Get married in July in Colombia

ajiaco99 says on May 24, 2006, 14:45:

My experience I'm from the US, got married in Bogota in April, live here now. I found the process A LOT easier than I read anywhere here or on any of the 6 or so Colombian Consulate websites.

It depends if you're getting married in the Catholic Church or having a civil society. We married in the Church. Here's what we needed:

Birth Cert
Baptism Cert
Confirmation Cert
Pre-marraige Catholic church counseling cert
Letter from a Catholic Church in the US certifying that I was single

NONE of those documents were translated OR apostilled.

We didn't have any troubles at all, and we have the documents to prove it!

It was easier for me because my wife was here in Bogota and just went to the Church office that deals with this sort of thing and asked them what the proper procedure was. My advice - have someone (your fiancee or family) do the same. Don't believe any of the crap anywhere else because a lot of it is old or simply inaccurate.

Best of Luck.

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utopiacowboy says on May 24, 2006, 15:07:

Nice slam, ajiaco99, but your statements match what I said on an earlier thread here.

"If you are a Catholic, your baptismal certificate also contains a certificate of your confirmation as well as any marriages in the Church. After my marriage, the Colombian parish notified the parish where I was baptized and they updated their records with my marriage. I was able to attend the premarital course here in San Antonio and get a certificate in Spanish with the seal of the archdiocese. I also needed a statement from two people who were NOT family members that I was single and that I had never been married in the Catholic Church. This had to be signed before my parish priest and sealed with the parish seal as well as the seal of the archdiocese of San Antonio. Of course these requirements would have been the same had I been marrying in the Catholic church in the US. In fact it would have been more difficult here (depending on the rules of the diocese) since I probably would have needed an anullment of my previous civil marriage. In Colombia an anullment of a previous civil marriage is not necessary."

Disclaimer: any comment I make is inane and is not to be taken seriously, and is so patently ridiculous that no one should take it seriously, even as an insult.

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utopiacowboy says on May 24, 2006, 15:08:

Nice slam, ajiaco99, but your statements match what I said on an earlier thread here.

"If you are a Catholic, your baptismal certificate also contains a certificate of your confirmation as well as any marriages in the Church. After my marriage, the Colombian parish notified the parish where I was baptized and they updated their records with my marriage. I was able to attend the premarital course here in San Antonio and get a certificate in Spanish with the seal of the archdiocese. I also needed a statement from two people who were NOT family members that I was single and that I had never been married in the Catholic Church. This had to be signed before my parish priest and sealed with the parish seal as well as the seal of the archdiocese of San Antonio. Of course these requirements would have been the same had I been marrying in the Catholic church in the US. In fact it would have been more difficult here (depending on the rules of the diocese) since I probably would have needed an anullment of my previous civil marriage. In Colombia an anullment of a previous civil marriage is not necessary."

Disclaimer: any comment I make is inane and is not to be taken seriously, and is so patently ridiculous that no one should take it seriously, even as an insult.

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Mrblablazo says on May 24, 2006, 17:07:

Have your girl talk to the priest. My situation is the same as yours: American guy with Colombian girl. We were wed in a Catholic ceremony last August, and our paperwork varied slightly from what different web sites might tell you. I would defer to the priest who will be performing the wedding - he will ultimately be the authority you need to satisfy. For example, he allowed us to take our PreCana classes separately (thankfully) as long as we met with him the week prior to the wedding to discuss the course over some coffee. I'm sure this was so he could get a feel of us as a couple and realize that we were serious about what we were doing. Also, my church documents (Baptismal, Confirmation, PreCana certificate and letter of 'singlehood') did not have apostille, but they did have the official raised seal of my Catholic parrish here in the States. My birth certificate, though, was certified and had the apostille. -- This was how he wanted everything. We held up our end of the bargain and so did he.

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Chilltown_JC says on May 25, 2006, 05:59:

I apologize I'm actually getting married via civil society, not a catholic marriage. Does anyone know what I may need for a civil marriage. I'm thinking of getting married within a town close to the border of Ecuador/Colombia maybe San Pasto. Any info may help thanks

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cali373 says on Oct 17, 2007, 11:31:

I was not asked by the Notary in Pereira for a letter of solteria, EVEN though the Colombian consulate told me I needed one. Secretary of state does not do letters of solteria (they don't know you). I also did not have to get a police report of me, something similar to the "pase judicial" in Colombia.

RECOMMENDATION: Ask your fiancee to do some legwork and go to the notary where you wish to get married and ASK that notary for their requiremnets. ITS THE BEST THING TO DO, BUT get married at that notary.

I also do not recommend getting married via the catholic church, even if you are catholic.

Smile if you are a thinker!

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ColombianoGringo (Moderator) (Trustee board) says on Oct 17, 2007, 14:42:

Wow. You sure dug up an old thread. The last I heard, the OP of this topic is already looking for a divorce.

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john_stark says on Oct 17, 2007, 21:55:

I got married in the Catholic Church since we are both Catholic. Why don't you recommend it?

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