New Zealand - Apply for a Civil Union Licence

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Procedure

• When a couple intend to enter into a civil union, they are required to complete the appropriate type of Notice of Intended Civil Union form, which includes a statutory declaration that both parties are free to be joined in civil union and that all the details supplied on the form are correct. If either party is 16 or 17 years of age, consent to enter into a civil union is required.
• One of the parties must appear in person before a Registrar of Civil Unions to sign the statutory declaration and pay the required fee.
• The Registrar of Civil Unions will issue your Civil Union Licence (normally no sooner than three days after receiving the civil union notice), together with two copies of a document known as a 'Copy of Particulars of Civil Union'.
• You will need to deliver these three documents to your Civil Union Celebrant before the ceremony.

Application Forms

• Notice of Intended Civil Union

http://www.dia.govt.nz/pubforms.nsf/URL/NoticeofIntendedCivilUnionBDM360.pdf/$file/NoticeofIntendedCivilUnionBDM360.pdf

Collecting and Using Your Civil Union Licence

• A civil union licence is normally issued no sooner than three calendar days after the Notice of Intended Civil Union is submitted and the fee is paid.
• Your civil union licence is valid for three months from the date on which it is issued. During that period you are free to enter into a civil union at the place or places specified on the civil union licence.
• If you change your venue before the civil union has taken place you must advise the Registry Office that issued your licence.
• At the conclusion of the ceremony you will be handed a signed copy of one of the 'Copy of Particulars of Civil Union'. The other copy will be returned to the issuing Register of Civil Unions by your Civil Union Celebrant.

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Required Documents

• Valid Identity document
• Proof of residency

Office Locations & Contacts

Contact Centre

Freephone: 0800 22 52 52 (New Zealand only)

Phone: (+64 4) 463 9362

Email: [email protected]

Opening hours: Monday to Thursday 8:00am - 7:00pm, Friday 9:00am - 7:00pm, Saturday 9:00am - 2:00pm

Births, Deaths and Marriages

PO Box 10-526

Wellington 6143

Level 3

109 Featherston Street

Wellington 6011

Freephone: 0800 22 52 52 (New Zealand only)

Phone: (+64 4) 463 9362

Fax: (+64 4) 382 3515 (for certificate and printout orders)

Fax: (+64 4) 382 3613 (for general enquiries)

Email: [email protected]

Opening hours: Monday to Friday 8:30am - 5:00pm, except Wednesday 9:00am - 5:00pm

Auckland

Registrar of Births, Deaths and Marriages

PO Box 6147

Auckland 1141

Level 6, AA Building

99 Albert Street

Auckland 1010

Freephone: 0800 22 52 52 (New Zealand only)

Phone: (+64 4) 463 9362

Fax: (+64 9) 362 7908

Opening hours: Monday to Friday 8:30am - 5:00pm, except Wednesday 9:00am - 5:00pm

Christchurch Births, Deaths and Marriages Office

Registrar of Births, Deaths and Marriages

PO Box 25211

Christchurch

100 Orchard Road

Christchurch 8053

Freephone: 0800 22 52 52 (New Zealand only)

Phone: (+64 4) 463 9362

Opening hours: Monday to Friday 8:30am - 5:00pm, except Wednesday 9:00am - 5:00pm

Manukau

Registrar of Births, Deaths and Marriages

PO Box 76-222

Manukau City 2241

Level 1

20-24 Lambie Drive

Manukau City 2104

Freephone: 0800 22 52 52 (New Zealand only)

Phone: (+64 4) 463 9362

Fax: (+64 9) 262 2404

Opening hours: Monday to Friday 8:30am - 5:00pm, except Wednesday 9:00am - 5:00pm

Wellington

Registrar of Births, Deaths

Eligibility

• Both parties must be 16 years of age or over.
• Each party must make a clear statement that names both parties and acknowledges that they are freely joining in a civil union with each other

Fees

Civil union conducted at the Registry Office

• If you wish for your civil union to be conducted by a Registrar of Civil Unions at the Registry Office, you must pay a fee of NZ$173.70 when you send in or hand over the completed Notice of Intended Civil Union form. This includes the fee for the civil union licence and the ceremony. Please discuss with the Registrar at the office where you plan to have the civil union ceremony of the date and time for your ceremony. Remember to include contact details (e.g. a telephone number in New Zealand or an address) so that the Registrar can contact you if necessary.

Civil union conducted by a Civil Union Celebrant outside of a Registry Office

• If you wish for your civil union to be conducted by a Civil Union Celebrant, you must pay a fee of NZ$122.60 when you send in or hand over the completed Notice of Intended Civil Union form. This includes the fee for the civil union licence but does not include any additional fee the Civil Union Celebrant may charge to cover their expenses. The name of the Civil Union Celebrant must be given on the form in order for your licence to be issued. The celebrant must be approved to conduct civil unions in New Zealand.

How to pay your civil union licence fee

• Registry Offices will accept over-the-counter payments by cheque, cash, New Zealand money order or, in most offices, credit card and EFTPOS.

• If you are sending the fee by post from outside of New Zealand, payment can be made by way of a bank draft (i.e. a bank cheque, which can be purchased at most banks) in New Zealand dollars. Who you make the cheque payable to depends on the Registry Office where you intend to send your application. Please see 'Cheque payments for a New Zealand Marriage Licence or New Zealand Civil Union Licence' for further information.

Validity

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e.g. Birth Certificate Valid Forever

Documents to Use

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Processing Time

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Instructions

• There are two types of civil union ceremony:
  • A ceremony solemnised by a Registrar of Civil Unions in a Registry Office. Registry Office ceremonies are not open to the public; and
  • A ceremony solemnised by an authorised Civil Union Celebrant at a place other than a Registry Office. There is no legal requirement that a ceremony before a Civil Union celebrant be open to the public.
• Registry Office ceremonies take place during normal office hours, but you can have a civil union celebrant perform your civil union ceremony at any time, on any day of the week. LFor information about locating a Civil Union Celebrant see How to Locate a Civil Union Celebrant (http://www.dia.govt.nz/diawebsite.nsf/wpg_URL/Services-Births-Deaths-and-Marriages-How-to-Locate-a-Civil-Union-Celebrant?OpenDocument).
• During the ceremony before a civil union celebrant, and before at least two witnesses, each party must make a clear statement to the other that names both parties and acknowledges that they are freely joining in a civil union with each other.
• If having a Registry Office ceremony before a Registrar of Civil Unions, and before at least two witnesses, each party must make a clear statement to the other that names both parties and acknowledges that they are freely joining in a civil union with each other. Please be aware if you are considering having a Registry Office ceremony, that they are standardised to meet the legislative requirements of entering into a civil union, which includes standard statements.

Consent to Enter into a Civil Union

• To enter into a civil union both parties to the civil union must be at least 16 years of age. If either party is 16 or 17 years of age, consent to enter into a civil union is required:
• You must obtain consent from each of your guardians (usually your parents) unless they cannot be located or are, as a result of incapacity, unable to give consent.
• If none of your guardians are able to give consent, you must obtain consent from a relative acting in place of a guardian, or from a Family Court Judge.
• If your parents or guardians refuse consent, you can apply to a Family Court Judge for consent to enter into a civil union.
• The completed Consent to Civil Union of a Person aged 16 or 17 must be submitted with the Notice of Intended Civil Union form.

Required Information

• Current first or given Name of Partner 1 & 2
• First or given at birth of Partner 1 & 2
• Sex of Partner 1 & 2
• Full date of birth of Partner 1 & 2
• Place of birth of Partner 1 & 2
• Usual occupation, profession or job of Partner 1 & 2
• Fathers and Mothers full name of Partner 1 & 2

Need for the Document

The Civil Union Act 2004 provides the criteria, rules and processes for two people to have their relationship solemnised as a civil union (by way of a formal ceremony) and officially registered in New Zealand. A Civil Union may be entered into by couples of the same sex or by couples of different sexes.

Civil unions registered in New Zealand may be legally recognised in other countries, depending on the laws of that country.

In summary:

• A civil union may be entered into by couples of the same sex or by couples of different sexes.
• A civil union ceremony may be held before either a Registrar of Civil Unions in a Registry Office or by an appointed Civil Union Celebrant.
• Consent to enter into a civil union must be obtained if you are 16 to 17 years of age.
• Couples may change the form of their relationship between civil unions and marriages:
  • Couples who are married to each other, and who wish to continue in a relationship with each other, may change the form of that relationship to a civil union without having to formally dissolve their marriage (which normally involves living apart for 2 years).
  • Two people who are in a civil union with each other, and who are eligible to marry, may change the form of that relationship to a marriage without having to formally dissolve their civil union (which normally involves living apart for 2 years).

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Other uses of the Document/Certificate

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e.g. Birth Certificate can be used as proof of identity.

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