Can I get married on Ibiza? Legally?
So you are thinking about getting married on Ibiza and Ibiza is part of Spain. Civil and religious marriages on Ibiza which includes Roman Catholic, Protestant, Jewish and Muslim can be performed in Ibiza, Spain for persons over 18, making you legally married. Spanish law does appear to not allow foreigners to get married in Spain and that it is necessary that one of the couple must be a legal resident in Spain or Ibiza for at least 2 years. The application to marry in Spain does involve a lot of time and paper work. So let’s take a closer look at what you need to know and what you can and can’t do in Spain regarding getting married. The primary part of getting married in Ibiza is knowing the legal requirements.
Options to marry in Ibiza legally?
•If you are not Spanish you can legally marry on Ibiza.
•If either of you are residents on Ibiza you can marry legally.
•If either of you are of the Catholic faith you can also legally marry on Ibiza.
•Couples: If one of you is Catholic you are able to legally marry in a church on Ibiza.
•Residents of Ibiza are legally married in a local town hall of the village or town.
•Any couples who do not fall into the above categories will have to have a civil marriage in their home country.
•If your circumstances are more complicated, nationality/status/faith then it may be worth speaking to an English speaking Spanish Lawyer.
How do I organize a wedding on Ibiza if one or both of us are Catholic?
•If you are a registered resident on Ibiza then you need to contact a local priest on the Island. He will then guide you, he will start the application process that is required by the Catholic Church with you.
For those of you who are not a resident on the Island of Ibiza, then you will need to contact your local priest in your own country. It will become his job to contact the priest and Catholic Church on Ibiza. He will then guide you through the whole application process to marry in Ibiza. The paper work involved is a lot more and you are also required to attend a ‘Preparation for Marriage course’, which does involve a lot of paper work, which all takes time you will also be asked for birth certificates and baptism certificates. It’s important to allow plenty of time for this paper work process to happen, and don’t make any booking arrangements for your wedding day until all has been prepared or submitted by the Church. The marriage paperwork only lasts 6 months once agreed upon, so don’t start the paperwork too early to the date you require to marry on Ibiza, planning the wedding event date around the paperwork is essential.
NOTE: A document called ‘freedom to marry’ certificate must be provided, which is obtained from the department of foreign affairs. See Marriage Abroad on Foreign Affairs website.
Certificate of Freedom to Marry
This certificate states that you are free to marry, which is required in most countries before getting married by law. The certificate is issued by The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade issues, it’s also known as Civil Letter of Freedom, Certificate de Costume or Certificate or Nulla Osta.
Neither of us are Residents of Ibiza or Catholics?
This would require you to marry in your home country to be legal and then organize a wedding ceremony or blessing on Ibiza.
You will be able to choose a spiritual ceremony at any location of your choice with your own written words. A spiritual ceremony is conducted by a spiritual leader, spiritual celebrant or meditation leader and you have the freedom to choose any kind of location around the Island like a cliff top, sunset bay on a beach and even on a boat the options are endless.
The other option is a religious ceremony through the Anglican Church based on the Island of Ibiza. You will receive a marriage certificate, but this certificate is not legally recognized. Your legal marriage civil ceremony would have to take place in your home country.
Can I organize a religious ceremony?
•Following your civil ceremony in your home country you may choose to have a ‘Sacrament of Marriage’ ceremony which is performed by the Anglican Church on Ibiza in many of the churches around the Island. The church sees this as a full marriage ceremony and it follows the same rules as set by the Church of England.
•You will be issued a Christian marriage certificate which is registered in the Chaplaincy of Holy Matrimony. This certificate is not a legal document, it does require you to marry in your home country in a civil ceremony first.
•The Anglican Chaplaincy which is known on the Island of Ibiza as the English Speaking Church will only do ceremonies in a church based on Ibiza or at the wedding venue Can Truy. You also required to have the following documents :
•A copy of the civil marriage certificate.
•A copy of your baptism certificate, one of you should be baptized.
You must also keep in mind that the Church of Ibiza can only perform a limited number of weddings per year. So it’s important to contact the The English Speaking Church to arrange dates before organizing any other arrangements you may have for your wedding event.
For more information and answers about Anglican Church ceremonies click here The English Speaking Church of Ibiza.
One of us or both of us are residents on Ibiza! How do I organize a wedding?
A visit to the Avenida Isidoro Macabich in Ibiza Town is your first port of call, you will need to contact a Spanish Civil Register. Here you will make an application to get married on Ibiza. You will marry in a civil ceremony and after this you may have a blessing in a church or have a spiritual wedding ceremony at some of the many spectacular locations around the Island.
We are Same Sex Couple? What are our Options for marriage?
In Spain you can legally marry the same sex, so if one of you are resident on the Island of Ibiza you may have a legally binding civil ceremony. An alternative is you can choose a blessing ceremony following your civil marriage in your home country.
We only want to renew our vows on Ibiza, what are our options?
For those of you who are Catholic Faith you would need to contact a local priest who give you the options that are in line with the Catholic Church on Ibiza. Those of you who are not Catholics then you may have a Spiritual ceremony which is most popular on the Island, giving the choice to choose one of the many spectacular locations on the Island or an Anglican Church Religious ceremony.
Check out some of the great venues on the Island to renew vows or have a simple blessing – Venues on Ibiza