Peculiarities of registering marriage with minors in the Russian Federation

Process Features

Relations in the field of marriage are regulated by the Family Code of the Russian Federation. In accordance with Art. 13 establishes the age at which citizens can freely marry. According to the law, this is the achievement of full legal capacity, that is, 18 years.

Of course, this legal relationship has exceptions. The law clearly stipulates that, if there is a valid reason, persons can officially register a marriage before reaching the age of majority. According to legal practice, such situations include:

• Pregnancy or the birth of a baby.
• Serious illness of one of the partners.
• A clear threat to the health or life of one of the newlyweds.
• The groom is called up for military service.
• The partners have been living in a civil marriage for a long time.

All of the above situations must be documented. The fact of their presence is not enough to formalize a marriage between minors. A resolution from the local administration is also required.

Crime or love

What to do if the groom is an adult and his bride is under 16 years old, but she is pregnant? Will local authorities issue permission to enter into such a union?

It is known that in a number of regions of Russia it is possible to register a marriage between persons who are already 14 years old. But if the bride is under 16 years old, and her man is already 18 years old, then by entering into a relationship with her, he commits a criminal act for which he must be punished to the fullest extent of the law. In this case, even pregnancy and the birth of a future child do not save the perpetrator from possible sanctions. Unfortunately, this happens often.

If the girl is 16 years old and the man is over eighteen, then they can easily get married (with permission from the local administration) and live happily. After all, entering into an intimate relationship with a person of a given age is no longer punishable by law.

Legal provisions

The Family Code of the Russian Federation clearly establishes that the age of marriage begins at 18 years. Then citizens can freely consolidate their relationships at the official level. They do not need parental or government consent to do this.

There is also a clarification that the age of marriage can be lowered for minors if there are good reasons. Their list is not established by law, but depends on the degree of seriousness. Examples include pregnancy and illness. In this case, it is possible to reduce the teenage age of marriage:

It should be noted that this issue is regulated by the constituent entities of the Russian Federation. Accordingly, the local administration can independently set the age and grounds for persons to get married early.

Is parental consent required?

The issue of mandatory parental permission for marriage is controversial. Some legal scholars consider such permission to be unnecessary. However, the legislation of a constituent entity of the Federation may establish its own list of documents that are necessary to obtain a permit, supplemented and expanded.

In practice, quite often the subjects of the Federation include parental permission in the mandatory list of documents. Therefore, the mandatory requirement of parental consent depends, first of all, on the place of future registration of the marriage and local legislation.

Basic Concepts

This legal relationship is regulated by the Family and Civil Codes of the Russian Federation. For a complete understanding, it is worth clarifying the terminology. The main concepts include:

It is worth mentioning such a legal consequence of early marriage as emancipation. This is the name of the process when a person, having married his partner under 18 years of age and receiving the status of husband or wife, has the same rights and responsibilities as an adult citizen. For example, you can open your own enterprise, as well as dispose of property in any form.

Marriage of minors

The age minimum (16 years) for declaring a minor emancipated cannot be absolutely indisputable, since the consent of legal representatives cannot exclude the presence of personal selfish interests (getting rid of obligations to support the minor, including the payment of alimony). But according to formal criteria, he can be recognized as fully capable, although due to his personal characteristics (psychology, level of intelligence, amount of knowledge, etc.) the minor is not ready to engage in entrepreneurship and realize the need to be responsible for his actions. In this regard, it seems completely fair to conclude that “the institution of emancipation is only an exception to the general rule and should not be considered as a general guide to action.

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During pregnancy

Pregnancy is one of the common and compelling reasons to get married at 17 or even earlier. To register a marriage, you must write an application to the local administration of the municipality or district, indicating the basis for lowering the marriageable age.

Adolescents must provide evidence along with their application. You can confirm your special situation with a certificate from the hospital. If the couple already has a child together, then their birth certificate should be shown.

Early marriage: pros and cons

In Russia, about 20% of registered marriages are early, which is determined by the young age of the bride or groom who have not reached full adulthood.

Early marriages occur for various reasons:

• the desire to leave parental care and begin an independent adult life with a loved one;
• the moral aspect associated with living in a dysfunctional family, which encourages you to start a personal family life early, away from your home;
• the desire to avoid judgment from others associated with early sexual activity.

And finally, the most common reason for early marriage is the pregnancy of an underage bride.

The marriage relationship of a couple with little life experience is not easy to build. A young couple has to face numerous difficulties associated with the lack of full education, work, insufficient financial support, etc.

The disadvantages of early marriages also include psychological unpreparedness. It is difficult for girls to adapt to family life; after marriage they have to do all the household chores. It is also not easy for young spouses to find a solution to financially support their family.

Surrounded by young newlyweds, there are always free friends who have the opportunity to visit discos and entertainment clubs, while a young family has to organize their life and sacrifice their own desires and dreams. All this can lead to conflicts, which does not exclude complete discord in the family, even divorce.

Before deciding to marry at an early age, you should think carefully about how correct the decision was. The only exception in this case would be an unplanned pregnancy of the bride. You can read more about registering marriage during pregnancy here.

Now we propose to consider the advantages of early marriages. If a girl marries due to pregnancy, the child will be born into a complete family. The young spouse will take part in raising the baby, help around the house, and resolve other important issues on which the well-being of the family union depends.

Many young couples overcome all the difficulties of early marriage and subsequently live as a friendly family, raise children, and remember happy and funny moments from life. Mutual respect and practicality in solving everyday issues are formed in the relationship.

If you are confident in the choice of your future spouse, do not be afraid to formalize your marriage at an early age. It is quite possible that your family will become the strongest and happiest!

If there are no good reasons

Federal law does not establish a list of valid reasons when minor citizens can enter into a marriage. The last word remains with the local administration of the city or district. By their decision, the civil registry office can accept an application for a marriage.

It is worth noting that a number of grounds can be listed in the law of a constituent entity of the Russian Federation. Then, when submitting an application for marriage, you should refer to this legal norm.

Important! If one of the minor partners is an orphan or a foreign national, then they should contact the local administration and document their status.

Procedure, step-by-step instructions

Registering a marriage is a significant but rather lengthy process. It includes several stages, the completion of which is mandatory. In addition, early marriage entails legal consequences. Below is a detailed description of each item.

1. Step one. Receiving a positive response to an early union.

The initial stage, the implementation of which is necessary. Approval to lower the marriageable age can be obtained from the administration of the subject: city or district.

Documents are submitted along with the application. This confirms the special position of the newlyweds. Such papers include:

• Passports or birth certificate.
• Medical confirmation of a girl’s pregnancy.
• Upon request, permission from parents or official representatives of young persons in writing.
• A certificate from the place of employment, as well as a reference, if required by the administration staff.
• Certificate of income for the last year.
• Certificate from educational institution.

Important! The application is considered individually. If both partners are minors, then two petitions are required to lower the marriageable age. Accordingly, if only one citizen is under 18 years of age, then the application will be accepted only from him.

Grounds for refusal may include:

• unreadable text;
• non-compliance with the requirements of the regulations;
• the required documents are not attached along with the application;
• other violations of the filing procedure.

The deadlines for consideration of the application are set individually for each region. This is prescribed in local acts of the city administration or in a special law of a subject of the Russian Federation.

Important! If the application is submitted by parents or official representatives (guardians), then the written consent of minor citizens to the marriage union must also be provided.

1. Step two. Submitting an application to the Civil Registry Office.

An application to the Civil Registry Office is submitted in the standard manner. It should be noted that persons have the right to submit documents to any branch of the wedding house, regardless of region and district. The law does not limit the location of a government agency where citizens can sign. Along with the application, basic information about the newlyweds is submitted:

• Passports of the parties (or birth certificates).
• Consent of the local administration to lower the age of marriage.
• Receipt of payment of the state fee (the cost is 200 rubles, no benefits are provided to minors).
• The registry office may require written parental consent.

Next, the newlyweds just have to wait for the actual wedding date. As a rule, this is one month, maximum two. However, the law defines situations when young people can be discharged on the same day or the next. These include:

• bride's pregnancy;
• the couple already has a child together;
• one of the newlyweds is in danger of life or health.

It is important that all documents are up to date!

1. Step three. Conclusion of a marriage union, painting of the newlyweds.

Direct visit to the registry office to sign. After this, the couple officially becomes husband and wife.

Every action has consequences. This also applies to early marriage. Marriage at the age of 16 leads to the emancipation of a citizen. This means that he becomes absolutely capable at an early age.

As a rule, absolute legal capacity begins at the age of 18. But marriage is an exception to the general rules. What does emancipation give:

• Freely dispose of your own property: sell, donate, pledge.
• Open your own private enterprise, for example, register a Limited Liability Company in your name.
• Other rights and obligations that a person acquires upon reaching the age of majority.

It is worth saying that Art. 27 of the Family Code of the Russian Federation establishes situations when a marriage is declared invalid. Then it can be terminated by one of the parties in court. This may happen in the following cases:

1. The marriage was not concluded by mutual voluntary agreement.
2. The procedure for obtaining a marriage license from the local administration was violated.
3. There is no legislation in the region allowing early marriage.
4. One of the spouses is already married.
5. The newlyweds are relatives.
6. One of the partners is declared incompetent by a court decision.
7. One of the newlyweds has a sexually transmitted disease and deliberately hid it from his partner.

Thus, marriage of minors is permitted under the Family Code. You just need to collect the necessary documents and issue a permit.

Marriage age in Russia and other countries

Whatever the reasons and intentions of teenagers regarding marriage, the legislator has approved the general conditions for registering a marriage:

• both partners must be at least 18 years of age;
• both must consent to the marriage.

If any of these conditions are violated, the marriage is considered illegal.

Setting the limit at 18 years old implies that a person who has reached this age has the main important signs of adulthood:

• has reached a certain psychological maturity that allows him to wisely make decisions about starting a family with children, as well as understand responsibility for his actions;
• has reached a certain physiological maturity, allowing him to conceive and safely give birth to offspring without harm to his own health.

At this age, young people receive basic education, men have the opportunity to begin military service, and many other rights and responsibilities arise.

In addition to these two important points - voluntarily expressed consent and physiologically suitable age - legislators in the Family Code defined some other conditions necessary for family registration.

Conditions for registering marriage in Russia:

• both partners have no previously dissolved marriages;
• absence of close relationship between the spouses, the so-called first degree (brother, sister, etc.);
• There are no relations of this kind between those joining in marriage: adoptive parents are their adopted children or guardians are their ward pupils;
• there are no mental disorders, which could lead to such a partner being declared incompetent by the court.

In general, upon reaching adulthood in life, young people can already set different goals for themselves, evaluate the action, and therefore consciously approach marriage. These rules apply to our compatriots, but what do other peoples consider the correct age for marriage?

In different parts of the world, the age for marriage differs, but for the most part it is set as in Russia - 18 years. The UN signed the Marriage Convention in 1962. It states that registering marriage before the age of eighteen is not allowed.

But there are exceptions: due to good reasons or religious norms and traditions, the age may be reduced. Here are some examples of such exceptions due to local customs.

A girl can become a bride at nine years old in Yemen or Oman, in Nigeria or Kenya - and this is the optimal age for them. Venezuelan girls become brides at twelve, and boys become grooms at fourteen.

Despite ancient traditions, a modern Egyptian or Algerian woman will say “Yes” at sixteen, and an Egyptian at eighteen. In prim old England, people can get married at sixteen, and French women can go down the aisle at fifteen, but to an eighteen-year-old Frenchman.

It is interesting that in China, on the contrary, the age is significantly shifted: it is not allowed to become a husband before the age of twenty-two, and a wife before the age of twenty. In the CIS countries, the age for marriage is almost the European standard.

Azerbaijan has set the age for marriage for its residents: seventeen for women, eighteen for men. Although the old traditions of early marriage still live - often girls are given as brides before the age of fifteen.

And for marrying too early in Uzbekistan, partners can go to prison. The country has established lower limits - seventeen for a partner, eighteen for a partner.

But according to WHO data, Tajikistan and the Republic of Moldova remain the leaders in early marriages - they have the youngest marriages.

Despite such low age limits for those getting married, official consent to marriage is not always accompanied by sexual relations. Rather, this is only a confirmation of the intention to take a young girl as a wife.

Samples of required documents

An important stage in registering a marriage is documents. These include statements and certificates that confirm a certain status. Below are examples of the required papers:

• Sample application to the local administration to lower the age of marriage:

• Sample application for registration of a marriage union to get married at 16 years old:

• Filled-in form:

Important! You can fill out the application at home, the main thing is to sign. This will greatly reduce the time when submitting documents to the administration or the registry office.

Thus, the law allows persons under 18 years of age to register relationships. To do this, you just need to obtain permission from the city or district administration to marry minors.

In which regions of the Russian Federation can you get married at 14 years old?

Taking into account personal circumstances and special centuries-old traditions, Russian regions, through their legislative documents, allowed their residents to enter into official relations until they reach the age of eighteen.

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Boys and girls from:

• Adyghe and Chechen Republics;
• Moscow and Tyumen, Tula and Kaluga, Tambov and Vologda, Oryol and Nizhny Novgorod regions;
• Khanty-Mansiysk or Jewish Autonomy.

Their peers in a year - at fifteen, can submit a personal application for marriage registration in other regions:

• Chelyabinsk or Murmansk regions:
• Kabardino-Balkaria.

Peoples from the Caucasus and the Far North, being part of a large country, are in a special position due to the original marriage traditions observed in the regions for centuries.

Future relatives look after the young bride as a child, watching her grow up. Therefore, becoming a wife at the age of fourteen in Chechnya or Adygea is not at all uncommon.