Certificate of No Impediment to Marriage

[ReadySalted]

Hello

I'm a Brit and getting married next month in Taiwan, and want to register the marriage. I know I need a Certificate of No Impediment to Marriage, but the British Trade and Cultural Office doesn't offer help with that. Their website says to go to a lawyer or notary public. My question is, how do I get the certificate? I've looked at past threads, and I've read I need to go to the UK to get one, or get one in Hong Kong, or get a solicitor in the UK to get one for me. The posts are generally a few years old, so I don't know what's reliable.

Can anybody who's recently got married shed some light?

Thanks

[tsukinodeynatsu]

Oh God. When I did it I ended up marrying using my US passport (they don't issue such certificates and therefore don't need one) and applying for the ARC with the UK one. Seemed to work.

From what I understood - you need to go back to the UK for around one month. (There is actually info on this on the BTCO's website.) You need to go and apply at your local registry, and then wait, and then go back and pick it up, then take it to the Foreign Affairs Office to be notarised, then take it to TECO in Grovenor Gardens to get it notarised by them.

If you don't have one month to wait (or don't have the cash to live there for a month (ostensibly) without a job) then your best bet is most likely to make the trip to Hong Kong. They don't require a certificate of no impediment so you'll be there for around three or four days and when you come back you use the HK marriage certificate to register your marriage here. Reasonably painless and I think it should cost around $10,000NTD for the marriage process there, plus flights and accommodation.

[EigerMarcus]

The BTCO link on marriage and related issues: http://ukintaiwan.fco.gov.uk/en/help-fo ... -marriage/

[kabbie]

I'm a Brit and got married last week, in Hong Kong (still feeling a little awkward wearing the ring).

The whole Certificate of NItM is a real headache, and unless you already have some plans for a long trip to the UK or some personal reasons to avoid it, I would recommend you put your efforts into organising a week in Hong Kong.

There's an excellent thread about what you need to do before, in and after Hong Kong - it's still accurate.

http://www.forumosa.com/taiwan/viewtopi ... 64&t=83057

And on that note: Thank you soooo much BlackAdder - you're a life-saver.

[ReadySalted]

Thanks for the replies guys. What a pain in the balls it is to get married here.

[tsukinodeynatsu]

Thanks for the replies guys. What a pain in the balls it is to get married here.

On the bright side, once you've got everything done and sorted, it only costs you 50NT to actually register your marriage. Which means a local couple can get married for 100NT in about 10 minutes O.O;

[sandman]

I just got one by proxy through my parents' family solicitor. No trip anywhere. Easy.

[Chris]

This seems a problem unique to Brits, always causing headaches.

I know at least one UK-Taiwan couple who got married in Guam. Apparently they have good marriage/honeymoon packages.

[ReadySalted]

ah, family solicitor sounds good. thanks sandman. wan't sure if that could still be done.

[GRC22]

Do you have any tips for speeding up the process of a Certificate of No Impediment” (CNI) through a family solicitor?

Is there now an easier way for a Brit to register a marriage here in Taiwan?

Thanks in advance