WEDDING FORMALITIES AND PROCEDURES IN INDONESIA

In accordance with law No 1 of 1974 concerning marriages in Indonesia ( Article 2 (1):” a marriage is Legitimate if it has been performed according to the laws of the respective religious beliefs of the Parties concerned.”

Any couple who are of one of the five (5) religions recognized by the government of Indonesia as follows: Christian  Catholic, Christian Protestant,islam,hindhu, or budhist may be legally married in Indonesia.   However  the preference is that the couple be of the same religious belief.The marriage should be registrar  with district civil registrar and the ceremony must be performed under religious rites.

A Christian Protestant, Christian Catholic, Hindu or Buddhist marriageis usually performed first in the church or temple ceremony. After  the religious ceremony, every non Islamic marriage for those from foreign nations must be recorded with the civil registry ( Kantor Catatan Sipil ).Without the registration by the civil registry these marriage are not legal. Recording by civil registry officials can be performed after the religious ceremony.

The religious marriage under islam is performed by the office of religious affairs ( Kantor Urusan Agama ) In  a ceremony a mosque or any other place chosen by the couple and is legal immediately  after the ceremony.

In a ceremony a mosque or any other place chosen by the couple and is legal immediately after the ceremony.

Person of nonIslamic  faith are required to file with the civil registry office in the regency where they are staying. Person from foreign nations are also required to file the following form:

1.	A notice of intention to marry and
2.	A Letter of no Impediment to marriage which can be obtained from their consular representatives

For the “ letter of no impediment to marriage requirement you will need to present passport for both you and your fiancé. These passport must be valid for more than 6 months. If you or fiancé have been marriage before, you must provide a certified divorce decree. If  you or your fiance’s former husband or wife is deceased, you must provide a death certificate as evidence of his or her death. Please contact the consular representative of your country for the details well before the intended date of marriage.

The following countries have consulates or consular representive in Bali :
• Australia
• Italy
• United Kingdom
• England
• France
• Japan
• Netherland
• Germany
• Switzerland and Australia
• United states/America
• Sweden

For  the letter of intention to marry you must be submit the following documents for the both partners to the civil registry office ( show the original and present a photocopy ):

•	Birth certificates for both bride & groom
•	Detailed copies of valid passport for both bride & groom
•	Details of religions faith : ( baptism certificate) if you do not have a baptism certificate you will need to sign a statement that you agree to be marriage as a protestant
•	Occupations & domiciles for both parties
•	Written parental consent for any person under age of 21
•	Death certificate of former spouse
•	Absolute divorce decree
•	Details of names, addresses, professions of witnesses. The witnesses must be present pf photocopies of their valid passport if they foreign citizen. If you do not have any witnesses these can be arranged in bali.
•	Six (6) photographs size 6x4 of the couple in the same photo. Photo must be of the head & shoulders only, side be side
•	A letter signed by both parties certifying that the marriage is based on mutual agreement.

COPIES OF DOCUMENTS CAN BE FAXED TO US BUT ALL ORIGINAL MUST BE BROUGHT TO BALI FOR PRESENTATION AND VERIFICATION BY THE  AUTHORITIES.

The civil registry office has a mandatory waiting periode of 10 working days from the dated of filling. This waiting periode my be waive for tourists presenting a guest registration form. Islamic marriage certificate (Buku Nikah) are issued by the office of religious affairs ( kantor urusan agama ) are legally valid in Indonesia and do not require registration with any agency if you are going to live Indonesia.  However if you might move somewhere else in the future, get and marriage certificate issued by the civil registry and an officialy certified translation right away.

All other marriage certificates will be issued by the civil registry usually on the same or next day. A sworn English translation of the marriage certificate should be obtained for use abroad. It is not necessary for the marriage certificate or translation to be registered by your consular agency. However to have the sworn translation of the marriage certificate verified or a special translation made by the consular agency of your home country or the consular of your country of residence might prove useful.