Wedding bells in France?
Oh well, that’s one of the things that could happen too! You might meet a French national or a European national and fall in love. It is also possible that you eventually think of getting married to him/her. And that would lead you to plan a fun indo-french wedding !
I am going to write this post in the form of FAQs because even after writing long posts, all I receive is a bunch of repeated questions. Hoping it would be simpler for you too ! 🙂
Before you start reading
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Who am I ?
I am Priyanka and I have been living in France for the last 8 years now. I came here as an English assistant and then did M2 in French Literature at Sorbonne, and then fell in love ( the only thing which wasn’t planned), and now I am working in Monaco ( and living with Emilien – my French husband, in the south of France).
Here we go …
First things first, whatever they say, an indo-french civil wedding in France is a great idea because the paperwork in India would be too complicated. So in case you’re contemplating the two options – go for a civil wedding in France first.
What we did– We did a civil wedding in France. And then an Indian wedding followed by a church wedding in France. (Your question: Oh I am not catholic, is it still possible to get married in a Church?
My response: Yes it is. Read on! )
How to get a French civil wedding registered in India?
That was one of the concerns from my family. You cannot register a civil wedding in two different countries. If you get married in India, the wedding certificate (translated version) is 100% valid in any other country. If you get married in France, you French marriage certificate would be valid in India, if need be. So no, you do not get your civil wedding registered in India once it is registered in France.
Where to start in order to do a civil wedding in India?
Remember, no government work, in any part of the world, is going to be an easy nut to crack. So be prepared. Start your process at least THREE MONTHS before the expected wedding date. Once you have submitted all the papers, you’ll receive the response in a month’s time. The tricky part is assembling the papers required. The first thing that you need to do is to call / visit the Town Hall of the city you’d be getting married in. In our case, it was Lyon. Walk-in and ask them for a list of documents. List of documents differ from one city to the other.
Documents for your civil wedding in France –
Certificat de celibate and certificat de coutume
In some cases they’ll just ask for one of these, in some other, both the documents will be needed. I had to submit both. You will need to check with your mairie about the exact requirement.
and certificat de coutume I received from Paris. Check the website link here to know more about it – http://www.vfsglobal.com/india/france/certificat_purpose_marriage.html.
You will be required to submit certain documents in order to receive THIS particular certificate. You can go to any of the VFS centers but Paris does it in a day, I guess, that’s why we went there. Other centres are in Marseille and Lyon.
What is Certificat de célibat?
It is a document that you’ll get in India (if you live in India). Certificat de célibat is actually a singlehood certificate. Ask a notary in India, they know it. It’s written on a stamp paper.
Format of this certificate usually goes like :
“I, (name of the applicant), s/o or d/o (parents’ name) born on (D.O.B) in (place of birth), eligible to marry Indian or other national according to law. I am single (for unmarried)/ have no dependent from the previous marriage (for divorcee/widowed). ”
The notary or your Indian advocate would know how to go about it. But remember that this will take time too, and if you’re in France, you’ll have to tell your parents / relatives to do it for you and to send you the ORIGINAL copy by post. Get that copy appostilled, and translated before attaching it along with other documents. If you’re from Delhi, do not hesitate to contact http://anantranslations.com/, they are extremely efficient. I do not get any commission from them for mentioning there name 😀
Certificat de Célibat If you’re in France : https://www.eoiparis.gov.in/page/other-consular-services/
Rest of the documents for your civil wedding in France are common ones –
- Latest copy of your birth certificate – appostilled and translated.
- Passport size pictures – French Format
- Copy of your French Visa / Offi and other documents.
- and all other documents that your town hall demands.
Aiming an indo-french Church wedding in France?
I will do a separate post on Church Wedding, but remember that the process is much longer and you’d need new copies of some of the documents that you have submitted during your civil wedding. So keep calm and wait for the next post.
Let me know if you found this post helpful 🙂
Hi Priyanka, thanks for the informative post! I am currently working in Germany and living in Germany too. My fiancé is French and we will get married in France. The main issue we are facing is the certificat de coutume. I have my celibacy certificate already and my parents are taking care of the apostille and translations etc.
Do you know what one can get instead of the certificate de coutume ? I cannot get this from the Indian embassy in Paris as I am not an Indian national living in France. Also the German government does not have an equivalent of this. I will be enquiring with the Indian consulate in Germany, but let’s see. It seems we can also submit a certificate de capacité du matrimoniale instead of the certificate de coutume. Did you come across this certificate during your process ?
Cheers,
N
Hey ! Congratulations on the wedding plans ! I have heard of the document you mentioned but I would suggest that you recheck with the Marie where you’re going to get married, and explain them your situation. It’ll be better to ask your French spouse to visit the Marie and check with them personally. If the documentation is incomplete, they wouldn’t pass your dossier so it’s better if you check directly with them.
There is a group on Facebook called ‘conjoint d’indien’. Try asking your query there as well. 🙂
Hope this helps !
I am having the same situation. Could you please let us know how did you manage to get the documents: Certificate de coutume and Certificate de capacite de marriage while being in germany? Did the embassy in France provide you these certificates and what documents you have to present?
Hello,
For the certificat de capacité de mariage, also known as no impediment certificate – a certificate that justifies that you’re single. Follow the process mentioned in the post. If you have family in India, they should be able to do it too.
Apparently, for a German citizen it’s no more required to present a certificat de coutume ( I am not sure who is German in your case, or if you’re just on a residence permit).
Please refer to this document : https://allemagneenfrance.diplo.de/blob/2234782/124c12662cf3b124bf14cf8e18edb7a8/05-certificat-de-coutume-datei-data.pdf and cross check at the town hall.
Would be great if you could share details here in case you find more information. It will be helpful for others.
So cool! I am wondering, is a “French civil wedding” the same as “se pacser”?
Your blog is very appreciated!
~ From, a Canadian who’s in love with a Frenchman ^_^♥️
Hey Natasha,
French civil wedding is a proper wedding – it’s a court wedding – you sign the papers + you get a family book, also known as livret de famille.
Pacs gives you some of the rights that married couples have : joint tax declaration, right to work, etc.
‘Pacs’ is easier to dissolve compared a marriage. To get pacsé, you need to be living together for a certain number of years.
Thank you so much ! 🙂 <3
All the best to you two - FrancoCanadien couple !!
Thank you so much, I had no idea! Have a wonderful day and looking forward to your future posts 😀 😀
Hi Priyanka,
Thanks so much for all the information on this blog post. This has been extremely helpful and I contacted ananenterprises after reading your post.
I am still in the process of getting all the documents to get married to my french partner.
The problem:
I come from a small town called Cuttack in Orissa and because of covid, a lot of things are closed. My parents went to the municipality to get another birth certificate issued but since birth certificates in India are issued when you are born, it is getting a little difficult to explain the situation to them.
Do you have any tips on how to go about it?
Hi Kinjal !
Thank you ! Glad that you found the information helpful 🙂
Fo my birth certificate, I was able to download it online. Did you check if yours is available online?
What you can do is (just a suggestion, not sure if this would work) to use a “modification” motif if they are not issuing a new one.
You can add your full name or your father / mother’s full name? – this will give you the right to ask for a new copy. Generally they should give you a new one without a problem.
In my case, at the beginning, there was no name on the birth certificate. I got a notary to prepare my request on a stamp paper. They issued my new birth certificate + they told me that I can now access it online. Check on the municipality website ?
Let me know if any of this works for you !
And all the best 🙂
Hi Priyanka,
Thanks for such a prompt response.
So the name on my birth certificate is different than my actual name and we got that changed in 2018. So I have a birth certificate with modifications from 2018. I am going to try to check if this is available online. (Just checked: The online sites are down. 🙁 )
Also, Ananenterprises finally got back to me via mail. I was wondering if it is possible for you to give me an estimate of what it cost you to get the single status certificate apostilled. I am only asking because I contacted quite a few people and they gave me very different answers. Prices are going somewhere between 5000 and 15000 Rupees (50-150 Euros).
Hey Kinjal!
The price seems too much to me. Until 2018, I was charged 2000 !! I also contacted another agent and the price was the same.
Superb Enterprises Pvt. Ltd – if you want to ask them for a quotation. But this would also depend on the city. Since Anan majorly deals with Delhi, they might say yes to you and then ask another agent to do it. Google up if you have any other appostillation services near your city? It’ll be easier.
Generally, if you do not go through an agent, the process is slightly longer but won’t cost you much. I just checked, the process is online now !! https://mea.gov.in/apostille.htm – check here.
Let me know what you finally did 😉
Hey Priyanka,
I know it is a little odd to ask, but is there anyway I can contact you personally?
Dear priyanka
I am writing to you From INDIA ( Delhi) regarding the ” CERTIFICAT DE COUTUME”
My partner and I have been in a relationship for 3 years, She is french and I am Indian, we are planning to get married in France soon but I checked with a local marie and they asked me for the ” CERTIFICAT DE coutume”.. As i don’t live in france for the moment but i have a SHORT STAY VISA for 90 days and its valid till 2024.
I visit her often and we live together in France whenever I come to france. We are very serious about getting married and we love each other for a long time. It’s our long wish to get married in FRANCE.
Please can you let me know how I can get the ” CERTIFICAT DE COUTUME” . Is it possible to get it in France or is it possible to get it From INDIA ?? I don’t know what it looks like and what goes Into that certificate if I am from INDIA..
I will be very thankful to you to get a positive reply from your side very soon..
Best regards
Hi Nakul !
So, a certificat de coutume is basically an attestation certifying that you agree to the french laws pertaining to a civil wedding. It’s a mutual recognition of laws. You only get it from Indian Embassy in Paris. You get it in a day ! It’s pretty quick.
List of documents : https://www.vfsglobal.com/india/france/pdf/certificatde-coutume.pdf
I know it says ‘residence permit’ but if you’re in France you can probably call them to explain your situation.
Ask them if you can submit Attestation tenant lieu de certificat de coutume instead?- this one you can get from your notary in India.
I have known people who just walked in with maximum paperwork (on tourist visa) and still got it. I would also suggest you call the embassy in Paris to ask for a way out !! Here’s the email : [email protected] and Phone number : +33 1 76 54 24 16
Let me know if any of this works for you 🙂
thanks a lot really and i appreciate your reply and time
Hi Nakul,
I am in the same situation as you. I live in UK and my fiance is French.
Would be interested to know how you got your Certificate de Coutume?
I am currently struggling with this, I just spoke to the Indian embassy in Paris and they declined to offer this certificate on a tourist visa.
Hi Priyanka,
Your blog is quite good and i am sure a lot of people have their questions answered.
I am Indian and I recently got married to my french partner in France, the embassy of india asked me to declare my marriage at the Registrar’s office in India within a period of 1 year. Would you have any idea of how i can declare this? Do i need to go to india with my partner to declare or can in be done online?
Thanks in advance for your help.
Ansela
Hi. Thank you for your message 🙂 And, a biiiiig congratulations.
Could you tell me why the French Embassy is asking you to declare your wedding at the Registrar’s office in India? Is it for Visa purpose or something specific?
Ideally, you shouldn’t be required to register your wedding in India. Indians marrying NRIs are required to do so to protect themselves in case of cheating, etc. but I don’t think you need to register your marriage in India. In my case a simple translated certificate was sufficient for all kinds of formalities. It would be helpful to know whay the Embassy asked you to do so…
Hi Priyanka!
Excellent Article! I am embarking on the adventure of preparing the dossier for my wedding with my boyfriend who is a French National 🙂 I was also bracing for the complications behind Certificat de Celibat. But then, lo and behold I found a section on the Consular Service page in Paris which provides the Affidavit of Celibacy (Bachelorhood certificate). Apparently we just have to come in person and sign the affidavit and pay 19 Euros in Cash. Have you seen this before? Is this something new introduced to help out the poor Indian souls? It is listed under consular services.
https://www.eoiparis.gov.in/page/other-consular-services/
Hi Priyanka,
Great blog! However the information is a bit outdated. I just got a confirmation from the embassy in Paris. You can now get the certificat de celibat from the embassy on the same day of the application. Check out this page for more info: https://www.eoiparis.gov.in/page/other-consular-services/
Life should be much more easier now for us Indians who wish to marry in France 🙂
Hi Shany !!
I heard that too ! This is great news ! I will update my blog with this new information 🙂
Thank you !
Hello Priyanka,
I got married to a french citizen in August 2021. I have the marriage certificate , the translated one as well. Do i need to register the marriage in India again. Me and my husband are very confused. I read in your article that it is not required, however just want to confirm that for any legal stuff in India I dont need to register the marriage there … right?
I have also got the long stay visa – spouse of french national, I am eligible to work… right ?
Thanks & Regards
Hi Swati, Congratulations to both of you ! so yes marriages are only registered ones. You French wedding is valid in India and vice-versa. At some point, my parents were really scared that the wedding would have no proof in India. So I got my French wedding certificate translated in English. But nothing to stress, you can get the spouse name added to your Indian passport if you want.
With Vie Privée Visa you are eligible to work in France.