Guidance

Getting married in Croatia guide

Published 1 May 2018

1. Applying for Certificate of no Impediment and Certificate of Custom/ Law in Croatia

Please check with the register office where you want to get married to see which documents they will require from you/ your partner because those are set out by the Croatian law and the British Embassy has no authority over the local law. Also, you also need to enquire about when (how long in advance of the date of marriage) you will need to submit the documents to the local register office.

Local registrars usually require documents issued in the UK to be stamped with the Apostille stamp, but you should check that in advance with the local registrar. You can apply for Apostille stamps by post at the Legalisation Office, Norfolk House (West), 437 Silbury Boulevard, Milton Keynes, MK9 2AH, email legalisationenquiries@fcdo.gov.uk, see more information here.

You can ask the Legislation Office to send your Original Apostilled documents directly to the Embassy.

You can apply for two Marriage documents at the Embassy, depending on what the registrar requires:

  • certificate of no Impediment which shows that no impediment for the intended marriage exists

  • certificate of Custom/Law which confirms that a marriage contracted in Croatia will be valid for administrative purposes in the UK, and is issued on the basis of the original Certificate of no Impediment

1.1 Certificate of no Impediment (CNI)

There are two ways to give notice of marriage in order to obtain CNI:

  • by applying in person at the Embassy in Zagreb

  • by sending documents signed in front of a local Public Notary in Croatia via post (mainly to be used by residents in Croatia)

By applying for CNI in person at the Embassy in Zagreb you will need to:

  • make an appointment at the Embassy in Zagreb for after the 3 days of residence, earliest on the 4th day, to give Notice of your marriage and show your original British passport
  • print out and complete relevant documents found in Croatia Marriage Application Pack
  • show proof of 3 days residence in Croatia when applying for the Certificate of No Impediment by means of hotel booking, residence permit, air ticket, etc
  • show the original Decree Absolute if you have been married before and divorced/ marriage annulled
  • give Notice of Marriage and swear an Oath/ sign an Affirmation

By sending documents signed in front of a local Public Notary in Croatia by Post:

  • print out, fully complete and sign Notice of Marriage and Affirmation documents in front of a Notary Public in Croatia, found in Croatia Marriage Application Pack
  • print out, fill in and sign the Credit card Authorisation form and service Application forms also found within the Croatia Marriage Application Pack
  • obtain a certified copy of your passport - certified by a Croatian notary public, or a relevant authority in the UK, please see the details here
  • send all documents directly to the Embassy in Zagreb by Post to British Embassy, Consular Section, Ivana Lučića 4, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia

Notice of an Intended Marriage (fee £50 for each British person) will then be displayed in our public area at the Embassy for 7 clear days and, if no impediment has been shown to exist, the CNI (fee £50 for each British person) will be issued on the 8th day.

Applicants do not need to be in Croatia the entire time, but only the initial 4 days as explained above. Please see ‘Documents collection by the 3rd party and consent’ below for details.

You can also apply for the Certificate of no Impediment in the UK (see below under ‘Applying for the Certificate of no Impediment in the UK’).

1.2 Certificate of Custom/Law

Another document usually required by the local registrars when foreigners are getting married in Croatia, is the Certificate of Custom/Law. The Certificate of Custom/Law is the document that states that the marriage stipulated in Croatia will be valid for legal purposes in the UK.

It can be applied for and issued at the same time when the CNI is issued at the Embassy and can also be collected by the applicant or the 3rd party (see details below).

Please note that you need to check with a local registrar directly to find out whether they will require the Certificate of Custom/Law from you.

The Certificate of Custom/Law (fee £50 for each British person) is applied for on the basis of the original Certificate of No Impediment and your British passport or a certified copy of it if not applying in person.

If you will be applying for a Certificate of Custom/Law remotely and your representative will come to the Embassy to collect it, please make sure you provide us with these documents sent to the Embassy via Post:

  • your original UK Certificate of No Impediment
  • certified copy of your British passport – certified by a relevant authorities in the UK – for more information on who can certify a document in the UK please see this link
  • fill in and sign the credit card authorisation form found within the Croatia Marriage Application Pack
  • fill in and sign the application form - found within the Croatia Marriage Application Pack

The Certificate of Custom/Law for use in Croatia can only be issued at the British Embassy in Zagreb. This is a fee bearing service, please see above under fees. The payment can be made as described under ‘How to make payment’.

Make an appointment at the Embassy in Zagreb.

Marriage documents can be collected by the applicant or by a 3rd party (an authorised person, e.g. wedding planner, friend etc). In order for a 3rd party to collect your CNI, both bride and the groom, must give consent to the Embassy within the application form found in the Croatia Marriage Application Pack.

Application form is completed by each applicant at the Embassy when applying in person, sent by post with original documents required, or sent by email to croatia.consular@fcdo.gov.uk each from their own email address.

We need this consent because it is required under the Data Protection Act, as we are passing private information of a British national to a 3rd party. Your consent should specify the full name of the 3rd party (i.e. your wedding planner, a friend, etc.), and when this authorised person collects the CNI, they should bring their passport or their Croatian ID.

1.4 Certifying documents at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Zagreb

Please note: Registrars in Croatia usually require for all Embassy issued documents to be certified by the Croatian Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Zagreb, Department for certifying signatures, Petreticev Trg 2, Zagreb, Tel 00385 1 4599 400. Please check this with your registrar in advance as this too refers to the local law, which is subject to change and not in our authority.

1.5 Applying for the Certificate of no Impediment in the UK

We no longer accept Notices of Marriage issued by other British Embassies, we can only accept CNIs issued in the UK.

The procedure is similar to the above but the Notice of Marriage is given to a Register Office in the UK and the Register office will issue you with the Certificate of no Impediment in English. You need to check requirements (for residency or other) for applying for a CNI in the UK with a registrar in the UK.

1.6 Exchange of UK issued CNI for one in Croatia language

Local registrars in Croatia usually require for the CNI and other documents to be submitted in Croatian language or with an official translation into Croatian. You can apply for exchanging of the UK issued Certificate of no Impediment into one in Croatian language at the Embassy. This is a fee payable service, please see under ‘Fees’.

Make an appointment at the Embassy in Zagreb.

2. Fees

The current fees, payable by each applicant are:

  • receiving the Notice of Marriage £50
  • issuing the Certificate of no Impediment £50
  • exchange of UK issued CNI for one in Croatian £50
  • issuing the Certificate of Custom/Law £50

If both bride and groom are British citizens, they each need to pay each fee, as they are separate applicants and the documents issued refer to one British national.

3. How to make payment

The payment of the above fees can be made in one of the following ways:

  • by credit card (Visa, MasterCard or UK Maestro) at the time of the appointment

  • by credit card (Visa, MasterCard or UK Maestro) using the FCDO Consular Payment Form -please see the explanation below

  • in Croatian Kunas cash at the time of the appointment- please enquire about and bring the exact amount

If you wish you can use one FCDO Consular Payment Form to pay for both bride and groom’s documents, but then please state both names clearly on the form under ‘Applicants Details’ as well as all the services you are paying for. Please also note we need to receive the payment form directly from you (GDPR).

4. After you get married

Your marriage will be recognised in the UK if:

You can’t register your marriage in the UK.

From 1 January 2014 the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) has discontinued its service of depositing foreign marriage and civil partnership certificates with the General Register Offices in the UK. British nationals overseas will need to make their own arrangements for the safekeeping of these certificates, as they do for other important documents.

If you need extra copies of your marriage certificate or an international marriage certificate, you can apply for them at the local registry office.

5. Church wedding

Note that foreigners who want to get married at Croatian churches, need to contact the nearest local Register Office in Croatia and officially notify them of the intended marriage before the church wedding takes place. By doing so, they make it possible for the Registrar to issue them with a civil Marriage Certificate, on the basis of the Marriage Certificate issued by the church.

For any additional information regarding requirements under the Croatian Law please contact the Register Office direct.

A list of all Register Offices (Maticni ured) in Croatia can be found at https://uprava.gov.hr/naseljena-mjesta-i-maticna-podrucja-2168/2168 (listed by the counties and then towns, available only in Croatian).