Are you required to submit the certificate of freedom to marry from India?

Before knowing where you get it from, let’s go through its definition.

What is a Certificate of Freedom to Marry?

Many-a-times called Single Status Certificate/ Certificate of No Impediment/ Certificate de Coutume/ Certificate of Nulla Osta/ Bachelorhood Certificate, the certificate of freedom to marry is a legal declaration stating the bachelorhood of its bearer.

Simply put, it is a valid declaration of NRIs from the country of origin about your freedom to marry.

What should you know to get this certificate from India?

Almost all European countries and a few Asian countries mandate that the marriage applicants should provide a valid proof of their bachelorhood before marriage. However, the diversity of religion doesn’t allow India to come with such kind of provision in the country. This is why there is no formal setup of a competent authority that can issue it.

• Who does issue this certificate in India?

But, the foreign countries mandate to provide it before solemnizing marriage. Then only, the couple can exchange woos. While keeping this requirement into account, this authority is assigned to the court magistrate. It is segmented as a civil service. Therefore, the court can issue it.

Drill into head that the Municipal Corporation is not the right authority to administer this request.

• Single Status Affidavits:

A single status affidavit defines a sworn document wherein an affiant (the applicant/would-be spouse) declares in writing that he/she belongs to a specific location. Also, the citizenship of a particular country should also be defined there. In simple words, you being an affiant should put your identity, location, parents and citizenship on the affidavit. These details should follow your status as a bachelor/ married/ divorced/ widowed.

• Notarize

Sometimes called the ‘Notarial Act’, the process of notarization is a practice of certifying, attesting and authenticating any instrument. This instrument can be any banking transaction or a court document. The certificate of freedom to marry is a court document. So, it may require translation and verification from one language to another. Let’s say, an NRI is going to solemnize marriage with a French citizen. In this case, this certificate should be translated into French as per its immigration norms.

The notarizing or attesting of unmarried certificate is done to prevent fraud and assure spouses that the document is voluntarily signed. He/she has willingly written. Eventually, the notary public, a competent authority, verifies it while putting his stamp.

• Supporting Documents: An NRI should have these documents to support your application for this affidavit:

1. ID proof
2. Address proof
3. Passport/Visa
4. Birth Proof
5. Parents or witness identity proof
6. Decree absolute, if divorced
7. Death certificate, if widowed

Steps to get this certificate from India:

1. Visit the court or send your Power of Attorney (PoA) on your behalf.
2. Purchase a stamp paper to write the oath.
3. Get it typed by the notary public and then, get the affidavit attested.
4. The notary public will check its authenticity and you need to sign on it before him.
5. Visit the magistrate to get this certificate attested.
6. Show all supporting documents that you come along with to verify.
7. Afterwards, you have to visit the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) for attestation from HRD.
8. Pay requisite fee.
9. You have to verify it with the Indian Embassy.
10. Lastly, the embassy of the resident country will need it to authenticate your status.

These steps will help you get the certificate sans any hassle. If you have a digilocker, you can send a request to your relative or PoA to upload this no marriage certificate from India in your account. Subsequently, you can download its soft copy from that digital locker.