South Africa - Getting married at Home Affairs

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Procedure

Apply In-Person:

1. To apply for getting married at Home Affairs in person, the people who have an intention of getting married should visit the nearest office of Department of Home Affairs.
2. Please click on the following link for the address and contact information of the Department of Home Affairs Offices:link. Click on the province name which is applicable to you and you will get the details according to that.
3. Visit the nearest DHA office and request to make an appointment to get married at Home Affairs, from the concerned department.
4. You will require your ID, your partner’s ID number and a preferred date for making an appointment. Then, you will be provided with a slip on your appointment confirmation.
5. Before applying, please make sure that you and your partner satisfy all the eligibility criteria that are listed in the “Eligibility” section of this page.
6. Please ensure that you both are legally allowed to marry, both understand the legal consequences of a marriage and your marriage will comply with all the legal requirements of a valid marriage.
7. If you are not sure of any of the above mentioned criteria, a legal counsel should be sought before entering into the marriage.
8. Also, verify your marital status before applying to get married with the help of the SMS facility provided by the DHA, to avoid fraudulent marriages. This helps you prevent getting into trouble before applying to get married at the DHA office. The number to which SMS has to be sent can be found in the “Office Locations & Contacts” section of this page.
9. Make sure that you have all the documents that are listed in the “Required Documents” section of this page. These documents should be presented at the wedding to the designated marriage official.
10. Please be aware that the marriage premises must satisfy the constraints set by the DHA and your marriage must happen in the presence of at least witnesses.
11. On the day that you are to get married, reach the venue 30 minutes before the time of your appointment. Two witnesses and the marriage officer must sign the marriage register after the solemnization of a marriage.
12. The official will escort your party to a private ceremony room, talk you through all the legalities. They will take your signatures and fingerprints. Some officiators will allocate time for the exchange of rings and vows, if you require it.
13. Then the marriage officer will issue the parties with a handwritten marriage certificate (BI-27) free of charge and submit the marriage register to the nearest office of the Department of Home Affairs, where the marriage details will be recorded in the National Population Register (NPR).

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Required Documents

CIVIL MARRIAGES:

• Identity documents of the couple (for South African nationals)
• Identity documents of the witnesses
• Original Passports of the couple (when a foreign national marries a citizen of SA)
• Completed BI-31 form for foreign nationals
• Written consent of both parents/legal guardian or Commissioner of Child Welfare or judge on Form DHA-32
• Written consent from the Minister of Home Affairs (for boys under 18 and girls under 15)
• Final decree of divorce (for divorcees)
• Death certificate of the spouse (for widowers)
• Pre-nuptial agreement (if any)

CIVIL UNIONS:

• Identity documents of the couple (for South African nationals)
• Identity documents of the witnesses
• Original Passports of the couple (when a foreign national marries a citizen of SA)
• Completed DHA-1763 Form
• Form DHA-1766 completed by the marriage officer
• Completed DHA-1764 Form
• Copy of Divorce Order (for divorcees)
• Pre-nuptial agreement (if any)

Office Locations & Contacts

Department of Home Affairs - Head Office
Physical Address : Hallmark Building,
230 Johannes Ramokhoase,
Pretoria,
Gauteng,
0001,
South Africa.
Postal Adress : Private Bag X114,
Pretoria,
0001,
Phone: 012 406 2500
Email: [email protected]
Website ,Link 2

Department Of Home Affairs Offices

Eligibility

CIVIL MARRIAGES:

• You must have made an appointment already at the nearest DHA office and should possess the confirmation receipt.
• Any major, single or divorcee or widow/widower, who wishes to get married, can apply.
• Any minor, boy or girl, who has provided the consent prescribed by the DHA, can apply.
• He/she must have complete knowledge of legal consequences of a marriage particularly that marriages in South Africa are automatically in community of property unless they have entered into a pre-nuptial agreement before the marriage.
• Before legally confirming a marriage in South Africa, couples must attend a Home Affairs marriage interview. The purpose of this procedure is to ensure that both parties are willingly entering into marriage of their own accord and not under compulsion.
• Any person who wishes to get married must not get to any kind of marriage that is mentioned in the “Prohibited marriages” section in the following page: Link

CIVIL UNIONS:

• You must have made an appointment already at the nearest DHA office and should possess the confirmation receipt.
• Both persons must be 18 years or older to enter into a Civil Union.
• Both persons may not be already married in terms of any other Act.
• Anyone, regardless of their sexual orientation who is willing to marry either through a civil union, a civil marriage or a customary marriage can apply.

Fees

• Please approach the authorities for fees structure.
  

Validity

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

Documents to Use

• Application form marriage certificate (Form BI-130): Link
  
• Declaration form for foreign nationals (Form BI-30): Link
  
• Declaration for the Purpose of Marriage (Form DHA-1763): Link
  
• Form for Registration of a Civil Union (Form DHA-1764): Link
  

Sample Documents

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Processing Time

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Related Videos

Videos explaining the procedure or to fill the applications.
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sevenload, viddler, vimeo, youku, youtube
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e.g In the following url 'http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y0US7oR_t3M' Video ID is 'Y0US7oR_t3M'.

Instructions

• Only the couple, two witnesses and only six guests is allowed at the marriage premises. And it is not necessary for the couple to dress up casually or formally. They are free to groom themselves as they wish.
• You can still some bridal flair to the day and bring any photographer to take some photos at the premises, without causing much trouble to the officials.
• A marriage must be conducted in the presence of at least two witnesses in a church or another building used for religious services or in a public office or private house (with open doors). In the case of serious illness or injuries, the marriage may take place in a hospital or any concerned facility.
• Before legally confirming a marriage in South Africa, couples must attend a Home Affairs marriage interview. If you miss the interview, officials won’t register the marriage certificate. As a result, they will nullify the marriage.
• Marriage ceremonies must have a licensed marriage officer. Examples of this include a religious minister, magistrate, or a Home Affairs marriage officer.
• If you plan to marry in a garden or on a beach, you may need to repeat the legal aspect of the service. The same applies to marrying in a restaurant or other building not defined by the act.
• However, as long as your marriage is solemnised by a competent Marriage Officer, the courts are not readily inclined to declare a marriage invalid simply because it was held in the wrong place.

Required Information

• Particulars of the applicant
• Identity number of the applicant
• Particulars of the prospective spouse
• Identity number of the prospective spouse
• Identity number of the witnesses

Need for the Document

• The South African government strongly advises its citizens as well as non-citizens to register their marriages at the Department of Home Affairs.
  

Information which might help

• Some officials will not ask the bride whether she wants to take her husband’s surname. Make sure to mention this to the officiator if she wishes to keep her maiden name.

• A marriage contracted without the legally required consent of the parents or guardian can be made void, in other words, declared null and void by the High Court at the request of the parents or guardian before the minor turns 21 and within six weeks of the date on which the marriage first came to their knowledge.

• If you are a minor, you may apply for the dissolution of the marriage before you turn 21 or within three months after turning 21.

• Civil unions may be conducted by designated marriage officers for specific religious denominations or organizations or designated officers employed by the Department of Home Affairs and the Magistrates’ Courts.

• If any of the required documentation cannot be produced, one of the partners must submit an affidavit confirming the documents cannot be made available for the purpose of concluding the Civil Union.

Other uses of the Document/Certificate

Please explain what are other uses of obtaining this document/certificate.
e.g. Birth Certificate can be used as proof of identity.

External Links

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Others

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