REGISTRATION IN ITALY OF A SAME-SEX MARRIAGE CELEBRATED ABROAD
The legal system of the Republic of South Africa permits marriage between persons of the same sex. The same-sex marriage, if celebrated in South Africa by an Italian citizen, will be registered in Italy as a civil union.
Civil unions between persons of the same sex are regulated in Italy by Law No. 76 of 20 May 2016, which entered into force on 5 June 2016.
A civil union established abroad by an Italian citizen must be registered in the civil status records of the competent Municipality (Comune) in Italy.
The registration of a civil union established abroad may be requested through the competent Italian Mission abroad. The Italian Embassy or Consulate responsible for receiving the application is the one having jurisdiction over either the place of residence of the Italian citizen or the place where the civil union was established.
In order to request, through the Consulate in Cape Town, the registration in Italy of a same-sex marriage celebrated in the Republic of South Africa, the following steps must be followed:
- Obtain from the Department of Home Affairs of the Republic of South Africa the original full (or unabridged) marriage certificate. Short-form (abridged) marriage certificates are not suitable for registration purposes and therefore will not be accepted.
- Once the full marriage certificate has been obtained, it must be legalised by means of an Apostille. In the Republic of South Africa, the only authority competent to legalise a marriage certificate with an Apostille is the Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO). Instructions on how to obtain an Apostille on the original marriage certificate can be found at the following link: Legalisation Services – DIRCO .
- Once the original full marriage certificate has been apostilled, it must be translated into Italian by one of the sworn translators whose signatures are registered with the Consulate of Italy in Cape Town. Only the marriage certificate itself must be translated; the Apostille does not need to be translated.
- Together with the apostilled marriage certificate and its Italian translation, the following documents must be submitted to the Consular Office:
- a copy of a valid identity document for each spouse; and
- the application form for registration, duly completed and signed.
When completing the registration form, please note that in the section relating to the spouses’ “place of birth,” the specific city of birth must be indicated.
The documentation described above may either be delivered in person or sent by courier to the Consulate of Italy:
- For in-person submission, an appointment must be booked through the Prenot@mi portal by selecting the service “Delivery of documents”.
- For courier delivery, the following address must be indicated on the back of the envelope containing the documentation:
Consulate of Italy in Cape Town
2 Grey’s Pass
Gardens, 8001 Cape Town
Attn: Civil Status Office
PLEASE NOTE: The original documents will remain on file in the personal records of the Italian citizen maintained in the archives of the Consulate of Italy in Cape Town and will not be returned after registration. It is therefore recommended that certified copies be obtained before submitting the originals to the Consulate.
Once the Consular Office has received the request for registration in Italy of the marriage celebrated in South Africa, together with all the required documentation, it will promptly forward a certified digital copy to the competent Italian Municipality.
PLEASE NOTE: The Consular Office does not notify the applicant either of the transmission of the registration request or of the confirmation that the registration has been completed by the competent Italian Municipality. To obtain confirmation that the registration has been completed, citizens are advised to contact directly the Italian Municipality by email.
The applicant always retains the option of submitting the marriage certificate, duly apostilled and translated into Italian, directly to the competent Italian Municipality (pursuant to Article 12, paragraph 11, of Presidential Decree No. 396/2000).
For any further information, an email may be sent to: statocivile.capetown@esteri.it