Getting Married

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Getting Married

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Legalities

You may only be married in Portugal according to Portuguese law. You may not be married at an embassy or at any of the consulates in Portugal by a consular from your country. Both Civil Ceremonies and Catholic Church weddings are legally recognised.

Religious Ceremonies

Catholic Church weddings are legally binding in Portugal. If you have been divorced from a wedding in the Catholic church and your marriage was not officially annulled, you cannot marry in the Catholic church in Portugal. You will need to get in touch with the local priest in the region of Portugal you wish to marry in advance of your wedding to make necessary arrangements.

Once you receive approval, your wedding has to take place within three months. If you wish to have any other type of religious ceremony you will be required to have a Civil Ceremony first, otherwise the marriage will not be legally binding under Portuguese law.

Civil Ceremonies

Civil ceremonies are legally binding in Portugal. The local Registrar will perform your ceremony in the Register Office.

The Paperwork

All documentation must be original and endorsed with an Apostille stamp (an Apostille Stamp authenticates documents executed outside of Portugal, such as a birth certificate, so that it will be recognised as genuine for use in other countries).

Any documentation that is not in Portuguese must be accompanied by official translations, translated by an agency verified by the Portuguese Consulate.

Required Documents

You and your partner will need the following:
  • A valid passport
  • Long form birth certificate, fully translated into Portuguese by a sworn translator and issued within six months of your marriage date. Unless your wedding takes place in the Azores, then the documents may be issued within the last three months.
  • MP1 Form - all applicants need to fill out this form
  • MP2 Form - all applicants need to fill out this form
  • A certificate of no impediment. This shows that you are both free to marry and your marriage will be recognised once you get home to Ireland. This can be applied for at a consulate in Lisbon, Oporto, Portimão, Funchal, Ponta Delgada. This is also issued by the Department Of Foreign Affairs in Ireland The certificate is valid for three months from the date of issue.
  • Fee (this changes from year to year so it’s best to check DFA in Dublin or Irish Embassy in London beforehand)
  • Parental or Guardian Consent if you or your partner are under the age of 18
  • If this is not your first marriage, a divorce decree or a death certificate to prove termination of previous marriages, must be provided. Again, these documents must have been issued within the last six months or within the last three months if you reside in the Azores.

Catholic Weddings

For Catholic weddings in Portugal you will require a formal letter from your parish priest granting permission for the wedding to be performed in your chosen Portuguese church.

Your priest should also secure a letter from the Bishop of the parish stating the same as above and this letter should also be written on letterhead. The letter from the priest must also state that you have fulfilled all PRE CANA procedures, and should include the certificate (if a certificate was done) showing that you attended the premarital classes.

The original prenuptial inquiry form has to be issued by your parish and be on formal church letterhead of your Parish. The prenuptial inquiry form is not just the certificate but rather a type of signed questionnaire with church seals/signatures. This document must be stamped by the local Bishop's office (NOT just your priest).

You will need to have all certificates of baptism, first communion and confirmation must be sent together with the Prenuptial inquiry form and letters, these must also be stamped by the local Bishop's office.

All the documents mentioned must have been sealed or stamped by the Bishop's parish office and must be translated into Portuguese.
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