Overview
Please find below the Legal requirements for wedding/marriage in South Africa as well as the documents required for marriage/wedding in South Africa
Before coming to get married in South Africa please check with the authorities in your country to see if you need an unabridged marriage certificate and an apostile for your country.
There is no legal requirement to be in South Africa before your wedding but it would be prudent to be here before to iron out any pending issues with your marriage officer.
A copy of prenuptial agreement and registration certificate must be presented if the marriage is out of community of property. Marriage in South Africa is automatically registered as being in community of property unless explicitly stated before the ceremony.
In Community of Property; means that each partner owns half of the joint estate and debt that both share. In the event the marriage collapses the each partner gets half of the joint estate and if there is debt both of them share it.
Out of Community of Property; this occurs when the couple signs an (ANC) antenuptial contract before getting married. This basically means both parties remain the sole owners of what they brought into the marriage, and if the marriage collapses then there is no sharing anything
Documents
Please note that all necessary and relevant documentation not in English must be officially translated and be accompanied with the originals.
Please send 2 copies of each of the following
- Birth certificate
- Copies of passport pages. The pages showing your photo, names, date of issue
- A letter stating your full names, addresses & occupations and also providing the same information for your parents. See Sample HERE You can use this as a blue print for yours
- An affidavit sworn before a lawyer confirming you are single and free to marry. See Sample HERE You can use this as a blue print for yours
- Passport style photographs
THE FOLLOWING DOCUMENTS FOR WEDDING/MARRIAGE IN SOUTH AFRICA ARE ONLY NEEDED IF THEY APPLY TO YOU:
If you have had your name changed you will need to show legal proof of this, and should be certified by a lawyer
If widowed - death certificate(s) of former spouse and previous marriage certificate(s)
If you are adopted - legal adoption forms
Pre-Wedding
Once you arrive you will be required to complete an affidavit – “Declaration for the Purpose of Marriage” – called a BI-31. Your marriage officer will help you with this
Wedding
There must be 2 witnesses present. On this date before the bride signs she must decide if she wants to keep her own surname, take the husband’s surname or keep both surnames.
You will be issued with an Abridged Marriage Certificate after the ceremony.
Post-Wedding
The Marriage Officer will register your marriage with the South African Department of Home Affairs and apply for your Unabridged Marriage Certificate. The certificate will then be stamped “Apostile” by the High Court of South Africa. This process takes about six months but it can also be expedited at a cost.
