# Getting US marriage recorded



## ksjazzguitar (Dec 22, 2010)

Hello,

I'm guessing this is the best place to ask.

I am a US citizen and my wife just got her Italian passport. We were married years ago in the US. We are moving to Spain. We just talked to a lawyer and she said that it will be easier (for me) if Italy if our marriage is recorded in Italy.

How do we know if it is? When we did my wife's juri sanguinis paperwork, we included our marriage certificate. My surname is listed on page 4 of her passport, as "spouse's surname". And her AIRE page lists me under family, labeling me "husband".

Does that mean that the marriage has been recognized/recorded? How do we get that in document form?

If that is not evidence that it is recognized, how might we go about doing that?

Regards,
Kevin Smith


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## NickZ (Jun 26, 2009)

Sounds like it is. 

If you've been married long enough I'd just apply for your citizenship. For most people no reason not to.


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## Bevdeforges (Nov 16, 2007)

Rather than talking to a lawyer, I'd check the website of the Italian embassy or consulate closest to where you live. In France, you do need to "transcribe" a foreign marriage to the French partner's birth record because that's how they record "life events" here (also divorce, birth of a child with a claim on French citizenship by birth, etc.). If Italy does something like this, then yes, you should register the marriage in Italy.

However, by international treaty and convention, most countries recognize marriages that take place elsewhere. For France, transcribing the marriage is basically a means of simplifying your life if you ever return to France or want French civil documents that relate to the documented event.


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## NickZ (Jun 26, 2009)

Bev he has already shown it's there.

The AIRE is the international equivalent of the local Italian version. Similar to what would happen in a French town records.




ksjazzguitar said:


> My surname is listed on page 4 of her passport, as "spouse's surname". And her AIRE page lists me under family, labeling me "husband".


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## Bevdeforges (Nov 16, 2007)

NickZ said:


> Bev he has already shown it's there.
> 
> The AIRE is the international equivalent of the local Italian version. Similar to what would happen in a French town records.


Then it sounds like it's done and dusted. Boy I hate it when lawyers try to make work (and fees) for themselves by insisting on these sorts of things.


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## ksjazzguitar (Dec 22, 2010)

> However, by international treaty and convention, most countries recognize marriages that take place elsewhere


Yes, but it a matter of time and effort. To get a marriage certificate from the US Virigin Islands, then send it back to get apostilled, then get it to us in Spain, and have it translated...

We may end up having to do that, but I wanted to see if the easier option was already done.



> Then it sounds like it's done and dusted.


Perhaps, I just don't know how to know for sure and what we'd need to prove that.



> Boy I hate it when lawyers try to make work (and fees) for themselves by insisting on these sorts of things.


She is from a respected firm that deals with expats and was very helpful. I don't think she was making work. I was asking about getting the marriage certificate apostilled and translated and she said it would be easier if it is recorded in Italy - already recorded by an EU country, the country of my wife's passport. And I'm just wondering if it's already recorded and how I could know. I mean, yeah, she did offer to help us with the paperwork when she landed and is probably charging too much, but when you consider that she will go with us to file the paperwork, make sure everything is order and we don't screw it up... Yeah, I'm mostly a DIY guy, but we don't want to screw up our initial paperwork. It's probably worth the money so we don't have as much stress. But she was very helpful and gave us all the information, including some things that we hadn't known.


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## NickZ (Jun 26, 2009)

You can ask the consulate for a copy of the certificate. But these days with Covid who knows how long it could take.






Trascrizione nascita, matrimonio, morte


Trascrizione nascita, matrimonio, morte




constoronto.esteri.it





That describes getting the documents into the system but like I said it's obvious they already are.


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## Italia-Mx (Jan 14, 2009)

If your wife has been recognized as an Italian citizen by blood (jure sanguinis) her birth certificate, marriage certificate and the birth certificates of any of her natural children (if minors) are recorded with the comune. There is no individual information for the spouse filed with the comune until the spouse becomes a naturalized Italian citizen through marriage. This can take up to three years or more from the date the Italian citizen sponsors the spouse for citizenship.

Consulates: Once an applicant has been recognized as an Italian citizen through a consulate the only certificate the consulate issues is the Italian passport. Select documents (but not all) used for the application are forwarded by the consulate first to the Minister of the Interior in Rome and then to the ancestral comune for transcription. The comune will then issue an Italian birth certificate for the newly recognized citizen but there is no Italian marriage certificate issued if the marriage did not take place in Italy.


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## ksjazzguitar (Dec 22, 2010)

Italia-Mx said:


> If your wife has been recognized as an Italian citizen by blood (jure sanguinis) her birth certificate, marriage certificate and the birth certificates of any of her natural children (if minors) are recorded with the comune. ...


That does seem to be the case. There is a procedure on the consulate's site to recognize marriages outside of Italy, but the woman at the consulate confirmed what you are saying, that those documents (including the marriage certificate) were sent to the commune to be recorded.

We'll have to check with our lawyer in Spain to see what documentation they need from Italy to verify this. Or see if it's 2021 and they can just look this up since they're all in the EU club.

But I'm on to the next step. Thanks for everyone's input.


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## Italia-Mx (Jan 14, 2009)

If your wife never lived in Italy prior to obtaining her Italian passport and does not plan to establish residency in Italy before arriving to live in Spain, there is nothing that Spain can obtain from your wife's ancestral comune in Italy. As a couple, you will be allowed to establish residency in Spain because your wife has an Italian passport but you will have to use your American documents to prove your marriage and that you have the right to also live in Spain as long as your wife is there and you have not become separated. Any vetting required by Spain will be with American authorities because your wife's information is listed in the AIRE database in the United States. The AIRE database is a list of Italian citizens living outside of Italy. You may both also be required to provide proof of health insurance prior to being added to the Spanish National Health plan. If you were establishing residence in Italy instead, only the non-Italian spouse would need proof of health insurance as Italian citizens are immediately covered.


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## modicasa (May 29, 2021)

I would get in touch with the comune where your wife is inscribed in the AIRE. If you already provided a translated and apostilled marriage certficate then they might have done it. If not, thats what you will have to hand over. Its their job should you need a certificate. - so I would ask the stato civile of the comune to seee if your marriage is already transcribed and if so ask for a copy or estratto


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## Italia-Mx (Jan 14, 2009)

I disagree. The wife is an Italian citizen from birth. Her Italian citizenship and right to live in the European Union has nothing to do with her subsequent marriage to an American citizen. Only her birth certificate is inscribed in the ancestral comune. The comune would have been sent a simple copy only of the translated marriage certificate (the original translated and apostilled copy is kept by the consulate) and this would not be inscribed by the comune until they as a couple establish residency in that comune or in another comune in Italy. Therefore, their American marriage certificate will be inscribed in the comune in Spain when they establish residency in Spain. Most likely Spain will ask for a Spanish translation of that document and would not be interested in an Italian translation. The only information Spain will be able to obtain from the ancestral comune in Italy is the birth information of the Italian citizen.


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## modicasa (May 29, 2021)

She is in the AIRE and therefore is inscribed in that register in her nominated comune - along with her details.


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## NickZ (Jun 26, 2009)

It's fairly obvious the OP stato civile is registered.


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