Remember that everything has to be done prior to the wedding ceremony, including obtaining travel visas to enter the foreign country, possibly for both the Canadian citizen and their spouses. In the case that the marriage precedes a sponsorship application into Canada, Anyvisa can assist with immigration consultation and preparing the sponsorship document package for IRCC.
Each country from the following list has its own document requirements for couples wishing to get married outside Canada. Each document is, in turn, explained separately for reference.
Most popular countries for a wedding abroad
- Copy of the passports for both bride and groom notarized and legalized in a proper way in Canada
- Birth Certificate, notarized and legalized in a proper way in Canada
- If you were born outside Canada, the Birth Certificate must have Apostille on it
- Original Statutory Declaration of Single Status legalized in a proper way in Canada
- If previously married (divorced or widowed), Divorce Certificate or Death Certificate legalized in a proper way in Canada
- Valid passports for both bride and groom
- Original long-form Birth Certificate, which contains the names of both parents legalized in a proper way in Canada
- If you were born outside Canada, the Birth Certificate must have Apostille on it
- Certificate of No Impediment to Marriage legalized in a proper way in Canada
- If previously married (divorced or widowed), original Divorce Certificate or long-form Death Certificate legalized in a proper way in Canada
- Valid passports for both bride and groom
- Original long-form Birth Certificate, which contains the names of both parents legalized in a proper way in Canada
- if you were born outside Canada, the Birth Certificate must have Apostille on it
- Original Statutory Declaration of Single Status legalized in a proper way in Canada
- if previously married (divorced or widowed), original Divorce Certificate or long-form Death Certificate legalized in a proper way in Canada
- Valid passports for both bride and groom
- Tourist card
- Advanced hotel stay
- Civil ceremony form
- For a divorced bride, who still has an ex-husband’s name - Birth Certificate and Divorce Certificate legalized in a proper way in Canada and translated into Spanish
- If a former spouse of a bride or a groom is deceased, then a copy of the Death Certificate
- Health Certificate
- Valid passports for both bride and groom
- Original long-form Birth Certificate, which contains the names of both parents legalized in a proper way in Canada
- Original Statutory Declaration of Single Status legalized in a proper way in Canada
- If previously married (divorced or widowed), original Divorce Certificate or long-form Death Certificate legalized in a proper way in Canada
Documents that may be needed in other countries
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Passport
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Legalized original long-form Birth Certificate
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Proof of Divorce or Death Certificate of former spouse(s), if applicable
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Certificate of Non-impediment to Marriage Abroad
In Canada, a certificate of non-impediment calls a statement in lieu of the certificate of non-impediment to marriage abroad. To get it, you will need to bring us a few documents, and we will send you the original statement in lieu when it is ready. We advise you to apply for the certificate of non-impediment well in advance, as due to high volumes and quarantine measures; the processing times might take up to 10-12 weeks.
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Marriage search letter
In addition to the statement in lieu or instead, some countries may require you to get the marriage search letter. This document is usually obtained from the local governmental body in the territory/province where you live, i.e. Vital Statistics or Administration Office. This search letter needs to be authenticated and legalized in Canada before you will use it abroad.
FYI: As Canada is not in the Hague Convention, the apostille here is not used. Authentication and legalization of the documents are applied instead of it. As the processing times may take more than 10-12 weeks, we suggest starting this process in advance.
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Single status affidavit
In case one of the requirements to marry abroad is to get the Single Status Affidavit (or original statutory declaration of single status), then the process is almost the same.
This document means that you swear that your current status is single. First, this process needs to start from visiting a public notary and getting your Affidavit notarized. Usually, public notaries have the required forms of this document on their files.
After that, you will bring us a notarized original, and we will process the authentication and legalization as required.
