Getting Married and Civil Partnership

Getting Married in Italy

If you are an Italian registered in AIRE who intends to contract marriage in Italy, please contact the Consulate General for information on the correct procedure.

Marriage banns must be arranged by appointment and published in time. We recommend contacting the Consulate General at least one month before the marriage date.

Getting Married in Hong Kong or Macao

Italian citizens wishing to marry in Hong Kong do not need the marriage banns at the Consulate and can apply directly to the Hong
Kong Marriage Registry.

It is a legal requirement to register the marriage in Italy.

To do so, please present the following documents to our office during the opening hours to the public:

• Original marriage certificate or a duplicate issued by the Hong Kong Marriage Registry or, if the marriage was celebrated in Macao, by the Civil Registry, duly apostilled;
• A photocopy of the spouses’ passports;
• The marriage registration request form Application form to register a marriage

Failing to update one’s marital status will result in complications and delays of consular services.

Please note that the original marriage certificate or its duplicate must be kept in the consular archives and cannot be returned. We
advise Italian nationals to request more than one copy of their marriage certificate for future use.

The Consulate General will translate the certificate and forward it to the competent Italian Municipality.

Getting married at the Consulate

It is possible for both citizens residing in the consular district and when local laws do not oppose it (please click here for more information)

Same-sex Civil Partnership (“Unione Civile”)

Italian citizens are hereby informed that, following the adoption of Law No. 76 of May 20, 2016, and Government Decree no. 144 of July 23, 2016, it is possible to enter into civil unions with persons of the same sex at consular offices abroad.

For those Italian citizens who have already contracted marriage or a civil union with persons of the same sex in a foreign country in accordance with local laws, it is mandatory to request the registration of the marriage/civil union certificate in Italy through the consular Office.

Consular Jurisdiction

Civil unions abroad are celebrated at the competent consular office where one of the two parties resides (Article 8, paragraph 1 of Government Decree no. 144/2016) and applications must be submitted there.

The Consulate General of Italy in Hong Kong can celebrate civil unions only if one of the contracting parties is an Italian citizen residing in Hong Kong or Macao.

The request must be jointly submitted by both applicants (the form will be provided by the Consulate)  and each party must declare the following:

1. 1. Name and Surname; Date and Place of Birth; Citizenship; Place of Residence (applicants are reminded to bring a valid passport on the day of the appointment);
   2. The absence of impediments to the establishment of the union, as established by Article 1, paragraph 4 of Law No. 76 of May 20, 2016.

Italian citizens can underwrite a simple affidavit stating their personal data as indicated above, and provide a Certificate of No Marriage Records issued by either the HK SAR or The Macao SAR, legalized with apostille and translated into Italian by one of the translators listed on the website of the Consulate General of Italy in HK.

However, if one of the two parties is not Italian, he/she will also need to provide the following documents:

1. 1. Valid passport;
   2. Birth certificate, legalized and translated into Italian in the Country of origin of the document;
   3. Certificate of No Marriage Records issued by either the HK SAR or The Macao SAR, legalized with apostille and translated into Italian by one of the translators listed on the website of the Consulate General of Italy in HK;
   4. A Certificate issued by the Consulate of the Country of Birth stating that the person is free to marry.

Upon submission of the application form, the Consulate will verify the accuracy of the documents and a date will be set for the parties to jointly make the declaration of union, in the presence of the Consul General or the Consul and two witnesses (the Consulate does not provide witnesses).

During the ceremony, the parties can also declare their choice with regard to the adopted surname and the separate property regime (Article 1, paragraph 13 of Law 76/2016).

The certificate of the civil union will be sent by the Consular Office to the relevant Municipality in Italy for registration.