Marriage in Austria

Canadian citizens may get married in Austria. However, the procedure requires time and thorough preparation. Therefore, Canadian citizens and residents contemplating marriage in Austria should be familiar with the following requirements:

1) Legal Age for Marriage:
The legal age for either sex is 18. Persons at least 16 years of age may also marry if they present a written and notarized consent from both parents and if the other spouse is at least 18 years old.

2) Required Documents:

• legalized Birth Certificate
• Passport
• Driver's License or like document that shows address of residence
• if married before: legalized divorce/annulment decrees or legalized death certificate of previous spouse. The marriage certificate(s) of previous marriage(s) is/are also usually required.
• legalized Canadian certificate of non-impediment
• if required (see above): legalized parental consent

Documents (other than passports and driver's licenses) not written in German must be accompanied by certified translations done by an official translator.

3) Place of Marriage:
Only civil marriages are legal in Austria. They may, however, be followed by religious ceremonies if desired. The ceremony takes place at the Standesamt (Vital Statistics Office).

If either party to the marriage resides in Austria (regardless of citizenship), the application for marriage must be filed at the local Standesamt. If both parties to the marriage are neither Austrians nor residents, the application must be filed at the Standesamt for the First District of Vienna (Standesamt Wien-Innere Stadt, Schlesingerplatz 4, A-1082 Vienna, Austria; phone: 01143 1 40134 08591; fax: 01143 1 40134 99 08580; e-mail: post-a08(at)m35.magwien.gv.at).

4) Procedures:
Both marriage partners - bringing with them the required documents listed above - should apply in person at the appropriate Standesamt which then schedules the date of the wedding. The overall fees for the various procedures and services can reach up to approx. € 300.00. The wedding ceremony itself lasts approximately 15 minutes. In case one or both marriage partners do not speak German, they must engage the services of an official Austrian interpreter at their own expenses.

5) Time required to complete application process:
Although Austrian law does not require a period of residence in Austria prior to marriage, the administrative procedures involved usually need two to four weeks to complete.

6) Miscellaneous:
In general, both marriage partners should be present in Austria during the entire period necessary to arrange for the ceremony. If only one partner can be present in Austria, he/she may make the arrangements providing he/she obtains the written permission to do so from the other partner on a form called "Ermächtigung". These forms (in German) are available from all Standesamt offices.

7) Validity of Austrian marriages:
Binding advice regarding the validity of an Austrian marriage in Canada can be obtained only from an attorney or an official in the appropriate province/territory. However, marriages legally performed in Austria are generally recognized in Canada.

For additional information, Canadian citizens and landed immigrants are kindly asked to contact the local Standesamt or the