Registration of Marriage

Marriage in Armenia

Marriage in Armenia is similar to most Western countries. It is forbidden to marry if you are already wed, related to the one you are marrying (including cousins and adoptive families), or if one party is recognized by the courts to be incapacitated. Furthermore, any property acquired after legal marriage is subject to being split equally should you part ways.

For a legal marriage to take place, you will need to visit the registry office and the registration offices of the Ministry of Justice of the RA. Those without Armenian residency can be issued a temporary residence and complete the process at the registry office, if deemed necessary.

The whole process takes between 10 and 15 days, usually. The official range is from 10 to 90 days. It is, however, unlikely to exceed 20 days.

Documents Needed for the State Registration of Marriage

The following are submitted for state registration of marriage:

(1) identification documents of persons entering into marriage;

(2) in case of having state registration of a previous marriage, a document or copy of document that serves as a ground for termination of the previous marriage (certificate of divorce or court judgment, having entered into legal force, on divorce, or certificate of death of the husband (wife)), if the document serving as a ground is missing in the integrated electronic register;

(3) in case of foreign citizen or stateless person, the document certifying marital status as issued by the competent body of the country of permanent residence.

In case of submitting the application on state registration of marriage through an authorised person, the application containing information on marital status, filled out by the person entering into marriage, is also submitted through the approved notarial procedure.
The following information shall be filled in the application on marriage:

(1) name, family name, surname, place and time of birth, citizenship, place of residence, series and number of identification document, as well as nationality, educational background and workplace — upon the will of the applicant;

(2) family status before marriage;

(3) surname of the person entering into marriage after state registration of the marriage;

(4) selected day of state registration of the marriage;

(5) on the wish to conduct state registration of the marriage solemnly;

(6) on the intention to reduce the time limits of state registration of the marriage;

How much is the state duty?

No state duty is envisaged for registration of marriage.

The amount of fee charged for additional service shall be:

Conducting solemn ceremony of state registration of marriage in the area designated by the Agency or service centre (Karen Demirchyan Sports and Concerts Complex) — entrance fee of AMD 20,000

Conducting a solemn ceremony of state registration of marriage outside the area designated to the Agency or service centre — in a place specified by persons entering into marriage — AMD 40,000.

Conducting a solemn ceremony of state registration of marriage on non-working hours and/or non-working days outside the area designated to the Agency or service centre — in a place specified by persons entering into marriage — AMD 60, 000.

Tips as Stated by Other Repats

While the official steps are easy to remember, there are some little nuances that repats and foreigners getting married in Armenia have noticed. Here are some tips to make the process a touch easier.

- If you plan an atheist wedding, you will need to have someone from ZAGS present to officiate
- Each region has its own ZAGS. Go to the one in your area
- Spanish citizens will need to obtain their single status apostilled document from Spain before coming to Armenia because of a lack of embassy
- The Ministry of Justice is generally very good at answering any questions you may have in the process
- The lineups at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to receive your stamp are very long on Mondays and Thursdays. It might be better to visit on a Tuesday or Friday. It is better to arrive at 10 am to avoid lines in general
- At the MFA, to fill out the forms and send in for processing, stand in the left line. To pick up your documents once they are done, stand in the right
- At the MFA, bring exact change for the machines because they do not give you change
- Dual citizens are treated as foreigners, so have your documents done accordingly
- You do not need baptism papers for any part of the process