so much!!!
ReplyDeleteGlad it worked out for you!
ReplyDeleteHi, can you please confirm that it is ok for us to marry in Australia and have a ceremony in Peru? It's basically for the purpose of family and friends. We dont want a religious ceremony, however we are not sure how celebrants work over there, will they want to do our ceremony considering we are already married? And therefore this would not require any legalities right? Do we need to show them Our marriage certificate? What are celebrants called in Peru? Thankyou
ReplyDeleteMaybe. Religious ceremonies aren't legal here, first you have to get married at town hall. YOu would probably need to get your marriage cert apostillised first.
ReplyDeleteIf you don't want a religious ceremony, you'd have to contact the person who would be doing the ceremony. They could help you with the legalities. Also, where you have it will make a difference. Will it be at home? outside? at a resturant? etc?
I have NO idea what celebrants are called. Maybe celebrantes?
You could probably get it done, but check with the person performing the ceremony.
Hi Sharon, very interesting blog btw. Im already in Peru now and I would love to get marry here with my lady, but can I ask my birth certificate here in the usa embassy-lima? and can I ask also my single certificate? How long does it take to have them? any answer will be very welcome
ReplyDeleteMaybe. The embassy will only apostllise about half of the birth certs. Each state has different rules on whether they'll allow the embassy to apostillise it. California, for example, will not let the embassy do it, so I had to send it back to California.
ReplyDeleteSingle certs can be done at the embassy. Same day.
If you have to send your birth cert back to the US, it shouldn't take more than 2 weeks once they receive it for them to process it. Hope this helps!
Hi there, Very helpful blog! I am a US resident and planning to get married with my Peruvian girl friend in Lima, Peru in November, 2012. After marriage we will be living separately for nearly 2-3 years until she gets her Canadian/US immigration. Though I have been dating with her for the last 3 years, visiting and staying with her for a week in Lima twice a year, I am trying to be bit cautious. While waiting for her immigration, in case after marriage she or me decides to get divorce, What is the Peruvian Divorce law? does it take long time? Is it very complicated and expensive? Do I have to pay her money before the divorce is finalized? There may not be any child involved. Any answers to my questions will be highly appreciated.
ReplyDeleteIt really shouldn't take you 2 to 3 years to get her a visa for the US or Canada. For divorce, there's a quick divorce that if both parties agree on everything, it will only take a couple of months. Look at "divorcio rapido" her, http://midivorcio.pe/
ReplyDeleteIf you're that worried, get a pre-nup, becuase according to Peruvian divorce law, by law, everything you own is half hers. So if she DOESN'T agree on everything, she could fight you to get half of all your stuff. So if she makes it complicated, it can be very, very complicated, especially for a foreigner.
As for paying her money, if you have an amicable divorce and she doesn't want anything, then you're fine. But like I said, if she fights you for things, she could take half your net worth. If your stuff is overseas, I'm not sure how that would work. I can't imagine the US demanding you give half your stuff to her, but I'd error on the side of caution and get everything out of your name. The easiest way is to go to a Peruvian lawyer and draw up a pre-nup that states you keep all your property, money, etc.
Hi Sharon,
ReplyDeleteThank you very much for your very helpful tips and a quick reply. You solved my problem. I am a Canadian Citizen and a US Green Card holder, living and working in Texas and I was told it will take about 3 years for her to get US Resident visa. After marriage I am going to apply from US as well as from Canada for her visa. For sure, I am going to get a pre-nup in Lima. Can you please recommend any good family lawyer for Pre-nup in Lima, Peru?
Today I called the Peruvian Consulate, Houston, Tx about the documents legalization and I was told that I do not need to get any documents legalized by the Consulate as long as I have them authenticated by the Secretary of State, Austin, Tx. However, I will still try to insist to get them legalized by the Consulate so that I do not have to come back from Peru in case I am denied by the Municipal Office in Lima.
Thank you again!
I'd check with midivocio.pe . He might do pre-nups or be able to recommend someone. Why not get US citizen for yourself and then do the paperwork for your fiancee? Or go to Canada instead?
ReplyDeleteFor legalisations, yes, it changed a couple years ago. Peru is in the Hague Agreement, docs now go through the Sec of State or Dept of State.
Hi Sharon,
ReplyDeleteThank you for your recommendation.
Yes, that is in process and the application status can be changed even after applying for a spousal visa.
Ok, congrats!
ReplyDeleteHello I was just wondering as I have been married in Peru for 4 months now nearly is my marriage not also legal in the UK as I wrote to my British embassey here and got this from them saying there is no facility in the UK to register any overseas marriage.
ReplyDeleteThank you for your e-mail.
The only thing that we can do is a Deposit of Marriage, this is not required but there is no facility in the UK to register any overseas marriage. There is a safekeeping service were customers can deposit their marriage certificate at the relevant GRO (Genera Register Office) where you have ea connection (E.g. England and Wales; Scotland or Northern Ireland). You have to provide your original marriage certificate, and it will not be returned. You will be able to obtain copies of their marriage certificate in English online via the GRO (http://www.direct.gov.uk/).
Documents required
1. Original marriage certificate (legalised at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs).
2. Translation of marriage certificate into English (by a sworn Translator).
3. Original and Copy of British Passport
4. Fee S/.158.00 or £35.00 (only with credit card)
Kind Regards
Consular Section
Same in the US. You can REGISTER an overseas marriage. You just only RECORD it. So in the US I have RECORDED my Peruvian marriage. The Deposit of marriage sounds like the same thing. It should be fine.
ReplyDeleteSo I was told by municipalidades that my documents only have 45 days of legalization in Peru from the date of publish. I'm not so sure what is the fastest route to have my documents legalized because they told me either I can have them apostilled here in the US or legalized by the peruvian consulate in the US and then legalized by the Foreign Ministry. If someone could please help me, I would be very thankful!
ReplyDeleteVery informative blog by the way. Thanks so much!
Either way is about the same. If you just get them done in the US it's only one step. As for Peruvian consulates in the US, some of them have stopped legalising docs since Peru joined the Hague Agreement. I'd get them done in the US since then you wouldn't have to do anything once you got to Peru.
DeleteWhat an amazingly informative blog, and you have answered all these questions so well.
ReplyDeleteMy fiance and I are both American, and we want this to be as easy as possible. The only reason we chose Peru is because we've talked for years about having a beautiful destination wedding at Machu Picchu. It's not even necessary to us that that ceremony is legally binding, it's more for the celebration aspect.
If we first get married in the US at the courthouse so we are already legally recognized, can we still go to Peru for the beautiful ceremony celebration and skip all this Legal headache, document translation, and AIDS testing etc.? Again, what can we do to have a beautiful destination wedding at Machu Picchu as SIMPLY as possible?
Thank you Sharon!!!
Hey Grant,
DeleteYep. If you're just going to have the ceremony there's nothing stopping you from doing it in Peru. This legal crap is just for people who need to legally get married. Best of luck!
Thanks for this blog I cant imagined all the headaches you have saved lol. I want to get married to a Peruvian girl but this paperwork is insane so I have just a few questions:
ReplyDelete-Can you have just a ceremony in a church in Peru without being married first in the US or completing the Peruvian legal requirements?
- I would only have about two weeks to stay there is it even possible to complete the legal marriage requirements in this short amount of time?
-If we did get married in the US first would this expedite any of this process to have a legal wedding in Peru?
Great minds think alike! I just scheduled a post for the fall about this topic.
Delete1. Maybe. Most churches would require you to be married legally before having a ceremony. Every church is different, though only courthouse marriages are legal in Peru. Church weddings, etc, are just ceremonies. But there's nothing from stopping one of your friends or family members from performing a ceremony if you guys are looking to do that for friends, families, photo opps.
2. Yes, but keep in mind that you need to get docs ready before you get married in Peru. Most municipalities require you to publish the announcement in the paper and wait a week or two, so you will be cutting it close.
3. My advice? Just get married legally in the USA and have the ceremony in Peru.
can i (as a foreigner) carry out this marriage process on a tourist visa? or should obtain a certain type of visa like the UK for example?
ReplyDeleteHi. Yes, you can get married on a tourist visa in Peru.
DeleteThanks for the reply. What documents will i need to get the tourist visa? will i need (carta de invitacion) as i already have a friend there? or should a hotel reservation just be enough? Thank you again
DeleteIt depends on your nationality. Ask your nearest embassy or consulate. I would get as many documents as possible.
DeleteI'm going over to Peru in February, can my wedding be done in 2 weeks?
ReplyDeleteYou're going to have to ask at the municipality where you're going to get married. Most require you to publish a marriage announcement in the newspaper and wait 7-15 days before you can get married.
DeleteMy American fiancee came to Peru in August and we got married on September. Do you have any idea if it's possible to make our marriage valid and legal in the US as well?
ReplyDeleteThe US will accept a Peruvian marriage. What she needs to do is get the marriage certificate notarised and apostillised and then translated. She'll then take that to the county clerk in her county and ask them to record it. Some counties no longer do this. It varies county to county. Even if they don't record it the US will still recognise. Your marriage isn't only legal in Peru. It will be recognised all over the world.
DeleteCheck out this posts, http://theultimateperulist.blogspot.com/2013/07/registering-your-peruvian-marriage-back.html
and
http://theultimateperulist.blogspot.com/2008/12/6e-using-peruvian-documents-abroad.html
Hello All Canadians who want to get merried in peru...
ReplyDeleteI just got merried in chimbote peru and I did not have to get my forms legelised at a peruvian embassey in canada. I just took my translated birth certificate and devorced certificate that I got translated in canada and took it to the canadian embassey got it stamped and then took it to the ministry of foreign affairs peru in central lima. Then did all the rest the mincipality requires such as the medical and newspaper anoucment. Now I am merried.... hope this helps...
Sean
Thanks for the info!
DeleteThis has been a great resource for me, thanks so much. I am getting married in August in Lima to a peruvian girl, and I am from the USA. My question is a little different-- after the wedding we are going to be going back to the US, where I work. She comes with me now and just enters on a tourist visa, and we never stay too long before going back to Peru.
ReplyDeleteI dont think, however, that she can enter the US after our wedding on a tourist visa and then have us get married in the US. Something about swearing when you enter on a tourist visa that you are only coming for tourism and not to get married.
How can we leave after our wedding and come back to the US legally? Does anyone know what we need to do about her visa? I really dont want to have to stay in lima another month waiting for her passport to get sent to the embassy and changed and all that before we can go on our honeymoon and I can return to work.
Any advice is appreciated. Thanks!
Hi. Congrats on your engagement. What you need is a fiancé/ee visa which would allow your fiancée to stay legally in the USA and get her all the necessary paperwork like a green card. I have no experience with US visa but there are some good forums like www.immigrate2us.net that can tell you step by step what you need. I don't believe you have to stay in Peru in order to get that visa. If you want her to come back with you I'm not sure how that would work. I think as a tourist she could stay up to six months and then go back to Peru to get the fiancée visa. Check how long the time is. Different embassies have different times. I know years ago it was 6-9 months to get a fiancé or spousal visa for the USA through the embassy in Lima. I don't think that she can enter on a tourist visa and then change to a fiancée visa but I would check with immigrate 2 US to make sure. They have experience with it. I've just heard about it. Good luck!
DeleteHi everyone... Im Peruvian and recently got married to Canadian... We went through to the hell.. We spent a lot of money and time to fill up and legalized all documents that we really don't needed... We went in Lima to many municipalities and everyone asked for different things... As soon as you brings those things they will ask you for more things... So we decided to go to Chimbote, the only problem is that you need an address to submit in the city hall... Finally we are married now... Good luck to everyone!
ReplyDeleteCongrats! Glad it worked out!
DeleteHi sharon,
ReplyDeleteThanks for the valuable info. I am indain and i am going to marry a peruvian girl in lima. My question is can i translate the certificates in india and attested by minustry of central affairs in india. Is that valid in peru. Waiting for your answer
Hi Steeve,
DeleteYou can get the apostillised / attested in India but the actual translation I would get done in Peru. If you want to get it done in India, call the embassy and ask for a list of official translators. If an unofficial translator is used then it might not be accepted.
Hi
ReplyDeleteI'm Katy I'm Peruvian and I want to marry with my bf he is from israel I would like to know which requirements he needs to get marry here in Lima. Thanks
Hi Katy,
DeleteThe requirements are for foreigners, so he needs all of them. Good luck.
Hi Sharon, I've found your website very useful, thanks for all the info.
ReplyDeleteI'd like to ask for your advice.
I'm pregnant and I want to marry the father of my child, who is Peruvian. I, myself, am Ukrainian and am in Peru on a tourist visa, which expires at the end of September. Foolishly I thought getting married and getting a residence permit would be easy. After quickly looking through your website I'm am now in a slight state of panic. I do not want to leave the country, I want to give birth and live in Peru. The amount of paper work and the time frames look staggering.
Isn't there any way to expedite the marriage and visa process? What would be the fastest way to organize and process my documents, where should I start?
PS I barely speak Spanish, is that going to hinder the process?
Thanks in advance!
Hi Tanya
DeleteThere's no way to expediate it. What you could do is either renew your tourist visa or border hop. Start getting the paperwork now to get married.
Once you get married you can start the residency process and will be ok. You can stay in Peru while that is happening.
The only other option might be to see if you can get some type of health visa allowing you to stay because you're pregnant. Maybe if your doctor said you couldn't fly or go on long bus rides, then immigration would give you a visa to stay until you gave birth and recovered. That would also give you some time to prep the marriage docs.
Not speaking Spanish won't be a big deal. Just say si at the marriage ceremony and take someone with you to immigration to help out with interpretation.
Good luck and let me know how it goes!!
Hi Sharon!
DeleteWe got married last Friday. Everything was very easy.
My mother sent me my birth certificate (original) with a notarized translation from Russian to Spanish. It wasn't too expensive and it only took 4 days to get from Ukraine to my town in Peru by DHL.
My birth certificate was NOT apostatized, since the old format of my certificate doesn't allow to get an apostille.
We did not have to go to Lima neither to get an "official" translation neither to get the single certificate which the Ukrainian embassy indeed can provide Ukrainians with, should one require so. The municipality advised us we can get the single certificate with them.
The documents did NOT need to be recent. This cased me unnecessary stress.
I was born in Germany as a Ukrainian, 2 months after Soviet Union fell apart. My father was serving there as part of the Soviet army at that time.
When my mother tried to get an official copy (you cannot reissue a birth certificate in Ukraine) from the archives I was not found in the system. 2 companies were investigating about my papers and found my documents in the Moscow archives as we suspected. The companies asked for ridiculous money for making an official copy from the government archive and getting the birth certificate apostatized. Thank God by that time I have long known that this copy was unnecessary.
Regarding the AIDS test, we were only required to provide a certificate saying we were healthy. That was really easy to get.
According to the forums the smaller the town the less religious they are with the papers. This turned out to be very true. We live in a small town, the capital of the region. To get the health certificate we visited a private clinic, where the doctor not only didn't check us but didn't even ask us about our health. According to the forums I read this is widely practiced in smaller towns and villages.
We got married in a tiny village 15 minutes away from our town(less paperwork). The last document I dropped in was the day before the ceremony. The photos, we brought them on the day of the wedding.
From what I've learned the information on your website is strictly regarding Lima and the bigger cities. For the rest getting married is quick and simple.
That's great news! I'm glad they didn't ask for recent docs. I've always heard that they have to have been issued within a certain number of days but that's Peru for you! I got married in Piura, which was the fifth largest city in Peru at the time. I'll add your info to the post. Which village did you get married in? Thanks and congrats!
DeleteIt was in Chachapoyas district in Amazonas. Thanks!
ReplyDeletewhat is the name of the village exactly please and how long did it take you to get married from day 1 translating ur documents to the ceremony?
Deletethank you
It was Chacapoyas. I'm not sure how long it took her.
DeleteSharon,
ReplyDeleteI'm from India. I'm planning to marry a Peruvian girl. But the problem is I don't have any birth certificate. My birth didn't register in our authority. I got non availability certificate too. But I have passport. I was born in 1985/may/20. Is it mandatory in Peru embassy? or have any substitute documents for proving birth?
You'll have to ask the embassy if there are alternatives. Is there any way to register? They might accept sworn statements from people or baptismal certificates.
DeleteI have been asked to officiate a wedding that will be in Peru. The bride and groom reside in California and want to have a destination wedding. I don't think they care whether it is legal in Peru as they will be moving back to the US right afterwards. Does anybody know what I need to do to perform the wedding.
ReplyDeleteIf they don't care if it's legal, then there shouldn't be an issue unless they want to get married in a church. If they want to marry in a church, first they need to get married legally. If they just want to just get married on the beach or something like that, then you could do it. Keep in mind, it will not be legal at all. The only legal ceremonies in Peru are done at the muncipality (aka court house).
DeleteThanks Sharon, would it be legal in the US?
DeleteI'm not sure. Are you legally allowed to wed couples? If you are, then you'd have to contact your certifying organisation and ask if there are any jurisdiction rules.
DeleteIf YOU are able to give them an official piece of paper that the USA would recognise, then yes, it would probably be legal for the USA.
But definitely contact whichever organisation allows you to wed couples.
thanks, i will follow up
DeleteHello , i am planning to marry in Peru to a Peruvian , i hear that small towns are easier to get married at . what is a good small town close to lima i can get married at?
ReplyDeleteI'd just check any small town.
DeleteI was married in small town, now 19 years later trying to divorce. Any ideas how I can get a notorized copy of my marriage certificate? I was married in Churin. I have a copy with file number but not sure who to contact
ReplyDeleteYou need someone to go to RENIEC. I've been told anyone can go to any RENIEC and they have a machine that you can get the marriage cert from. This is what I was told in the Expatriates in Peru FB group. We got married in Piura. My husband got the marriage cert from a machine at a RENIEC in Lima.
DeleteHello all,
ReplyDeleteI am a UK citizen and I'm hoping to marry my Peruvian boyfriend in Peru later this year. Can you tell me what I need to marry in Lima and what I will need to take with me. I have read most of my he above thread but these seem to be relevant for 2016 - has anything changed since then? I can't afford several trips abroad and I'm only planning to stay in Lima for ten days max (hoping for a July 2017 wedding) so I need to ensure we have everything in place for my wedding PRIOR to leaving the UK.
You'll need your birth certificate and proof that you are single. Those then have to be apostilled in the U.K. and then translated by an offfical translator. Rules vary by municipality, so I would tell your fiancé to go to the municipality where you are planning on getting married and ask for the exact requirements. Some people have said they don't need recent docs and/or they didn't need the apostillised. Like I said before, it's up to each municipality. Good luck!
DeleteThank you so much. I'm from the UK and i"ll be flying out to Lima to get married. I have been married and divorced - would my divorce papers do as proof that I'm single? What is apostilled? And where do i get my documents translated in the UK?
DeleteYes, divorce papers are enough. For translations, ask the embassy if they have any. If not, you'd have to get it done in Lima.
Deletehola soy britanico........ alguien quien me pueda ayudar y decir que docmentos necesito llevar a peru antes de casarme con mi novia que es peruana....... estoy pensando en ir en menos de un mes pero al parecer los documentos que necesito llevar de aca de uk llevarian mas de un mes en conseguirlos?......... yo se que debo llevar mi partida de nacimiento, etc. Por favor alguien quien me pueda decir exactamente la lista de documentos que tengo que llevar y no tener ningun impedimento ni perdida de tiempo en casarme con mi novia de la cual estoy locamente enamorado. Muchas gracias.
ReplyDeleteHi Scott,
DeleteYou'll need your birth certificate and proof of being single. I don't know what they do in the U.K., but in the USA I had to go and ask for my marriage certificate. I didn't have one so I was given a "record not found" paper which proved I was single.
Get those apostillised back home.
Then in Peru you're going to have to get them officially translated and then apostillised. The translator should be able to do everything for you.
I don't know how long it will take you to get them in the U.K. I already had a birth certificate and the proof of being single I got in about 20 minutes.
The stuff in Peru should only take a few days.
As for other documents, that depends on the municipality where you get married. Have your fiancée go there and ask. They'll give you a list.
We also had to publish a wedding announcement in the local paper. They only did that once a week so we had to wait for the paper to come out and bring the newspaper clipping.
Hope this helps.
Please advice me which town is best to get marry.
ReplyDeleteThat's a personal decision! You should discuss it with your fiancée.
DeleteHi Sharon, Please please reply to me. I am a filipino and planning to get married to an Irish there in Peru. Is there any way that I wont show a proof of being single from my country? Because it would take too much time to get one. like i could just have a notarized paper there in Peru telling im single? Ive read that its okay for a US citizen, do you think it's applicable to a filipino citizen like me?
ReplyDeleteYou'd have to ask the Philippines embassy in Peru if they issue notarized documents for being single. And then ask the municipality where you're getting married if they will accept them.
DeleteThank you so much!
DeleteHey Sharon, i hope you're doing well, i would like to ask you about marriage. i'm from Pakistan, My Girlfriend living in Peru lima we're planing to get marry but the problem is i'm living in Pakistan an she is living in PERU LIMA. I talk with my lawyer an he said me that no problem we will make your single certificate with attested by notary stamps and after we will make your other document (Power of Attorney and Attestation) the lawyer say me that when we have these 2 papers after i will give you marriage papers you have to sign an send to her Peru Lima after she have to sign on the marriage paper an she have to send you, after we will issue your (marriage certificate attested by the ministry of foreign affairs) this marriage certificate it used all over the world. after you have to send marriage certificate to your wife an she will started processing from PERU Your marriage visa.... Please its my request to you i really need your help, what my lawyer said to me is that true 100%100 or not... i give you my Gmail please give me answer on my email please solved this issue please SHARON GOD BLESS YOU ALWAYS AN FOREVER.... MUNIRAWAIS380@GMAIL.COM KINDLY MUST REPLAY ME.... I M WAITING FOR YOUR ANSWER....
ReplyDeleteI am a little confused. Your lawyer will help you with the single certificate. But are you actually going to Peru to get married?
DeleteAre you trying to get a Peruvian marriage certificate or a Pakistani marriage certificate?
I have never heard of a proxy marriage in Peru. A proxy marriage is when someone gives someone else power of attorney. The only legal way I know to get married in Peru is for BOTH the man and the woman to be in Peru to sign and fingerprint the papers.
Is your lawyer Peruvian or Pakistani?
Hi Sharon,
ReplyDeleteThanks for your blog. Super helpful. I am Canadian and my partner is Ecuadorian. We want to get married in Peru for a variety of reasons that I won't get into here. From what I understand we need the following documents:
-birth certificate (no longer than 3 months old if possible)
-certificate of single status
-copy of passport or national ID
-medical (AIDS) certificate -- only to be done in Peru
We need to get the first two certificates listed above legalised in our home countries, and then if translated we need to get them legalised by the Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores in Peru.
Is this correct? Am I missing any documents? Who exactly do we go see in Peru? The municipality? The embassy? As in, your step number 4... to where do we bring all those documents?
And is this newspaper thing really true?
Also, I am having a hard time understanding the difference between: apostilled, legalized, notarized, and authenticized. Are these words interchangeable?
Another thing, from what I understand, here in Canada, I don't need to take them to the Peruvian Embassy to have them apostilled (your step number 1), but I do have to send them to Ottawa to be authentisized. This all could be confusing due to a lack of my understanding of legal terms. I am not sure what to get stamped where! So confusing! :'( Please help!
Hi! Congrats! You have to go to the municipality where you want to get married and ask them about their requirements. Some people have used older birth certificates as well. It seems like the municipalities in smaller towns are more lenient.
DeleteDon't forget that you're going to have to publish your marriage announcement. You'll also need two witnesses with their IDs.
Canada is not in The Hague so you will have to do the extra step of getting it authenticated at the Peruvian embassy. So get it certified / notarized / authenticated (whatever it's called there, on a national level (Canada)), then done at the embassy. People who are from countries with The Hague agreement don't have to ent have to do the last step. Like Americans. If it makes you feel any better when I first went to Peru, they weren't in The Hague so I had to jump through all these hoops.
But again, ask at the municipality! It's ultimately up to them what they require!
Do you guys live in Peru? Or have someone there to help you with the paperwork? If you don't, make sure you allow time for all this!
Hi there,
DeleteThanks so much for your help. No, we don't live in Peru. We are trying to organise everything from afar and then bring with us.
A few questions:
1) I know I need to get my birth certificate authenticated, but do I need to get my passport authenticated as well or do I just provide a copy of my passport?
2) Canada has no idea about the single status certificate, so I would have to do the sworn affidavit. I don't need to get that authenticated, right?
3)Also, do I have them translated before or after the authentication process?
Thanks so much,
Erin
Also, what is CE? You said we need CE if we have one. What does that stand for?
DeleteThanks.
CE is a residency card for Peru. Carnet de extranjeria. You won't have that. A simple copy of your passport should be enough. Have you contacted the municipality where you're getting married to find out about specific reqs? And to see IF you can get married there if you're tourists?
ReplyDeleteIf you do the sworn affidavit at the Canadian embassy in Lima then that should be fine the way it is. Canada isn't in The Hague though. So contact them. For the translations I always got my document authenticated and then got a translation done and had that authenticated as well. It's a lot of paperwork!
I'm sorry. I feel like this isn't helping much! But all the municipalities have different reqs and the fact that you guys will be tourists is going to make it harder. When I got married in Piura, we needed witnesses who had known us for a minimum of two years.
Have you his thought about getting legally married wherever you are and just having a ceremony in Peru? If you guys need marriage certs you'd have to have someone get it from Peru. I left Peru and moved to Korea. In order to get my divorce certs from Peru I need to have someone physically go to a municipality in Peru. You can't order online or anything. It's just a total pain.
Hello sir , i am indian and my girlfreind is from peru , so i plan to go peru on tourist visa , so my question is i can merry with her there in tourist visa? and howmany day thay will register our marrige ? and after what thay give me as resident of there and in howmany days ? And after marry with her i can stay without visa in peru ???
ReplyDeleteYes, you should be able to marry on a tourist visa. You should be able to register your marriage within a few days. It will depend on the municipality. After that you will need to apply for residency and will get a resident visa that should last a minimum of a year. You can’t stay without a visa. You need some type of visa.
Delete