Hi! Thanks for the question.
Let us take into consideration your situation one at a time.
1. Let us first answer the question as to the requirement of a church
marriage.
Article 44 of The Romanian Constitution says that…
“(2) The terms for entering into marriage, dissolution, and nullity of
marriage, shall be established by law. Religious wedding may be
celebrated only after civil marriage.”
“Romania – Constitution”
http://www.unesco.org/most/rr3roma.htm
Using the Romanian Constitution as the basis, we can see that civil
marriage is the more important act. Before you can even have a church
wedding, you must first have to complete the civil marriage procedure.
The church wedding will only be a matter of choice for the couple.
Your friend was actually referring to a custom more popular in rural,
but can also be found in the urban, parts of Romania. Our next article
has a reference to this.
“Church attendance in rural areas far surpassed that in urban places.
Most rural people viewed the civil marriage ceremony required by the
state as a mere formality and lived together only after a church
wedding.”
“Romania – Family”
http://countrystudies.us/romania/45.htm
2. Marriage Requirements
Having settled the necessity of having a civil marriage and showing
that a church wedding is only optional let us go to the more important
part, the legal requirements. Since you said that you are an American
citizen, there is additional paper work that needs to be done. The US
Embassy website for Romania fortunately provides the information you
need. Furthermore the website further states that the state only
legally recognizes the civil marriage ceremony.
You will need the following documents:
1. “Certified copy of the U.S. citizen’s birth certificate with a
notarized translation in Romania (obtained from a Romanian notary) or,
if the birth certificate is not available, a notarized statement given
at a Romanian notary public summarizing the data in the U.S. citizen’s
passport and including the parents’ names (accepting such a statement
in place of a birth certificate is at the discretion of the Romanian
authorities).”
2. “Notarized statement to the effect that the U.S. citizen is free to
marry, obtained at the American Citizen Services office of the U.S.
Embassy in Bucharest. There is a USD 30.00 fee for a consular officer
to notarize this affidavit. You must present your U.S. passport to
sign this affidavit in front of the consular officer, no appointment
is necessary.”
3. “Prenuptial Certificate (Health Certificate) for both the U.S.
citizen and the Romanian citizen, obtained from a clinic in the city
where your marriage will take place.”
4. “A civil marriage ceremony can usually be scheduled three or four
days after the couple submits all required documents to the Vital
Statistics Office of the Mayor’s Office in the area of residence of
the Romanian citizen.”
The next link where this information came from has more information
such as how, when and where to get these documents. You must go to the
“Romanian documentary requirements for foreigners wishing to marry a
Romanian citizen in Romania” section about the middle of the page to
get the additional information.
“MARRIAGES BETWEEN U.S. AND ROMANIAN CITIZENS”
http://www.usembassy.ro/InfoR/imm4.htm
Search terms used:
Romania "civil marriage" laws
I hope these links would help you in your research. Before rating this
answer, please ask for a clarification if you have a question or if
you would need further information.
Thanks for visiting us.
Regards,
Easterangel-ga
Google Answers Researcher |
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