Simply put, paperwork sucks. Greece as many other countries is a beurocratic heaven, with lot of different documents required in order to get the marriage licence and most importantly demanding physical presence if for example you want to get married in a Church. One good thing about the pandemic was that there was a huge digitization leap forward, so now many documents can be aquired through gov.gr if you are Greek that is. Having a religious ceremony in a whitewashed chappel at the top of an island with the sun settting behind you is a unique experience and totally worth it.
Here we provide you with valuable information to start organizing your paperwork in order to get officially married in Greece. If you dont have any relatives here or dont speak the language our best advice is to hire a planner to run the paperwork. And if you are planning to elope outside of a religious setting, or having a secular ceremony the Symbolic Ceremony is the way forward. Also bear in mind that religious ceremonies can only be performed in churches and monasteries in Greece and not beaches or villas, unless there is a church there.
us citizens
Who can marry in Greece?
US citizens can marry in Greece with a civil ceremony, a religious ceremony or both. You dont need to live here to get married, but the process of getting all the paperwork done could take several days. When you come to Greece make sure you get a date stamp of entry to Greece or other E.U. state otherwise they wont let you get marry. You can stay in Greece for up to 6 months without a residence permit.
WHEN THE COUPLE DOESNT RESIDE IN GREECE:
You will need:
Passport
Marriage licence from where you reside in the US with an Apostille stamp
Official translation of the marriage license in Greek
Your Baptism certificate from the parish of Orth. Church in the USA, only if you are having a Greek Orthodox wedding.
Certificate of civil marriage if preceded by religious
For your marriage licence to be valid in Greece, there shouldnt be any declaration like: “This license only applies to Country X” or “ The wedding will take place in New York State. ” If these restrictive phrases cannot be removed, the issuing authority must amend the permit to include GREECE as one of the places where the wedding can take place. Both members will need a marriage licence, so you need 2 licences. Apostilles: You can get the apostille stamp from the Secretary of State where your marriage licence was issued, do not go to the Embassy. More information on the Apostille can be found on the webpage of the Department of State. Official translations to Greek: The marriage licence and the Apostille must be “officialy translated” to Greek. You can only get these translations done in your closest Greek embassy in the US (NY., WA, SF, L.A., ATL, CHI, MD) or in Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Ipourgeio Exoterikon) in Athens. Religious ceremonies in Greece The priest in Greece will ask for the wedding permitt (adeia gamou) For every church you will need to contact the local representatives, as they differ on what they need from you. For more information contact directly the churches: Orthodox wedding in Greece : The priest of the Church you want to get married to or Archdiocese of Athens tel. +302103352322 , Ε-mail: mardi@iaath.gr Protestant wedding in Greece: American Protestant Church of St.Andrew tel. +302106452583, http://www.standrewsgreece.com/ Romancatholic wedding in Greece: Saint Dionysios Aeropagitus Roman Catholic Cathedral tel. +302103623603, http://www.cathecclesia.gr/. Jewish weddings in Greece: Jewish Community, tel. +302103252875 /2823 /2773, www.athjcom.gr, info@athjcom.gr. For couples who will have a civil as well as a religious wedding. The couple must receive two sets of the above documents to organize both the civil and the religious wedding. One set will be given to the town hall, as explained above. The other set will be given to the priest. Wedding registry Weddings are not official until they get registered, so do not forget to register your wedding after you get married. You cannot register your wedding in the American Embassy in Athens. You are obliged to register them in the “Lixiarheio” (Vital Statistics Office) of the town you got married instead. All weddings civil or religious, need to be registered in the next 40 days from the date or the wedding. If you are late you can still register but you pay a small fine. Weddings can be registered by the couple of by a legal representative. Legal considerations
Both civil and religious weddings are considered legal in Greece. You do not have to do a civil wedding.
According to US law all weddings that are done in Greece according to local law are considered legal.
A US citizen does not get Greek citizenship or loses american citizenship if he married a Greek and vice versa.
Greece does not recognise weddings between the Christian faith and other religions.
*You will need to contact the local town hall in the area where you want to get married in order to learn some specifications
eu nationals
Required documents
The following are required of foreigners applying for a marriage licence in Greece (the bride and groom must each submit these documents):
A passport or European Id
An original or certified copy of the applicant's birth certificate, along with an official translation into Greek. The birth certificate should have an Apostille stamp (see below)
If either has been married before, a death certificate or final divorce decree, along with an official translation into Greek
A Certificate of No Impediment (CNI), which must be completed in English and Greek and notarised at the applicable Embassy
A copy of the newspaper in which the wedding notices were published
Application fee
Two sets of the above documents are required if both civil and religious ceremonies are to be performed. One set is for the town hall and the other for the priest.
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