Municipality of Aradippou

Quotation marks

In the Municipality of Aradippou, marriages are celebrated in accordance with the provisions of the “Marriage Law of 2003”, Law 104(I)/2003.

The ceremony takes place in a specially designed space at the Municipal Hall of Aradippou during working days from Monday to Friday. The wedding is performed by the Marriage Officer, who may be the Mayor, the Deputy Mayor, any municipal councilor authorized in writing by the Mayor or any other person authorized by the Minister of Interior specifically for this purpose.

For a marriage to be valid, according to the provisions of the above law, it must, among other things:

to be done with the free consent of the persons who will enter into the marriage;

there must be no previous marriage in force between either person;

Both parties must be over 18 years of age. Exceptionally, marriage at a younger age is permitted under certain conditions specified in the law.

Marriage notification and accompanying documents

Persons intending to marry must appear in person at the marriage registration office of the Municipality of Aradippou and submit a completed joint application called a marriage notice, which expresses their desire to marry and which contains their personal information. Together with the marriage notice, they must also present the original documents required to prove/certify the declaration they make with the said form. The documents required for each of the two persons are as follows:

A. For Cypriot citizens

Official document proving the identity of the person concerned, such as an identity card or passport.

A certificate of his/her marital status, i.e. an official certificate or attestation indicating that he/she is not bound by another marriage and that he/she is free to marry. Such documents may be:

if single, an official certificate attesting that he/she has not entered into any marriage;

original divorce, if he/she had entered into a marriage that has been dissolved by a court decision, which must be stamped by the Registrar of the Family Court as being final and irrevocable; or

death certificate of the spouse, in case he/she was married and the spouse has passed away.

A copy of an affidavit to be made in any Court of the Republic, in which the person concerned describes his/her marital status, i.e. whether he/she is single, divorced or widowed, as well as the name of the person with whom he/she intends to marry. In the event of divorce or death of the spouse, he/she must declare that after the divorce or death he/she has not entered into another marriage. The original must be filed with the Registrar of Marriages. The affidavit is valid for a period of 1 month from the date it was made.

If the Marriage Officer has any doubt as to the accuracy or authenticity of the documents presented to him, he may refuse to solemnize the marriage. Alternatively, in such a case, he may request the production of a certificate from the Registrar that the person concerned has not been married in the Republic under the “Marriage Law of 2003”, nor has he/she declared that he/she has performed a religious marriage. The certificate of the Registrar is valid for 2 months from the date of its issue.

Based on provisions of other legislation, it is recommended that they submit, in addition to the above, a Thalassemia Control Certificate.

B. For foreign nationals

Valid passport.

Copy of the birth certificate translated into English or Greek by an official authority of his/her country or by the Press and Information Office of the Republic of Cyprus.
Certificate of marital status, i.e. whether single, divorced, widowed, issued by an official authority in his/her country of origin.

The certificate is valid for 6 months from the date of issue and must be translated into Greek or English. The translation can be done either by the Press and Information Office of the Republic of Cyprus or by an official authority of the applicant’s country.

The original Certificate of Marital Status and the official translation must be presented together.

Additionally, the Certificate of Family Status must be legalized. The best form of legalization is with an Apostille stamp, if the applicant’s country has signed the “Hague Convention of 5 October 1961 Abolishing the Requirement of Legalization for Foreign Public Documents”. Otherwise, he/she will have to resort to an official authority in his/her country for the legalization required in each case.

The original sworn statement to be made in any court of the Republic by the interested person who must describe his/her marital status, i.e. whether he/she is single, divorced or widowed, as well as the name of the person with whom he/she intends to marry. In the event of divorce or death of the spouse, he/she must declare that after the divorce or death he/she has not entered into another marriage. The sworn statement is valid for a period of 1 month from the date it was made.
The original divorce decree, in the case of a divorced person, which must be final and irrevocable, duly authenticated and officially translated into English or Greek either by the Press and Information Office in Cyprus or by an official authority of the applicant’s country. The original divorce decree and the official translation must be presented together.
The death certificate of the deceased spouse, in case of widowhood from a previous marriage. The certificate must be translated into English or Greek in the manner described for divorce. The certificate must be presented together with the official translation.

False statements

According to section 34 of the “Marriage Law of 2003”, any person who intentionally makes a false statement in any declaration, certificate or other document required by this law commits an offence punishable by imprisonment or a heavy fine or both.

Marriage procedure

vAs long as the interested parties submit the marriage notice with all the necessary accompanying documents, the marriage can proceed either through the regular notification process or through an expedited process.

By normal procedure

According to this procedure, the Marriage Officer issues the certificate of service of notice and determination of the date and place of the marriage. The date of the marriage must be after the lapse of 15 days but not more than 3 months from the date of submission of the application. According to the law, in order to be issued, this specific certificate requires the physical presence of the prospective couple at the city hall offices to sign the relevant forms.

The wedding fees for the regular procedure are €128.15.

With urgency

If the couple has a special reason and wishes to marry before the minimum period of 15 days, they can request to marry within 2-3 days and at least in less than 15 days. If the Marriage Officer considers that there are reasons to expedite the marriage process, he may approve the request. In such a case, the interested parties must pay increased marriage fees amounting to €281.92.

The wedding ceremony

The wedding ceremony is very simple. The ceremony is conducted in the presence of at least two witnesses and begins with the reading of a relevant text by the Officiant, the newlyweds make a public and solemn declaration that they wish to marry each other, and at the end the Officiant pronounces them husband and wife.

Immediately after the marriage, the Marriage Officer issues a marriage certificate in three copies signed by him/her, by the persons whose marriage was solemnized and by at least two witnesses. The original is delivered to the persons whose marriage was solemnized, one copy is sent within 7 days to the Registrar to register the marriage in the relevant register and the third copy is registered in the relevant register kept by the Municipality.

In cases where either one or both of the persons celebrating the marriage are nationals of a foreign country that has an embassy or consulate in the Republic, the Marriage Officer sends a copy of the marriage certificate, certified by him, to the embassy or consulate of that country.