Getting Married In tunisia

[Kris]

Oh the fun and games of getting married in Tunisia when you englsh and your fiancee is Tunisian.

Myself and Hajer have our contract next week (29th) and i will add on this thread the ins and out of getting married in Tunisia as its a lot of paperwork.

Naturally this applies to a British national for those of other nationailities I would appreciate your*experiences*to help*others on this forum as I have been told that the policy and required paperwork is different from country to country.

[tracnad]

I am a British National and I married my Tunisian husband in 2001 in Sousse. We had a wonderful wedding with all family and friends. I remember having to get lots of letters and certificates but it didnt take that long before we were a happily married couple. We had to get together quite a bit of paperwork in order to apply for a spousal visa for the UK. But once it was all there he got the visa without question.

[Kris]

It is a bit different when you are a boy marrying a Tunisian woman there are a number of hoops that need to be jumped through to be successful which in a way is good as you definitely cannot get married by accident to a Tunisian girl.

I have been told that less than 2-3 Tunisian girls marry British citizens in Tunisia a year and we are one of those LOL

Now for those gentlemen who wish to know here is the information required as I have found it and it is a little different from what is on the British Embassies website as they have placed on there what has been agreed with the ministry in Tunisia and that is not always how it pans out (as different town halls change their mind to suit how they feel at the time it seems).

Now assuming your all in love and the families are all onside you will need….

Certificate of Conversion to Islam: No Muslim woman can marry a non Muslim man in Tunisia this is considered de facto in Muslim countries even though some obscure imams have been rumoured to allow it I have yet to see it and it is certainly not the case in Tunisia. If you’re not willing to accept Islam at this point you may as well stop at this point, or decided to run away together and get married in your home country for good or bad it’s the law.

Now that you have made your decision you need to speak with the Tunisian embassy in your country and ask for an appointment with the mufti (religious leader of Tunisia). That’s right sir you now have to go see the main man in Tunis for an individual appointment in his office. Your embassy will give you a couple of badly printed forms (one in Arabic?) which you will fill in with your sweetheart and attached the required passport photos of yourself and return them to the Tunisian embassy, they will then forward these onto the ministry of religion.

After some chasing you will be given an appointment of their choosing so keep that diary free (usually a couple of months from sending the forms). Now before this point if you are a very new Muslim you should have your shahada and Fatiha memorised (see the section on religion on the main site) along with another small Sura and know your prayer times and units of prayer within these, along with the pillars of Islam.

Now once you have your appointment book a hotel for a few days either side if you’re not near Tunis as you will be given the traditional “come back tomorrow” when you arrive for your appointment all ready to go.

Once you are in the Mufti’s office you may even be lucky enough to see him but if you are like me his assistant will question you and then after successful answers he will take your hand and go through shahada with you in the presence of a witness. “Mabrook” you are now a Muslim. You will then be given your certificate do not even think about loosing this certificate, not only will this be for your wedding all your Tunisian relatives will now love you more than before and want to read it. It will also be useful for when you go to Mecca so please keep it safe.

Certificate of no impediment to marriage: Now this is a time sensitive certificate so give your-self time to get this done. You need to have the details of your wedding with your fiancées details and go to your registry office and they will (for a fee) place a notice in the window for 21 days. After you have this take it to the embassy of your country in Tunisia (this is for UK) and they will issue you (for a fee) a French certificate of no impediment and keep the one from the UK. This should be enough but if you’re in Bizerte it seems that the 1978 agreement between the UK government and the interior ministry of Tunisia is ignored YEY they are wrong! however as right as you are you will still have to go back to the embassy and get a copy of the notice from the UK and bring that also.

TIP: Get the certificate from your embassy and translate your domestic one also by a certified translator before you give it to them.

Birth Certificate: Now on the British embassy guide you are told to ensure that

[candikisses]

hope u have a lovey day!! good luck in the future!!

[sjb]

Hi Kriss, please let me know the details of your paperwork for the marriage. I am about to committ the same offence quite soon. Suz

[pej]

Hi there! I'm all new to this site and would also like to know a bit more about marriage... I'm from Sweden and would like to know if anyone has any advice. I would also like to ask those of you married to/getting married to Tunisian citizens: how long did you know each other before getting married? Have you been able to live toghether/spend time toghether first? Personal questions, I know, but Immigration services are quite fussy about such things here, and of course it's not possible for us to live together in Tunisia before we're married. I'm not sure about how long it might take or how hard it would be to get a tourist visa for him to come here either, what's your general experience on that, regardless of country? I'm very grateful for any tips!

[Kris]

The best people to ask would be the consolar section of your embassy in Tunisia if possible as the documentation required can vary country to country.

I met Hajer in Norwich when she was studing Englsh two years ago and I have been going to Tunisia every 2-3 months since then.

Hajer and her father have also visited England also and I found that getting a visa for them was not difficult but to be fair, I have the means to host them and she had visited the UK before.

It's not nice but if you put yourself in the position of say UK immigration and you see a young Tunisian man without a really good profession coming over to the UK with say evidence of only a few months of a relationship then you will find it difficult as they have to be cold hearted about such things.

Before you start any application for a visa ask beforehand what you need and exceed it and also keep ticket stubs and information of your relationship together.

[Kris]

Marriage under the Tunisian law

[link=http://www.britishembassy.gov.uk/servlet/Front?pagename=OpenMarket/Xcelerate/ShowPage&c=Page&cid=1022256797639]http://www.britishembassy.gov.uk/servlet/Front?pagename=OpenMarket/Xcelerate/ShowPage&c=Page&cid=1022256797639[/link]

(This is from the excellent website of the British Embassay, if your ever unsure call them to ask as they are very nice people and i have nothing but good things to say about them)

My fiancé(e) and I wish to marry in Tunisia. Is this possible?
Yes, under the local law of Tunisia, if you meet all the requirements of the law. For example: To marry here you have to be over 20 years of age or have your father’s consent. A divorced woman cannot re-marry until a period of three months has lapsed since her divorce, a widow until four months and 10 days after the death of her spouse. Marriage of a man younger than 20 or a woman under 17 is not allowed. A Moslem woman cannot be married to a man who is not a Moslem. No marriages are solemnised at the Embassy.

What form will the marriage ceremony take?
A civil ceremony (i.e. not a religious one) conducted by the registrar at a town hall (Municipalité) of any town, or at a private address before two notaries. The marriages rites are prescribed in Arabic. In some localities they may be solemnised in French if you request it.

What do I, as a British citizen, party to the marriage, have to do?
You or your fiancé(e) should enquire at the registrar’s office for authoritative advice on all formalities connected with the ceremony. Documents which are likely to be required are listed below. When both parties to the marriage have presented the full complement of documents, the registrar will be able to give an appointment for the marriage to take place: usually within a few days. Documents are required to be in either French or Arabic. We can help with translations of your documents from English (Fees are listed below).

What about witnesses?
The law requires the marriage to be solemnised in the presence of two male witnesses of full age (over 20 years old). The marriage registrar has to approve their capacity to stand as witnesses and would expect them to be able to understand the declarations made during the ceremony.

Will my marriage under the local law of Tunisia be recognised in the UK?
This is a legal question and ought to be put to a lawyer. However, certainly for administrative purposes, the marriage is likely to be recognised as valid in the UK, provided both partners were free to marry under the laws of their own countries.

Can a record of my marriage be deposited in the public records in England/Scotland/Northern Ireland?
Yes. You should submit, to this Consular Section, an extract of your entry of marriage in French. Provided that the certificate has been issued by the proper authorities and there is no reason to believe that the marriage may be invalid in the UK, it will be translated officially into English and transmitted to the appropriate Registrar General. Thereafter, the Registrar General will issue, on request and on payment of a fee, a certified copy of the Tunisian marriage certificate in English translation.

Does this deposit, or non-deposit, affect the validity of my marriage?
No.

If I do marry a Tunisian citizen do I thereby acquire or have a right to acquire Tunisian nationality?
No. After a certain time of residence in Tunisia as the spouse of a Tunisian citizen you could apply to be granted citizenship. A lawyer is the best person to advise you more fully on this.

Does a Tunisian husband/wife acquire or have a right to acquire British citizenship?
If he/she resides for a certain length of time in the UK he/she could apply for naturalisation as a British citizen. The Immigration and Nationality Directorate of the Home Office can give you more information after you are back in the UK.

After marriage to a Tunisian, may I continue to reside in Tunisia permanently?
This is a matter for the Tunisian authorities,

[pej]

Thank you very much for all the information! I suppose a lot of it applies for Sweden as well - except I think you won't get any help with translations. Hopefully, by the time this is going to happen, we'll still be able to get everything translated anyway.

[Mak]

HI everybody,

I just wanna say that i've been myself also through all those shity procedures ... i know that it looks hard when you start thinking about it etc ... but once you start, it will take a while and it'll be done with the time ... it took me almost a year to have visum and permit of work etc etc ... but in the end it happened and that's the most important thing ... i even got double nationalities and i have the same rights like everybody in the country where i'm living now ....

Anyways, i mean if you believe that he or she's really the true love for you ... i mean go for it ... and think positive and in the end you will get what you want ...

Cheers
Makrem