What is Marriage Certificate Attestation?

A marriage certificate attestation is a formal document specifying and validating that twoperson got married to each other and such marriage is backed by the law of their home country. It is a legally recognized document. A marriage certificate falls under the category of Non-Academic documents and thus all the guidelines of non-academic document attestation is followed while attestation of marriage certificate. A certified marriage document attestation is very often required in international circumstances, where you might want to apply for a family visa or in cases where you want to migrate to a foreign country along with your spouse. When you are planning to move your base to any foreign country along with your family a marriage certificate attestation is required by the foreign country. A marriage certificate is legalized by the home country i.e India and this certified document is provided to the embassy of the country to which you are planning to migrate along with your family.

Circumstances when you will require a marriage certificate attestation: There may be a number of scenarios where the foreign country might want your marriage certificate to be attested and validated by your home country. However, the most common scenarios are :

Applying for a family visa –

You are required to get your marriage certificate attested in your home country i.e India when you are applying for a family visa. You cannot apply for a family visa until and unless your marriage certificate is not attested by the concerned authorities.

Applying for children’s passport –

In case if you are planning to move abroad, but your children does not have a passport, in that case you will require marriage certificate attestation and on behalf of this, marriage certificate attestation you can apply for your children passport.

Relocating your base or migrating abroad with your family –

A marriage certificate attestation is required when you are planning to move your base to a foreign country.

This marriage certificate attestation secures the rights of people dependent on you. In India the marriage certificate attestation is a multi-level process and often requires due-diligence while dealing with such a crucial task at hand. The steps in marriage certificate attestation are as follows:

Attestation by way of Notary –

It is the first and the foremost step in getting your marriage certificate and document attested. Notary Attestation could be accomplished from the local notary or public courts.

Attestation by ministry of Home Affairs –

The second step is getting the marriage certificate attested by the Ministry of Home Affairs. All the documents relating to personal affairs are handled by the Ministry of Home Affairs in India.

Attestation by Sub-Divisional magistrate - It is a variant authority for ministry of Home affairs

Affixing of stamp by Ministry of External Affairs – When the marriage certificate is attested by all the above institutions, the Ministry of External Affairs affix its stamp symbolizing that the marriage certificate is in consonance with the law of the country and the individual is good to go.

Attestation by Embassy of the Foreign country – The final process in marriage certificate attestation is the attestation by the embassy of the foreign country. Once the embassy is satisfied with the authenticity of the marriage certificate and its attestation it will put its seal on the marriage certificate, approving the legality and authenticity.