How to Register a Marriage

 

THE FOLLOWING NOTES ARE NOT COMPREHENSIVE AND ARE INTENDED ONLY AS A GUIDE. FURTHER ADVICE SHOULD BE SOUGHT FROM THE OFFICE OF THE NOTARY PUBLIC OR A LAWYER.

The onus of ensuring that you are free to contract a marriage rests with the parties themselves. Consular Officers cannot issue any document, which will facilitate a marriage, which will not be valid in Britain. Additional Documentation may be requested in order to satisfy the Consular Officer to issue a Statutory Declaration.

BRITISH COUPLES

British couples wishing to marry in Cairo have to satisfy the Egyptian authorities that they are free to marry. They should, therefore, first come to the Consular Section of the Embassy in Cairo to make statutory declarations, before a consular officer, that they are free to marry. Passports need to be shown as proof of identity together with documentary evidence of the termination of any former marriage(s). For example, they should bring divorce (decree absolute) certificates and change of name Deed or, if appropriate the death certificate of a deceased spouse   see also further advice below. PLEASE NOTE ORIGINAL DOCUMENTS MUST BE PRODUCED: PHOTOCOPIES CAN NOT BE ACCEPTED. Consular fees no 3 (Sterling £ 36) and 5 (Sterling £ 53) are payable in Egyptian Pounds at the current rate of exchange for each declaration.

Applications to be handed during our opening hours Sunday-Thursday from 09:00 to 13:00hrs
Appointments for collection will be scheduled on Wednesdays between 09:00hrs to 12:00 hrs

IN LINE WITH EGYPTIAN REGULATION
PLEASE NOTE THAT A STATUTORY DECLARATION IS ONLY VALID FOR ONE MONTH FROM THE DATE OF ISSUE.

Statutory declarations next have to be taken to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs at Ahmed Orabi street, Mohandessin, Giza (Tel:02 33033450), for the consular officer's signature and stamp to be legalised (the fee is approximately 22 Egyptian pounds per document). Once this has been done, the couple can go to the Notary Public's Office at Ministry of Justice Annex, Lazoghly Square, 4th Floor, Cairo, for a civil marriage. They will need to take with them their passports, 5 photographs each (size 4x6), and evidence of termination of any previous marriage or change of name (as described in the preceding paragraph), 2 male witnesses (with proof of identity) and an interpreter (the proceedings will be conducted in Arabic). Please note that the Notary Public's Office will require 2 photocopies of all documents provided.

The above proceedings may normally be completed within 2 or 3 working days (i.e. not Fridays or Saturdays or public holidays). There is no residency requirement but the parties must have valid immigration conditions in their passports.

MARRYING AN EGYPTIAN/NON BRITISH MAN OR WOMAN

When a British citizen wishes to marry an Egyptian man or woman, only the British party needs to make a statutory declaration at the Embassy. The other party needs to show that they are not in any excising marriage: i.e. are single, widowed or divorced. In Egypt there are varying degrees or types of divorce. The only one acceptable to a consular officer is an irrevocable divorce. Where either party has been married more than once they must show termination of each marriage. Otherwise, the procedures are the same. Both parties are required to present their passports. The Egyptian party will also need to present his/her current Egyptian ID card.

DIVORCED OR WIDOWED WOMEN

Under Egyptian law, a divorced or widowed woman - of whatever religion or nationality   must observe a period of waiting (known as the Eddah) before she may marry again. Hence, a Notary Public, before performing a civil marriage, is required to satisfy himself that a period of at least 3 months has elapsed in the case of a divorced woman since the termination of the previous marriage. In the case of a pregnant divorcee, however, the period is terminated by the birth of the child. A widow wishing to marry again must observe a minimum period of waiting of 4 months and 10 days.

NOTE: Notary Public Offices in Egypt may refuse to accept the validity of a divorce between a woman and a Muslim man when the marriage has been terminated by a non Muslim authority, e.g. a British court. Those affected should seek legal advice.

VALIDITY OF FOREIGN LAW MARRIAGES

The validity under English law of foreign law marriages is not a matter on which the Embassy can give authoritative advice: it is a matter for British courts to decide. Should you wish further advice on this point, or any other point of law, a solicitor should be consulted.

DEPOSIT OF FOREIGN LAW MARRIAGE CERTIFICATES

Once the Egyptian marriage has taken place, the  original Arabic marriage certificate and an English translation (with no corrections) may be deposited with the Embassy by the British party or parties and, on payment of Consular Fee No 33 (Sterling £ 36), the documents are forwarded to the Registrar General in the United Kingdom so that certified copies can subsequently be obtained in the United Kingdom. It should be clearly understood that there is no legal obligation to have a marriage recorded in the United Kingdom in this manner. The parties may take advantage of these facilities if they consider that it would serve some useful purpose to have their marriage recorded in the United Kingdom, but neither the formal nor the essential validity in English law of a marriage contracted in a foreign country is in any way affected by its having been, or not having been, thus recorded.

CONSULAR FEES

All Consular Fees are collected in Egyptian currency at the prevailing Consular Rate of Exchange.

OPENING HOURS 

Public counter opening hours for the Consular Section are from Sunday to Thursday 09:00 hrs to 13:00 hrs, expect embassy holidays. The counter will be open from 13:00 to 14:00 for passport collections only. The Consular Team will be available to answer telephone enquiries from Sunday to Thursday, 09:00hrs to 14:00hrs.

In case of emergencies, such as arrest, serious illness, accident or death outside of working hours please call 002 02 2791 6000 and ask for the duty officer.

 

How to Register a Birth

 

Registration of your child's birth is not obligatory if he or she has British citizenship. However we do recommend registration of the birth, as this will provide your child with proof that he or she is a British citizen and will act as evidence when applying for a British passport.

A consular birth certificate is the only Birth Certificate issued by the British Government that states the holder is a British Citizen and under which section of the relevant Nationality Act. Please note similar Birth Certificates issued in the United Kingdom do not have these features. A Birth Certificate in the United Kingdom does not confer on its holder British Nationality.

A child may be a British citizen by birth (for example by being born in the UK of a British Citizen or settled parents) or by descent (for example one of the parents was born in the UK and the child was born overseas after 1 January 1983) regardless of Consular birth registration. The staff at the Consular Section will be able to tell you whether or not your child is a British citizen and whether that is by birth or by descent.

Nationality and Consular Registration Section in Consular Directorate at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) in London, operates a public enquiry line, 00 44 (0)20 7008 0186, which is open 10 am - 12 pm (UK time) Monday to Thursday.  It offers advice to members of the public in the United Kingdom on how they can register births and deaths for British nationals that occur overseas.  Advice is also given to those wishing to marry or enter into a civil partnership overseas and for those trying to trace a foreign document (such as a birth/marriage/death certificate).

Information relating to these services, including application forms, can be found on the FCO website at www.fco.gov.uk/bmd


Documents and fees required:

1. Completed birth application form  (DOC, 23.5 KB)

2. Parents birth certificate (in the case of the British parent, we need to see the full long version)

3. Parents passports

4. The parent's marriage certificate

5. The child's Egyptian birth certificate issued by the Ministry of Health

6. Parents' Registration/Naturalisation certificate, where applicable

7. Consular fees and the fee for the certified copy of the entry in the Birth Register.

All these documents must be original documents, not photocopies. If one or more of the documents is not in English, you should provide a correct translation from the Embassy's list of official translators