What to do to get a Single Status Certificate in India
With the growth of globalisation and international migration, transnational marriages, or marriages between two people of different nationalities, are growing every day. International unions have become the norm with rising contact between people from other countries worldwide. For such a marriage to be registered appropriately, one needs a Single Status Certificate. This Certificate is proof of bachelorhood, essentially declaring that the individual isn’t already married and is done to prevent fraud and adequately legalise a marriage.
The process of acquiring this Certificate is complex and includes many steps and necessary documentation, without which the authorities cannot issue a certificate.
Non-nationals will undoubtedly be required to produce legal papers from their country of citizenship confirming their single status and that they can marry to get married in a different country. This is known as a ‘Certificate of No Impediment’, ‘Certificate de Coutume’, ‘Certificate of Nulla Osta’ or a ‘Certificate of Freedom to Marry’.
It is a self-given statement, not an official document, declaring that the applicant is unmarried or has no dependents from prior marriages (in the event of a divorce). This gives the applicant permission to marry in any country in the world.
Who Issues the Certificate?
Establishing one is not essential in India. Every country in the globe states that an individual is single to solemnise marriage in that country. A Single Status Certificate, popularly known as a CENOMAR (Certificate of no marriage record), is required to marry someone from another country. The documents prove your bachelorhood.
A simple declaration expressing marital status is not valid, so certificate attestation or certificate apostille is required. The legalisation of a document is referred to as attestation of papers.
India has no specific issuing authority because a Single Status Certificate is not required. On the other hand, the affidavit can be prepared by a notary and stamped by a District Magistrate (DM) or Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM) after the appropriate proof of bachelorhood is submitted. The affidavit must next be submitted to embassy certificate attestation and certified with the permission of the Home Department/Ministry of External Affairs (MEA).
There are some essential and mandatory documents required for the issuance of the Certificate, and they are as follows:
- National identity card or Passport
- Proof of address of the applicant
If the applicant is divorced, Decree Absolute is necessary.
- If widowed, the Death Certificate of the previous spouse, as well as the last Certificate of marriage, has to be provided
If Deed Poll has changed the applicant’s name, the proof of the name change will be provided alongside the other documents.
- The relevant fee needed by the authorities
- Aadhaar Card
AFFIDAVIT OF SINGLE STATUS
I, Name, S/o Mr Father’s name and Mother’s name, residing at Address, INDIA. Do at this moment solemnly affirm and declare as under:
- That I am a Citizen of India.
- That I was born on DD/MM/YYYY (DDTH Day of Month(e.g.) July YEAR (e.g.) Nineteen Hundred Eighty-Four) at the Birthplace, State, INDIA.
- I say that I am holding a valid Indian Passport bearing number (Passport number) issued at (Issuing place) and is valid from date of issue (Validity from) to date of expiry (Validity to).
- I am single/divorced and have no living spouse in India or abroad.
- According to Law, I am eligible to marry an Indian or person of any other nationality.
- I would say whatever is stated above is correct to the best of my knowledge and is punishable u/s 193 (2), 199, 200 of IPC.
- I am of sound health and in a mentally fit condition.
- The above are my true and correct statements.
Solemnly declared at City, State, India on the date DD/MM/YYYY.
Step 1: The first step involves getting your documents in order. The required list of documents has to be taken along by the applicant to get an affidavit. Then this affidavit and the relevant documents will be taken to the SDM (Sub District Magistrate) and the DM (District Magistrate) to get them attested and certified. This process can also be undertaken by a blood relative of the applicant, provided they have the necessary legalisation and Power of Attorney.
Step 2: The applicant must visit the Ministry of External Affairs for the necessary legalisation after attestation from the concerned authorities. For a certificate apostille, the Ministry of External Affairs is the last step for the applicant, and their Certificate will be issued to them by the MEA.
Step 3: In the case of certificate attestation, the applicant must take their documents to the Indian Embassy for the attestation. If a certificate apostille is necessary, this step is not valid.
Alternatively, a better and more convenient option entails the applicant utilising expert services. The apostille and attestation agency ensures that the document is stamped and forwarded to the MEA/Home department for authentication. The agency prepares the paper, and the applicant only needs to submit the required documents.
Because the MEA and embassies are located in different regions, I would highly recommend expert assistance in the certificate attestation of these papers. This ensures a lot of money and time is saved while guaranteeing that no mistakes are made.
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