Hi all,
I recall a recent thread where one of the posters mentioned she (?) was Swiss and got married to her British parter in Switzerland - I can't find the bloomin' thread anymore and I'd love to get in touch with the poster.
We're getting married in June 2010 (yep a while to go but early birds and snoozing and losing and all that!), me Swiss, him English, currently residing in sunny Bromley but likely having moved to Switzerland by then.
I know what documents he'll have to provide and where to get them from, but if anyone has gone through the same and remembers what docs will be needed? Fiance is catholic by the way, surely complicating matters...
And an idea about the costs for the civil service - I heard rumours of up to CHF 300.- extra for foreign brides/grooms and coughing up for a translator if either don't speak/understand the language.
Aaaaanyway would be good to hear from someone that's gone or going through the same thing!
Cheers
Dani
Are you sure you want to get married in Switzerland? What about getting
married in UK and coming to Switzerland. My wife and I got married in the
US and had the marriage certificate completed with an Apostille. In Switzerland,
there was no translation necessary.
That might not be the answer to your question, but we decided to marry outside
of Switzerland because of the complications and costs.
Hi Dani, congratulations for your future wedding. I got married in 1982 in Zürich and it wasn't complicated. I did have to pay more for an interpreter but obviously cant remember the cost.
It would probably be a good idea if your having a church wedding to book early and possibly find a priest that speaks English as there is usually some kind of preparation for marriage course that should be done before hand. Not sure how strict they are about that here.
Happy planning
TY Oldhand, English speaking priest is a fab idea! I've heard about catholic priests and their marriage courses in UK and they're very strict about it. Don't mind doing one though, might learn something!
The easiest thing to do is to contact the Gemeinde / Community offices and ask them to send you a list, as it can vary from Canton to Canton. If you have an idea of where you would like to reside, perhaps contact that locality and ask them for the information. There was a handy little booklet available back in the day in Aargau which had a list of everything you need to do to prepare, and also general information on permit status and names after marriage. You will definitely need birth certificates and proof of status (single, divorced, etc).
I hope this helps a little!
I'm British and my wife is Swiss and we married in 2006 and it wasn't particularly complicated or expensive.
Usual stupid Swiss logic for non-Swiss applies:
1. A recent birth certificate issued in the last 6 months! For some reason they don't accept the original from when you were actually born.
2. An sworn oath at the consulate that you aren't already married to someone else and that you are free to marry.
3. Official translation of documents into a federal language even though everyone involved understands English. I keep trying to muster up the courage to have my documents translated into Italian but have managed it yet.
If you need any ideas PM me.
I was thinking about whether it would be easier to get married in the UK rather than learn the vagaries of the Swiss system.
Also, if you have children in Switzerland, do they get Swiss nationality or UK nationality (assuming parents are British)?
answered my own Q: british.
Thanks Craig, that's pretty much what I was looking for - and cheers Pinki, yep I'll get in touch with them, it's just that it's still about 18 months away and we're not sure yet where we'll be residing either.
Thanks all!
I am British and my fiancee is swiss. Should we marry in Switzerland, Geneva, or London in the U.K? It seems easier to marry in London as all they need are passports and proof of my address there. Here they need my translated birth certificate (from arabic to french I guess( as well as translated divorce document from my previous divorce. I also understand we have to wait 3 months from application, and that I have to become a swiss resident to apply for the marriage in switzerland? It is much quicker in the u.k waiting 15 days from application.We are in a rush to be married, so anyone know a thing or two on this please let me know. Many thanks.
Hi Dani_SF,
We have recently sent in our application to the etat civil in the canton of Vaud (with complete documents) I'm Singaporean, he's French. This is what happened:
1) Fiance called about 3 days after sending the application, and was told by one of them ' it would take about 2 - 6 months' ... We were like 'What?' Anyhow, I enquired on the EF and a fellow non-Swiss wife/ fiance told me that they were told by their canton that they could get a date, upon submitting complete documents.
2) And so, upon hearing what the fellow non-Swiss lady said, I asked my other half to call again. Before he could call them, we received a letter from etat civil asking us to go to the office on 5 May to fill out the forms again, and have the same forms translated to me in English (verbally) ( guess it's their way of making sure that I fully understood what I'm filling out.
3) My other half called to enquire about this process and what do we have to do after that. The lady in the etat civil office said that ' oh! after this step, we will submit your documents to the board and then we will come back to you to settle a date for the actual marriage' and she added that it will be 'very quick'.
I get the sense that they usually process the paperwork pretty quickly but they will tell u they take 2 - 6 months because they may decide to do an in-depth check of your application. So far, I find that they are responding pretty quickly till now, not as complicated and dreadful as I thought. But who knows, I have not gone through the whole process yet. Maybe it might turn out worse. But fingers crossed.
Hope this helps.
Dani, the Catholic church runs these courses in most countries, not just the UK. You will only need to go on the course if you are getting married in a Catholic church. If you are having a civil wedding, then there is no need. Your husband to be, however, may wish you both to go anyway!
Oh I miss that amazing Swiss logic