Marriage is a formal ceremony that is held to register the desire of two people to build a future together. In most cases, marriage registration is carried out between people of the same nationality, but there are exceptions.
There are no borders for love, and excellent transport links between countries contribute to the emergence of relationships between people of different nations and even religions. Today, marrying a foreigner is by no means considered a rarity and is becoming more and more common in the modern world.
Fictitious marriage with a foreigner
Such a marriage is concluded if the relationship between the spouses is not built on love, but to obtain some benefit, for example, to obtain citizenship. But according to Russian law, a marriage can be declared invalid only if:
- he was imprisoned under duress;
- one of the spouses was incapacitated;
- The groom didn’t even know that he was getting married.
But we don't have as much scrutiny as other countries. For example, if the wedding with a foreign citizen will be in America, then get ready for a long procedure.
They have special workers who check whether you are vacationing together, living in the same apartment or not, and sometimes they even find out whether you sleep in the same bed with your future spouse or not.
And if it suddenly turns out that your relationship is not real, the marriage will not be registered. They can also be deported from the country and banned from entering. Therefore, it is best to withdraw the application in this situation so that there are no problems.
What to do then?
In Russia, some girls even try to make money from such fictitious marriages; agencies promise them up to 300,000 rubles. Be careful and do not agree to such a procedure , because you can easily be deceived!
According to our laws, you will not be put on trial or fined, but you can punish yourself very severely. All property that you acquire will then be divided in half, if you did not draw up a marriage contract.
Imagine if you buy an apartment or a car at this time and spend 1-2 million rubles on everything. The foreigner finds out about this and immediately files for divorce with division of property. And when the judge makes a decision, you will have to pay 50%, that is, from 500 thousand to 1 million rubles.
You can apply for marriage with a foreigner: 30 days before the wedding
Article 27 clause 2 of the law “On acts of civil status”.
It is necessary to register a marriage with a foreigner: according to the laws of the Russian Federation
Article 156 clause 1 of the Family Code of the Russian Federation.
State fee for registering a marriage with a foreigner: 350 rubles
Article 333.26 clause 1 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation
International marriage: pros and cons
International marriage has its advantages and disadvantages.
| pros | Minuses |
| Free movement within the spouse's country | Differences in mentality |
| Opportunity to get a job abroad | Conditions for obtaining citizenship of the spouse's country |
| If there is a marriage contract - financial stability | If you don’t know the language, it’s difficult to communicate with indigenous people |
| Quickly learn a foreign language through communication with native speakers | The need to conduct rituals in the homeland of the spouse (otherwise the union will not be recognized) |
| Improving your financial situation | Not every ceremony in the country of the foreign spouse is considered a registered marriage. Legalized marriage - marriage at the consulate or in certain departments of the registry office |
| Simplification of obtaining a residence permit | Children born in marriage remain with the native citizen of the country. In the event of a divorce, it is difficult or even impossible to take the child to Russia |
| It is easier to obtain alimony from your father when you are on his territory. If the mother took the children abroad, it is difficult to obtain financial support for the children |
Before marrying a foreigner, it is necessary to study the legislation of the country where the groom is from. Otherwise, there is a risk of being left without property, citizenship, paying a fine and being forcibly deported.
Remember the main thing:
- Get your passport endorsed and translated at the embassy or consulate.
- Fill out the application at home or pick up a sample at Wedding Palace No. 1.
- Pay the state fee of 350 rubles and bring the receipt along with the application.
- Come at the appointed time with your passports to register your marriage.
- Get your registration certificate and wait for your passports to be stamped.
Be sure to check out:
Sample application for marriage registration
Sample receipt for payment of state duty
Obtaining a temporary residence permit after marriage
After marriage, the visiting spouse wants to stay in Russia, so he receives a temporary residence permit. In this case, the spouse contacts the Migration Service and fills out an application. After passing all checks, the migration authority puts a temporary residence mark in the passport. Most often, a temporary residence permit is valid for 3 years, but there may be exceptions.
To obtain a permit you will need the following documents:
- statement;
- legalized marriage certificate;
- a copy of an identity document certified by a notary;
- divorce certificate (if available);
- copies of children's birth certificates;
- 2 color photographs of a foreign spouse 3.5*4.5 cm;
- medical certificates confirming the absence of HIV and other diseases;
- a document confirming knowledge of the Russian language.
After a Federal Migration Service employee has reviewed the package of documents and satisfied the request for a temporary residence permit, the foreign citizen receives the coveted mark.
Adoption of children
Adoption of children by foreign citizens from the Russian Federation occurs according to the laws of the country of which the foreigner is a citizen. However, there are additional conditions for the adoption of children - citizens of the Russian Federation by foreign citizens or stateless persons.
The main condition provided for in paragraph 4 of Article 124 of the Insurance Code. “The adoption of children by foreign citizens or stateless persons is permitted only in cases where it is not possible to transfer these children for upbringing to families of citizens of the Russian Federation permanently residing on the territory of the Russian Federation, or for adoption to relatives of the children, regardless of the citizenship and place of residence of these relatives.” .
Adoption procedure:
- Foreigners wishing to adopt children must submit an application to the federal state bank or the regional department of social protection and care.
- The adoptive parent selects a child from the registry, and after that he is allowed to visit the child. Having accepted the intention to adopt, the foreigner notifies the board of trustees about this.
- The verdict on adoption is announced by the Supreme Republican or regional court. An adoption case can be considered by an autonomous district court or a city court.
If you have any questions, international family lawyers working at our Zanevskaya law office will provide you with advice.
In which registry offices are they registered?
The answer to the question of where marriages with foreigners are registered in Moscow depends on the foreigner’s country of origin. From this point of view, the capital authorities divide foreign citizens into two categories:
- people from the CIS countries;
- people from any other countries.
In the first case, the newlyweds can apply to any capital registry office or Wedding Palace, except for the Zamoskvoretsky and Lublin departments - they have no right to refuse them. Addresses, contacts and other features of certain departments can be found here.
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In the second case it is more difficult. Registry offices that register marriages with foreigners in Moscow, according to information from the Moscow City Hall, are few:
- Wedding Palace No. 4. Contact phone: 8 (495) 777-77-77. Location address: 127015, Moscow, Northern Administrative District, Butyrskaya street, building 17. Working hours: Tuesday-Saturday from 9.00 to 18.00. Closed: Sunday, Monday.
- Shipilovsky Civil Registry Office department. Contact number. Location address: 115551, Moscow, Shipilovsky proezd, building 27. Opening hours: Tuesday-Saturday from 9.00 to 18.00. Closed: Sunday, Monday. Equipped with an electronic queue system.
We draw the attention of readers that, in accordance with the information on the website of the capital's mayor's office, in the III-IV quarters of 2021, repair work is planned at Wedding Palace No. 4, during which registration of marriages will not be carried out. In this regard, the acceptance of applications from future married couples was suspended from August until the end of 2021.
Thus, the Moscow registry offices, where a marriage with a foreigner is registered, until the beginning of 2021 is limited to only one Shipilovsky department.
In addition, as mentioned above, a marriage with a foreigner can be concluded in the diplomatic mission of the country whose citizenship the foreigner has. The addresses and contact details of embassies and consulates located in the capital can be found here.
Terms and cost of registering a marriage with a foreign citizen
As already mentioned, registration of marriage with citizens of other states is carried out by Russian registry offices in the general manner established by family law. This also applies to registration deadlines.
Thus, in accordance with clause 13 of the Administrative Regulations, marriage registration is carried out after a month from the moment the couple submits a joint application. If there are good reasons, this period can be reduced (signing is carried out in less than a month) or, conversely, increased, but not more than 1 month (signing is carried out 2 months after submitting the application).
However, on the website of the capital's mayor's office there is slightly different information. According to it, Moscow registry offices can carry out registration within a maximum of 6 months from the date of filing a joint application. The same rule applies to couples with foreigners.
A state fee of 350 rubles is charged for registering a marriage.
In addition, the registry office may bill for ceremony services, off-site ceremony, and other department services in accordance with local rates.
Basic information
From January 1, 2019, the procedure for legalizing marriage is mandatory on the territory of the Russian Federation.
Spouses can legalize marriage at any time convenient for themselves. The legislation does not establish liability for “missing the deadline” allotted for legalization. However, untimely completion of the procedure may lead to further difficulties with documents.
After the spouses legitimize their union, this will help them in the following situations:
- change of surname;
- automatic granting to future joint children the right to obtain Russian citizenship;
- entering a marriage record into the Russian passport;
- obtaining Russian citizenship by a foreigner on simplified terms - after 3 years of marriage, not 5.
There are 2 types of marriage legalization – consular and with a stamp (“apostille”). The stamping procedure is simplified.
In order for spouses to legalize their marriage, they will need to comply with the following conditions :
- The marriage was concluded outside the Russian Federation in accordance with the legislation of a foreign state (for example, if the union is registered in Italy, then it is legal in this country);
- One of the spouses is a citizen of the Russian Federation;
- The spouses did not violate the legislation of the Russian Federation, which would prevent the registration of a marriage union in accordance with Art. 14 RF IC.
Art. 14 of the RF IC describes the circumstances that prevent marriage registration, for example:
- one of the spouses is already in another marriage;
- spouses are close people to each other, adoptive parents and adopted children;
- one of the spouses is deprived of legal capacity due to mental illness according to a court order.
In the situations listed above, the marital union on the territory of the Russian Federation will not be considered valid, so it will not be possible to legalize it.
Next, we consider how to legitimize a marriage contracted outside the Russian Federation.
Let's sum it up
The legislation distinguishes 2 types of legalization of a marital union that was registered outside the territory of the Russian Federation - on the basis of a simplified or standard procedure. In the first case, it is enough to contact the registry office and put a special stamp on the certificate, and in the second case, visit the Russian consulate, hand over a package of documentation to the employee and, after 1 month, visit the institution again.
To legalize a foreign marriage in the Russian Federation, spouses will need to make sure that they do not violate the legislation of the state within which they are located, and also comply with the conditions set forth by the current laws of Russia.
List of required documents for marriage registration and their execution
Today, marriages between Russians and citizens of other countries do not surprise anyone. At the same time, to legalize them one has to go through a rather long path, consisting of many bureaucratic conventions and nuances. One of them is documents for marriage with a foreigner, which must be submitted to the civil registration authority. They look like this:
- passport of a foreign citizen and its photocopy;
passport of a foreign citizen
- a certificate from the embassy confirming the absence of any reasons preventing the registration of relations;
- a permit to enter the territory of the Russian Federation or a residence permit, proving the legality of a foreigner’s stay within the country (does not apply to representatives of countries from the visa-free list);
- divorce certificate (if the foreigner was previously in a legal relationship with someone in his home country);
- certificate from the place of residence of the foreigner;
- receipt of payment of state duty.
The absence of at least one of these documents makes marriage impossible.
Moreover, all certificates, certificates and other papers must contain a translation into Russian, which is certified by a notary and marked with an apostille.
Citizens of former Soviet republics can submit documents without a special mark.
What has changed in legislation
According to the Family Code of Russia, namely Article 158, you can find out in detail which marriages are considered valid and which are not. Citizens also have the opportunity to legalize their family relationships, but only subject to the following rules:
- The marriage took place abroad. At the same time, all the rules in force in this country were observed. Simply put, if a marriage took place in Spain, then it must be legal in this country;
- To legalize marriage in Russia, it is not necessary to be citizens of the Russian Federation. In practice, it's a little different. Basically, one of the family members must be Russian;
- Russian legislation was not violated, which would prevent marriage. All this is spelled out in Article 14 of the Family Code of the Russian Federation.
The reason for registering a marriage outside of Russia is not only the desire to enter into a relationship with a foreigner. Recently, many citizens of the country specially go to such ceremonies in order to get married in more exotic places, which will be remembered for a lifetime. However, now it will be necessary to legalize the marriage in Russia. To do this, you should contact the registry office and tell them about the fact of entering into a marriage relationship.
In addition, those Russians who had a child abroad will also have to contact the registry office. But this is only if he was registered at his place of birth.
