Registration in another city: what you need to know

Russian citizens are increasingly beginning to enter into international family unions, and registering a marriage with a foreign citizen in Moscow is becoming more relevant every year. We are talking about foreigners from near and far abroad; if spouses have different citizenships, in any case they will face some difficulties when formalizing the relationship. Let's consider what difficulties we are talking about, into what categories and by what criteria the law divides foreigners, and why it is convenient to register a marriage with a foreigner in Moscow.

General information about marriages with foreign citizens

Russian laws allow citizens of the Russian Federation to formalize marriages with foreigners living or staying in Russia on a general basis, in the manner prescribed by Chapter 3 of the Family Code (hereinafter referred to as the FC). That is, such marriages are always concluded according to Russian laws. But, at the same time, according to Art. 156 of the Family Code, a foreigner is subject to those conditions for marriage that are determined by the legislation of the country of his citizenship.

Most often this concerns marriageable age. For example, if in Russia it is 18 years (or 16, if there are good reasons), then in China it is 20/22 years for women and men, respectively. That is, when marrying a Russian woman and a Chinese man in Moscow, the groom cannot be younger than 22 years old, although for Russians marriage is acceptable from 18 years of age.

If the future spouse is stateless, the laws of the country of permanent residence apply to him.

Otherwise, registering a marriage in Moscow with a citizen of Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Belarus or any country follows the general rules: those getting married submit an application together, come to the registry office together and receive a marriage certificate.

Why is it convenient to marry a foreigner in Moscow?

Registration of a marital relationship with a citizen of a foreign state often does not occur without the participation of diplomatic missions.

• Firstly, they can certify all the necessary documents required for the marriage procedure, if they are drawn up in a foreign language.
• Secondly, at the embassy or consulate you can obtain documents confirming the fulfillment of the condition of marriageable age (and other conditions for marriage, if they are established by foreign law).

And since most diplomatic missions are located in the capital, it is most reasonable to register a marriage with a foreigner in Moscow.

Of course, marriage can be registered not only in Moscow registry offices, but also in the diplomatic missions of the country whose citizenship the foreigner has. However, in this case, the marriage union will be concluded according to the laws of a foreign state.

Another plus is qualified legal support from migration lawyers. The capital is the easiest place to find such specialists, especially when it comes to difficult situations.

Situations preventing registration

Problems with registration outside the place of registration are excluded. But there are situations on the basis of which you can receive an official refusal. All of them are registered in the Civil Code. It can be:

• one of the newlyweds is already married;
• marriage to an incapacitated person;
• one of the newlyweds is in a state of alcoholic or drug intoxication;
• people getting married are close relatives.

The situations are not so much prohibited by law as they provide for the protection of moral and ethical standards. Marriages between close relatives are no exception in recent times. This is a dangerous situation that increases the risk of having defective offspring.

Package of necessary documents

Documents for registering a marriage with a foreigner in Moscow are strictly defined in clause 31 of the Administrative Regulations, approved. by order of the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation No. 298 of December 29, 2017. This package includes:

• joint application of an international couple in form No. 7, approved. Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation No. 1274 of October 13, 1998. The form can be obtained from the registry office at the place of registration or downloaded online and filled out in advance;
• identification documents of the applicants (passport, residence permit in the Russian Federation, stateless person’s certificate, etc.);
• documents confirming the legality of stay in the Russian Federation, for example a visa;
• certificate of divorce, if any of the applicants was already married;
• a document on marital status issued by a foreign state in whose territory the foreigner permanently resides;
• a document confirming the fulfillment of the conditions for marriage in accordance with the legislation of the country of origin.

All documents drawn up in a foreign language must be translated into Russian and apostilled. For citizens of neighboring countries, a notarized translation is sufficient.

Documentation

Submitting an application along with a package of documents is the first important step in the entire process of officially registering a marriage. This stage can be passed by one of the partners, for example, when the second lives in another place and is unable to come. However, this right must be notarized. The main documents include:

• passports of both partners;
• receipt of paid state duty;
• certificate of divorce from a previous marriage;
• written permission from parents if the newlyweds are under 18 years old.

It is important that all documents are valid and up to date. This applies to passports, which must be renewed at a certain age.

The application is a certificate of form number 7. This document contains a mandatory item that must be specified - place of residence.

If the relationship is formalized in another city, you should indicate your current place of residence (that is, where you currently live). If there is no registration at all, then write that there is no specific dwelling.

It is important to fill out the application correctly. The table shows the nuances that you need to pay attention to:

A sample application to register a marriage without registration is presented below:

Filled-in form:

In which registry offices are they registered?

The answer to the question of where marriages with foreigners are registered in Moscow depends on the foreigner’s country of origin. From this point of view, the capital authorities divide foreign citizens into two categories:

• people from the CIS countries;
• people from any other countries.

In the first case, the newlyweds can apply to any capital registry office or Wedding Palace, except for the Zamoskvoretsky and Lublin departments - they have no right to refuse them. Addresses, contacts and other features of certain departments can be found here.

Which country would you rather live in? ⚡ Take the test in 2 minutes

In the second case it is more difficult. Registry offices that register marriages with foreigners in Moscow, according to information from the Moscow City Hall, are few:

1. Wedding Palace No. 4. Contact phone: 8 (495) 777-77-77. Location address: 127015, Moscow, Northern Administrative District, Butyrskaya street, building 17. Working hours: Tuesday-Saturday from 9.00 to 18.00. Closed: Sunday, Monday.
2. Shipilovsky Civil Registry Office department. Contact number. Location address: 115551, Moscow, Shipilovsky proezd, building 27. Opening hours: Tuesday-Saturday from 9.00 to 18.00. Closed: Sunday, Monday. Equipped with an electronic queue system.

We draw the attention of readers that, in accordance with the information on the website of the capital's mayor's office, in the III-IV quarters of 2021, repair work is planned at Wedding Palace No. 4, during which registration of marriages will not be carried out. In this regard, the acceptance of applications from future married couples was suspended from August until the end of 2021.

Thus, the Moscow registry offices, where a marriage with a foreigner is registered, until the beginning of 2021 is limited to only one Shipilovsky department.

In addition, as mentioned above, a marriage with a foreigner can be concluded in the diplomatic mission of the country whose citizenship the foreigner has. The addresses and contact details of embassies and consulates located in the capital can be found here.

Terms and cost of registering a marriage with a foreign citizen

As already mentioned, registration of marriage with citizens of other states is carried out by Russian registry offices in the general manner established by family law. This also applies to registration deadlines.

Thus, in accordance with clause 13 of the Administrative Regulations, marriage registration is carried out after a month from the moment the couple submits a joint application. If there are good reasons, this period can be reduced (signing is carried out in less than a month) or, conversely, increased, but not more than 1 month (signing is carried out 2 months after submitting the application).

However, on the website of the capital's mayor's office there is slightly different information. According to it, Moscow registry offices can carry out registration within a maximum of 6 months from the date of filing a joint application. The same rule applies to couples with foreigners.

A state fee of 350 rubles is charged for registering a marriage.

In addition, the registry office may bill for ceremony services, off-site ceremony, and other department services in accordance with local rates.

Procedure

The procedure for submitting an application to another city is no different from entering into an official marriage outside your place of registration. The algorithm of actions is as follows:

1. Choose a place to get married. You can view the premises on the official website of the Civil Registry Office.
2. Select the date when the newlyweds want to get married.
3. Select a method for submitting an application. This can be done in person, by mail or online.
4. Pay the state fee of 350 rubles and keep the receipt.
5. At the appointed time, go to the registry office and, having filled out an application, give it along with a package of documents.
6. A month later, visit the registry office again and officially sign.

An important condition is the presence of a divorce document from a previous marriage. It happens that for some reason it is missing (it was lost), and the couple is in another region of the country. Then you should make a request to the registry office of another city to register your first marriage. In response, you will receive a certificate of form 19. An example is presented below:

The marriage is registered within a month after filing the application. The maximum waiting period is 2 months. It may be extended or shortened for valid reasons. It is possible to register a marriage on the day of filing the application for the following reasons:

• illness of one of the partners or obvious reasons for the threat to his life;
• pregnancy of the bride or birth of a baby;
• other reasons, documented.

You can change the wedding date, but not by more than one month.

The procedure for divorce from a foreigner

In accordance with Art. 160 of the IC, the dissolution of an international marriage on Russian territory is carried out in accordance with national legislation, in particular, Chapter 4 of the IC.

According to Art. 18 SK, you can get a divorce in two ways:

• through the registry office, with mutual consent to divorce and provided there are no minor children. These conditions may be ignored if the spouse is missing, sentenced to imprisonment for more than three years, or is incapacitated;
• in court, if the spouses have minor children, there is no mutual consent to divorce, or one of them avoids applying to the registry office for an extrajudicial divorce.

Unlike cases of registration of marital relations, a divorce from a foreigner can be filed in any Moscow registry office or court - there are no restrictions on this matter mentioned anywhere. For divorce, a state fee is also charged, the amount of which in general cases is 650 rubles for each divorcee.