We were both born in Australia and we both live in Melbourne. We are both Australian citizens and we have lived here for at least the last 2 years. We are getting married in Santorini by Greek-Orthodox church marriage. Neither of us has ever been married before and we have never legally or otherwise changed our names. The bride is Greek-Orthodox and has been baptised in a Greek Orthodox Church in Melbourne and the groom is Catholic and was christened in a Catholic Church in Melbourne. What documents do we need to get married in Greece?
The process for you is as follows:
Make sure that you have an original full Birth Certificate for each of you. The Greek Authorities will keep these originals so, if you need one for future use, get new ones issued at Births, Deaths and Marriages. If you were born in Victoria, these can be issued here:
https://www.bdm.vic.gov.au/births/get-a-birth-certificate
Make sure that you also have a Baptism or Christening Certificate for each of you. If you don’t have your original copy at home, these can be issued at the respective Melbourne Archdiocese for the relevant Churches. Ask your Parish Priest first or call your local church before you proceed.
Details for the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese in Melbourne can be found here: https://greekorthodox.org.au/services-and-sacraments/certificates/
Details for the Catholic Archdiocese in Melbourne can be found here: https://www.catholic.au/s/article/How-do-I-go-about-obtaining-a-copy-of-my-Baptism-certificate
You would normally need to calculate just under 3 months before the wedding date in order to issue the rest of your documents. Certificates of No Impediment and Celibacy Certificates are only valid in Greece for 3 months after they are issued.
Bride: To obtain your Celibacy Certificate for a wedding overseas, you should first obtain your Celibacy Certificate from your parish priest, as mentioned above, and take it to the Archdiocese office of your district. Then, the Archdiocese office, will issue your Celibacy Certificate for your wedding overseas. https://greekorthodox.org.au/church-location/melbourne/
Groom: Call the your Parish priest and request that he issues a Permission/Freedom to Marry (Celibacy) Certificate. This can be in the form of a Letter or formal document.
Find a Notary Public at http://www.notarylocator.com.au/VIC. Take with you the groom’s Baptismal Certificate and his Single Status/Freedom to Marry Certificates from the Church. Request that the Notary Public binds copies of the documents and issues a Notarial Certificate stating that these are true copies of the original documents.
Notary Publics will normally charge their own fee for this service. Please confirm fees beforehand. Take the bound Notarial Certificate with attached documents to the Department of Foreign Affairs for Apostille stamps. Also take with you your two ORIGINAL full Birth Certificates.
Before you go to DFAT, download and fill out this application – one copy for each of the bride and groom:
https://www.smartraveller.gov.au/consular-services/notarial-services/cni
Get it witnessed and take it with you. Request that they issue two Certificates of No Impediment (one for each of the bride and groom) and to apply Apostilles on each of them. Request that they also apply Apostilles on the Notarial Certificate, as well as on each of the Birth Certificates. They may also bind the Notarial Certificate attachments for an extra fee if the Notary Public has not done so in the step mentioned above.
Your certificates and stamps should cost approximately $600 at the Department of Foreign Affairs. You can confirm fees with DFAT. Please call them before you go. You may need to make an appointment before you attend. They can also accept documents by mail and get paid by credit card. Their details can be found here: http://dfat.gov.au/ABOUT-US/OUR-SERVICES/APOSTILLES-AUTHENTICATIONS-CERTIFICATES-OF-NO-IMPEDIMENT-TO-MARRIAGE/Pages/apostilles-authentications-and-certificates-of-no-impediment-to-marriage.aspx and here: http://smartraveller.gov.au/services/legalising-documents/pages/default.aspx.
When you have received your completed documents (1 Notarial Certificate with 2 attached documents, 2 Birth Certificates, and 2 Certificates of No Impediment, all with Apostilles), please fax or email them to us. Please ensure that you have sent us front and back pages of all documents (including all stamps).
We will not need to translate the bride’s Baptismal and Celibacy Certificates as they will be in Greek. However, please send those to us as well, as we will need to match spelling of names etc. with the translations.
When we have completed the translation, we will send the certified translations to you by mail. You will need original translations with a stamp and signature. The cost for translation will be $700. We will send you an invoice by email and you can make payment by direct bank deposit, PayPal payment or over the phone by credit card.
When you have received your translations, take them along with your original stamped documents to the Greek Consulate for one final Consulate tax stamp. Those will cost approximately $250 there and they only accept cash. They are normally open on Wednesdays for translation legalisations and you will need to go there at 9am to take a number. Please call and confirm hours and fees over the phone beforehand. Their details are here: http://www.mfa.gr/australia/en/consulate-general-melbourne/.
Please find more information here:
https://www.bdm.vic.gov.au/marriages-and-relationships/overseas-marriages
https://www.passports.gov.au/Pages/brochure-%20have-you-changed-your-name.aspx
Don’t forget to contact us upon your return to Australia. You will need a translation of your Greek Marriage Certificate for proof of marriage and change of surname. You can send us your Marriage Certificate and we will issue a NAATI certified Translation for you for $100.
Please remember that the above steps are only meant for specific circumstances as advised by the Greek Authorities. We are happy to help you understand your own individual circumstances and needs with advice from the relevant Greek Authorities.
Call Calliope Sofianopoulos directly on 0421 677 881.
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