GETTING WED IN SPAIN

A number of people have contacted us asking how they can get married in Spain. Others wish to fly to and stay on the Rock but marry in Spain. Also same sex couples have asked for help as they are not able to marry in Gibraltar but can in Spain. To answer your questions the following information has been kindly supplied by Carlos Jordan of the San Roque Tourist Office but should apply to most municipalities in Spain. If you do not speak Spanish and wish to wed in San Roque then contact the tourist office and they will help you. The same applies if you want information on same sex ceremonies.

Oficina Municipal de Turismo/ The Borough Tourist  Office, Plaza de Andalucía, S/N. – Esquina C/ San Felipe, San Roque (Cadiz).

Tel: 956 694 005 E-mail: turismo@sanroque.es

Web: www.turismo.sanroque.es  www.tourism.sanroque.es

History records that some of the Spanish people of Gibraltar fled to San Roque, their traditional place of pilgrimage, after the British invasion of 1704. Therefore the town has strong links to the Rock and also includes within its boundaries the popular luxury urbanisation and resort of Sotogrande.

Getting Wed in San Roque Through The Registry Office (Registro Civil)

Fill in an application form (instancia).

Supply an original birth certificate for both partners (this must be translated by an official translator (traductor jurado) or the consulate.

If you are not Spanish supply an official marital status certificate (fe de vida y estado).

Certificate of having registered on the municipal census (empadronamiento) and having lived in the municipality for the last two years. It is enough for one of the partners to be resident.

Four Witnesses (two must be relatives) to certify that the content of the application is correct.

Originals and photocopies of passports/ ID cards/ NIE cards.

If the bride and bridegroom are non-Spaniards the following requirements are also needed:

All the documents must be officially translated.

The Consulate or Embassy must produce certificates specifying what requirements are needed to get married in the country of origin, according to that country’s laws.

If one of two partners has lived in their country in the last two years, the Consulate or Embassy must issue a certificate stating whether the laws of that country or origin require this person to publicise a proclamation of the intention of getting married.

If the person is a widow/widower, you also need:

Certificate of the previous marriage.

Death certificate of the late spouse.

If the person is a divorcee, you also need:

Certificate of the previous marriage, which also states the divorce agreement.

Definitive testimony of the divorce sentence.

If the sentence has been passed by a foreign court, certifying that the person can remarry (execuátur).

If both the bride and bridegroom have obtained the nullity of a previous marriage through the church, they must supply:

A testimony of the court order passed by the competent magistrate’s court stating the accordance of state law with the church resolution.

The San Roque Registry Office is open from Monday to Thursday from 11.00 to 12.30. Registro Civil / The Registry Office, Calle Magistrados, s/n, San Roque.

Tel: 956 780 281

The Registry Office is located next to the Alameda Alfonso XI square, in

the same building as the Magistrate’s Court Nº1.

Getting Married at San Roque Town Hall

To get married through San Roque town hall first you must comply with the registry office requirements, passed by the competent judge.

Civil Wedding ceremonies are free and held from Monday to Friday from 8.00 to 15.00.

Normally the ceremony is held at the Assembly Hall in the Governor’s Palace but ceremonies can also be organised at other locations in the municipality; the signing of documents would be carried out at the town hall in the presence of the mayor or councillor presiding over the ceremony.

The ceremonies cost 180 euros at weekends, public holidays or in the afternoons or evenings on weekdays.

The person in charge of wedding ceremonies is:

Julio Fresneda, Census and Statistics Office,

Ayuntamiento de San Roque,

Plaza de Armas, 1. San Roque, (Cádiz).

Tel: 956 780 106 – 956 780 252 (ex. 205)