# Marriage between SA and foreign national



## Klipspringer (Feb 21, 2015)

My Italian partner and I have decided to get married and have some questions about the procedures:

1) Which is a good Home Affairs office in Cape Town or surrounds to go for the marriage interview? What do we need for this interview and what kind of questions are asked/ what is the duration of the interview?

2) Does it help to get married at Home Affairs to make sure everything is registered on the system quickly or are they more likely rather to botch things up? 

3) Can the handwritten marriage certificate be used to apply for a spousal visa, or do we need to wait for an abridged/unabridged typed copy? 

4) Does anybody happen to know how long it will take to get the letter of no impediment and unabridged birth certificate from the Italian consulate?


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## Klipspringer (Feb 21, 2015)

Okay scrap the last question, I called the consulate and got the answers I needed.


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## Fynbos (Jan 8, 2015)

Hi Klipspringer,

1) In order for a foreigner to get married in SA (Cape Town), they have to get a letter from the home country confirming that they are allowed to get married and that they are not currently married (Non impediment). You then have to go to Home Affairs (56 Barrack St) and make an appointment for an interview. At the interview, they will ask several questions to determine whether the relationship is genuine or one of convenience. The questions can only be in respect of their relationship, e.g. duration of the relationship etc. 

If all goes well, you will be issued with a document allowing you to legally marry in SA.


2) It doesn't make a difference whether you get married at DHA or not. DHA will give you permission to get married anywhere in SA, and it's unlikely to affect processing times. 

3) Once it is in the system, a printed version of the marriage certificate should become available immediately, or in a few days at most. Remember that this handwritten document will be issued by the marriage officer on the day of the wedding. If you decide to get married at DHA, then they will explain the details of the entire process to you. In terms of applying for the visa, the handwritten certificate should suffice, however the printed version is issued soon after, so I'd recommend waiting for that before applying, just for safe measure. 

Hope that helps somewhat.


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## Klipspringer (Feb 21, 2015)

Fynbos said:


> Hi Klipspringer,
> 
> 1) In order for a foreigner to get married in SA (Cape Town), they have to get a letter from the home country confirming that they are allowed to get married and that they are not currently married (Non impediment). You then have to go to Home Affairs (56 Barrack St) and make an appointment for an interview. At the interview, they will ask several questions to determine whether the relationship is genuine or one of convenience. The questions can only be in respect of their relationship, e.g. duration of the relationship etc.


Thank you, Fynbos. Is it important to have the letter of non impediment and the unabridged birth certificate when we go just to make the appointment, or do we first need it at the interview or only at the marriage itself? My partner still needs to get one of the documents and I thought maybe we can go make the appointment in the meantime? I called the DHA in CT and all the lady would tell me was that we needed to make the appointment in person - she didn't say to bring anything along.


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## Fynbos (Jan 8, 2015)

Technically, all that is required to book the interview would be the South African citizen's ID book, and the foreign national's passport. Here is a helpful resource that might be of use to you: Questions about Marriage in South Africa | Wedding Checklist | Should you have additional questions, then feel free to contact us.


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## ernal (Jul 16, 2014)

why do u need a birth certificate for marriage??? the non impediment letter is from your home country and now mostly required, you might also have to both do an affivdaft and proof the relationship exists in good fate and in extreme cases you might be asked for one of the parent of the SA citizen be present for the pre-marriage interview, until such a time the immigration officer clears u after the pre-marriage interview and issue a letter of approval then u can book a date. Congrats in advance


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## Klipspringer (Feb 21, 2015)

ernal said:


> why do u need a birth certificate for marriage??? the non impediment letter is from your home country and now mostly required, you might also have to both do an affivdaft and proof the relationship exists in good fate and in extreme cases you might be asked for one of the parent of the SA citizen be present for the pre-marriage interview, until such a time the immigration officer clears u after the pre-marriage interview and issue a letter of approval then u can book a date. Congrats in advance


Thank you, ernal. I have read in several places that an unabridged birth certificate is needed for the foreign spouse, is this not the case? Or maybe it's needed for the spousal visa? I sincerely hope they're not going to be asking for my mother to attend the interview. She has terminal cancer and only ever leaves the house for hospital visits. Father has been deceased for years. No siblings either. What constitutes proof of the relationship - something like photos or flights from when I went to visit him in Italy? Or proof that we live together now?


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## ernal (Jul 16, 2014)

no need for any unabridged birth certificate u an adult and u have an identiity document, in most cases just one relative from the sa spouse or any of your own friend if requested, they just want to know the marriage is real and not your spouse trying to do you a favor cos of the high volume of paper marriages and people claiming to say someone used their id to get married without their knowledge.

the immigration officer interviews you both separately ask when did u meet, how, your date of birth just simple question you should know about each other if you real, nothing to worry it last less than 10 mints and she or he issues you a letter of good faith and u can proceed and choose a date for your marriage on marriage day u need 2 witnesses with a sa i.d to sign under the witness , a ring isn't a must. the whole process is less than 15mins and u get issued a marriage certificate same day to few days later


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## zanzan (Mar 21, 2017)

Hi there, do you have to make the appointment in person or can it be done by a third party/telephone? How long do you need to wait for the interview once applied?


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