Getting Married in Kosovo
The law in Kosovo recognizes only civil marriages. Application for marriage is made at a municipal registrar's office in the city where you wish to marry. Before submitting the application for marriage, the couple has the obligation to verify what documents are needed for marriage.
The following information is believed to be accurate and is furnished without responsibility on the part of the U.S. Embassy Pristina.
Application for marriage (documents / information to be presented at the city hall):
- Identity documents of both parties; if no identity documents are available, the testimony of two witnesses attesting to the identity of the couple suffices.
- Certification of marital status proving that both parties are free to marry.
- Proof of residence (this information can be included within free to marry statement).
- Birth certificates of both parties
- Divorce decree (if it is a foreign divorce decree involving a Kosovar, it is only valid if officially recognized by a Former Yugoslav/Kosovo court) if either party is divorced.
- Death certificate of spouse if either party is widowed.
- Two witnesses age eighteen or over, with ID documents.
Forms: The couple must complete an application form, which is provided by the municipality/civil registry office. The supporting documentation must be attached to it.
Special consideration: If the U.S. citizen marries a foreigner (not a Kosovar), on the part of the foreigner, he or she must submit, in addition to the documents mentioned above, a so called "Certificate of capacity to contract marriage", if he/she is German, Italian, Spanish, Austrian, Portuguese, Dutch, French, Belgian, Swiss, Greek or from Luxembourg. This is the same as the Free To Marry statement. If he/she is not a national of one of these countries, he/she should submit an ordinary certification about his/her marital status, issued by his/her home country.
Marriage certificate: The marriage is recorded in the Civil Registry. A Kosovo/UNMIK marriage certificate will be issued. The form is in three languages, including English.
Notice: While the Ministry of Public Services in Pristina provides the authentication service with an Apostille, DHS does not require certification of the Marriage Certificate with an Apostille stamp.
General information: American diplomatic and consular officers cannot perform marriages. Marriage is a function reserved solely to the State, and is beyond the authority of American diplomatic and consular officers who are federal officials. In general, marriages, which are legally performed and valid abroad, are also valid in the United States. The Attorney General of the state, or states in the U.S., of domicile of the parties to the marriage is the proper authority to respond to inquiries with respect to the validity of marriages abroad.