Malawi - Single Status Certificate / No Impediment Letter

Advertisement

Procedure

Apply In Person (Both Citizen & Non – Citizen)

1. To Single Status Certificate / No Impediment Letter, the applicant has to approach the Ministry of Foreign Affair – link
2. The applicant has to visit the office and submit the affidavit letter.
3. An application form will be provided to the applicant by the concerned officer.
4. The applicant has to fill in all the necessary details in the application form. (Incomplete applications are not accepted)
5. Make sure that the applicant has attached all the necessary documents that are mentioned in the “Required Documents” section of this page.
6. The applicant has to attach the photocopies of the required documents along with the application form while submitting.
7. Submit all the documents with the completed form to the concerned officer.
8. After receiving the application, the concerned authority will check the submitted application and document set. If all are in place, the application will be accepted.
9. For further details for completing the procedure, the applicant follows the instruction given by the officer.
10. This entire process can be completed within 15 days or as per the timeline advised by the respective department authority.

Advertisement

Required Documents

• Birth certificate.
• Malawi passport
• Confirmation letter of origin and marital status from District Commissioner

Office Locations & Contacts

Registrar General
Fatima Arcade
Haile Sellaisie Road
P.O. Box 100
Blantyre
Malawi
Phone: +00265 1 624355

Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Affairs,
Capital Hill Circle,
Private Bag 333,
Capital City,
Lilongwe 3,
Malawi.
Telephone: +265 1 788 411
Fax: +265 1 788 332
Email: [email protected]

Malawi Missions Abroad

Eligibility

In order for non-nationals to marry in a foreign country you will most likely be required to produce legal documentation from your country of citizenship verifying single status and that you are free to marry. This is known as a 'Certificate of No Impediment', 'Certificate de Coutume', 'Certificate of Nulla Osta' or a 'Certificate of Freedom to Marry'.

Fees

Explain the fees structure which is required for obtaining the certificate/document.

Validity

Explain the time until which the certificate/document is valid.
e.g. Birth Certificate Valid Forever

Documents to Use

Please attach documents that can be used by people. e.g. links

Sample Documents

Please attach sample completed documents that would help other people.

Processing Time

Please explain processing time taken in obtaining the document/certificate.

Related Videos

Videos explaining the procedure or to fill the applications. 
Attach videos using the following tag <&video type="website">video ID|width|height<&/video&> from external websites.
Please remove the "&" inside the tags during implementation.
Website = allocine, blip, dailymotion, facebook, gametrailers, googlevideo, html5, metacafe, myspace, revver, 
sevenload, viddler, vimeo, youku, youtube
width = 560, height = 340, Video ID = Can be obtained from the URL of webpage where the video is displayed.
e.g In the following url "http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y0US7oR_t3M" Video ID is "Y0US7oR_t3M". 
	

Instructions

These certificates vary in the length of time they are valid for, which can sometimes only be a few months. Certain countries require that certificates be no older than 2 or 3 months at the time of your wedding. Therefore, it is important to check the requirements which apply to your circumstances and pay particular attention to timelines when you apply for a Certificate of No Impediment.

Please also be aware that a standard Single Status Certificate or Certificate of No Impediment may be insufficient on its own to allow a marriage to take place in a foreign country. You may be required by the foreign authorities to comply with the following, so please ensure that you allow sufficient time for processing.

• Certificates may need to be translated.
• Certificates may need to be endorsed or exchanged for a locally acceptable version issued by your Embassy or Consulate in the country where you will marry.
• Certificates may need to be legalized i.e. stamped with an official stamp known as an Apostille.
• Certificates may require that witnesses swear an Affidavit stating that you are free to marry and that this is appended.

Required Information

• Full Name
• Passport or ID number
• Place and Date of Birth
• Nationality
• Statement
• Date
• Signature of the person who declares
• Signature of the witnesses

Need for the Document

A Single Status Certificate also referred to as a No Marriage Affidavit, Certificate of Freedom to Marry or Certificate of No Impediment, is a sworn statement saying that you are eligible to marry.

Overseas marriage authorities often require further evidence that the party is free to marry. Such evidence may be a statement from the Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages that there is no record of the person having been previously married or a 'Single Status Certificate' or 'No Records Result'.

Information which might help

Registrar General

This department is headed by the Registrar General and is responsible for the registration of companies, business names, births, and deaths, political parties, trusts, patents, industrial designs and trademarks, and the collection of stamp duties, etc. A large number of applications for the registration of patents, industrial designs and trademarks are received from all over the world. The department is also responsible for the officiation of marriages under the Marriage Act, Chapter 25:01 of the Laws of Malawi (i.e. marriages other than customary or asiatic marriages).

Other uses of the Document/Certificate

The Bride & Groom to be married must provide from their country of Citizenship, individual Certificates of non impediment or Certificate of Single Status/Sworn Affidavit, as proof that they are both indeed single and eligible to marry. This is also called an affidavit of single status or negative statement of marriage. This document can be obtained at the Bureau of Vital statistics in their city they reside.

External Links

Government of the Republic of Malawi

Ministries of The Government of the Republic of Malawi

Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Affairs

Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation

Malawi Consulate

Others

Through a sworn affidavit the applicant confirms that they are who they claim to be. The Single Status Letter or Affidavit says that they are able and free to marry among other things. Bear in mind that one fact about the Single Status Affidavit is that it is not a government document; rather, it is a letter from the affiant signed in front of a notary public. An interesting fact about this type of document is that there are many names given for it. For example look at this list: "Single Status Statutory Declaration" or a "Certificate of Legal Capacity to Contract Marriage" or a "Single Status Certificate" or "Free-to-marry statement".