I want to marry my colombian girlfriend

You have to be personally in Colombia presenting :
Passport (and Visa if youu need ) plus fotocopy
fotocopy register of births (not older than 1 month for your girlfriend, not older than 2 month for you)
fotocopy of register of births, marriages and deaths

all papers have to be in espanol, the copies have to be certified and with ampostil

You have to sign a paper whichs says that you wanna merry her in front of notary`s office.
Afterwards you have to wait (I think it is 5 days) to firm finally your marriage.
(This part could also do a authorized person instead of you)

The Last Name you choose has to be accepted in Colombia and India

Feel free to ask if you have more questions

Thanks for the information but in India all the documents I have are in English so how it could be possible to present my documents in Spanish. Please tell me is it really  a difficult to get the passport in your country for colombian citizens.

Hello---

Very simply, you need to get your documents translated into Spanish. I have no idea if you can do this India or not; you could certainly do it in Colombia (ask your girl to find you a qualified translator...one who can do documents for the consulate and can give you a legit apostille--this is different than just any old stamp or certification).

If you are talking about a passport for your girlfriend....no, I don't think it is difficult at all. Mine did it very easily and simply, although I don't know the process. She didn't complain, so I assume it all went fairly smoothly.

Please note that if you are expecting to marry her and then want her to live with you in a country other than Colombia, she may to obtain visas in addition to her passport. I am not qualified to tell what would be needed if she wanted to live with you in India, but I am sure there will be documents and a process needed for her to gain some sort of residency status. If you want to know how to get her a visa to live with you in the USA, that is something a number of us on this board do have first hand experience with.

If you were interested in marrying and then living in Colombia, there is also a process you will need to go through in order to get a Colombia cedula or a residency visa. For me, I am now in the third year of being here and should get my permanent Colombia cedula in another month or so...meaning I am officially a permanent resident and could then start the process of becoming a citizen and obtaining a Colombian passport.

It's not so complicated.  Arrive with your passport, of course.  Then, take yourselves a vacation/honeymoon to San Andres.  All you need to get married there is your passport.  Of course, your girl friend will need to have her birth certificate.  That's it.  No complications.  This if first hand info.  My wife and I were married there and it was just that simple.  Besides, it's a great place (inexpensive too) to have your honeymoon.

Regards,

Merrill

You do not always have to have the documents translated at all.  You will have to have some apostilled which can be a painful process, especially if not in your home country..  Are you getting married in a church or Notary?   I was married in a church (followed by the civil registration in a Notary) and can send you an outline summary of the requirements.

Once again, you do not need to have documents for yourself, if you get married at the notaria in San Andres.  This is true ONLY for getting married in San Andres.  Your girl friend needs to have only her "registro civil".  That's it.  Once you are married, if you wish to remain in Colombia, go to the Ministerio de Exteriores (used to be DAS), with your passport, nortarized "registro de matrimonio", and a letter from you new wife, stating the two of you wish to live together in Colombia, and you can get a temporary residence visa, good for two years.  Two years later, if you are still living in Colombia, return to the ministerio, with another letter from you wife and you can get another visa for another two years.  After than, if you wish, you can apply for Colombia citizenship, if you wish.  I've been through this.  It isn't all that complicated.

sanjayakist wrote:

HALO everybody I want to know about the marriage laws and documentsof Colombia . As I am a Indian and I am bachelor and I want to marry my girlfriend who is a colombian citizen so I want to know what documents will be require and how it could be easily accessible.

@jupdog

As a new member to the forum could you please introduce yourself.
Are you looking to head to Colombia ??
If so then I suggest that you read through the many posts in the categories list on the right hand side of this page.

Remember that since you are hodling Indian citizenship, you are required to get a tourist visa to Colombia.
Cost is approx 300 USD, and requires to provide some proof of income: Showing bank extracts of the last 3 months showing an average amount of at least 5 times the Colombian minimal wage, that is to say something like USD 1,300.

Of course there are some costs for marriage itself. If you never got married, documents to provide to the notary are minimal, but if you've been married in the past, especially if you aleady have children, it is a complete different story.

As for indian documents translated to Spanish, you need to find an authorized translator in Colombia. Find one who is ready to make the translation from a digital copy (you send copies of your docs by email to him). This way, your documents will already be translated when you arrive in Colombia; You'll only have to show the original documents to the translator (and pay him!) to get your translated copies. Apostille shall be done in Colombia too.

Having just married myself to a wonderful Colombian woman last month.  Everything that I have read from others is correct.  Expect for the approval process to take about 6 weeks, or at least that's how long i had to wait.  Also, expect frustration, as it seemed everytime that we thought we had everything in place with documentation.  The Notary would ask for something else to present.  Eventually we had to involve a lawyer to help speed things along.  The only thing that I was not sure about was wanting my wife to take my last name.  Was told by my wife that she maintains her family name.  Does anyone know if this is true?

It is traditional, that the woman does not take the husband's last name.  In Latin America, people have two last names.  The first last name is the family name of their father and the second is the family name of their mother.  However, their is an exception to this last name business, when a woman get married.  Some times, they will take the last name of the husband as the second last name, replacing the last name of the mother.  So, for example, if a woman is born Ana Maria Lopez Tobon, and marry a man with the name Botero, she could change her name to Ana Maria Lopez de Botero.

Hope that makes sense.

Are you serious about getting married in San Andres with only a passport? That would be unreal if it's true as to get an apostilled birth certificate and certificate of no impediment from my country is going to cost $400+.

Yes, it is true.  Actually, my wife an I got the services of a lawyer in Medellin (Intercol - phone# 316-2545, cell# 3103594064)  I'm not sure if the phone numbers are still good but, the email address is: martacuellar@inter-col.com.  I don't remember what she charged me but, her office made all arrangements, including flights, hotel, and the appointment at the notaria in San Andres.  It was so incredibly easy, I couldn't believe it.  It is all very legal.

If you get responses to your question please let me know. I too am seeking information about marrying a Colombian Lady

First bthing did you hire a PI to get the low down on her past present and future?

How long have you known her? How well do you know here family? How much time have you been together physically.

Here are the current requirements to marry a Colombian in Colombia:

Birth Certificate. If born outside of Colombia, applicant must obtain a certified copy of his/her birth certificate issued within three months prior to the wedding. This document must be certified with an APOSTILLE from the Secretary of State of the state where it was issued.

“Certificado de Solteria”: The foreigner must present a written statement, executed by two family members or close friends who have known him/her for more than ten years, stating that he/she is not married at the moment, This document must be notarized by a Notary Public in the city of issuance, and certified with an APOSTILLE from the Secretary of State of the state where it was issued.

Divorce decree. If the foreigner had previously been married, a certified copy by the court of the divorce decree must be presented. This document must be certified with an APOSTILLE from the Secretary of State of the state where it was issued.  Or, of the foreigner is widowed, a certified death certificate of the deceased spouse, with an APOSTILLE from the Secretary of State, where the death certificate was issued.

You will need to have these documents translated into Spanish by a certified translator in Colombia as well.  Also, as I understand it, the issue date on the documents isn't so important as the date of the APOSTILLE, which must be dated no more than three months prior to the marriage.

There used to be an option to marry in San Andres, with only your passport but, I believe that option has been deleted.  For some reason, San Andres (Isla San Andres) had some special status.  It also had some import duty status as well but, I'm sure that no longer exists.  You might check with an attorney on that one. 

In any case, I STRONGLY recommend you get yourself an attorney to make sure everything is done legally as, if there's any problem with any of the documents, you'll have to start over again.  And, if you want to take your new spouse to the US with you, you'll need to check with the Consulate in Bogota for visa requirements. Those requirements tend to vary, depending on the existing POTUS.

My friend, the mail won't go through Yahoo says it is not a valid website? Thank you, Joe Mancini

I agree with your list, BUT I would recommend finding a Notary first, and ask him what documents  he/she requires, because they will differ from the list, my Notary didn't want the certificate to prove you are single, he said you have the divorce certificate that is sufficient, by doing this, you can save yourself some money, and running around. Likewise, there are many Notaries, who will not marry Foreigners, so it is worth getting your Colombian Partner to find a helpful one before you start...I have to say, mine was brilliant, as the service started, he even asked my if I wanted to change my mind and run!!!

Excellent post PhilCo58.  I don't think it's bee mentioned but, there are different rules, if you want to get married in the church, Catholic.  In that case, you also need to obtain baptism and confirmation certificates from you church (Catholic) "back home". I don't think they need APOSITLLE but, those documents will surely need to be translated to Spanish.  You'll need to get the specific requirements from the Father of the church, where you want to get married.

Interesting note:  Many Colombians don't bother to get married these days.

Do NOT get married without a CAPITALIZATION CONTRACT, which is a Colombian prenuptial agreement.......or do not get married with a gov license, just find a person that will marry you without the license......I did.........All attorneys are aware of this contract, but unless you ask, they will PROBABLY not mention it.  Bring this up right from the beginning that you start a relationship with a Colombian woman............she will understand and you will flush her out if all she is interested in, is what you have...........you can marry without it and a weeklater she can ask for a divorce and 50% of everything you have is hers.....and 50% of what she has is yours, which is probably nothing.............. and your screwed...............too many opportunist here in Colombia!!  The only way to save yourself will be to leave Colombia if you do not want to loose 50% of everything!

It would be very nice and helpful to know if that San Andreas option still is available.........

AgroSurAmerica wrote:

Do NOT get married without a CAPITALIZATION CONTRACT, which is a Colombian prenuptial agreement.......or do not get married with a gov license....

I believe the legal term for such a pre-nup is capitulación, not capitalización.

Get legal advice well before the two-year deadline, when automatic marriage/union rules on division of assets would apply .. if there is no matrimonial contract.

cccmedia

Hello I am an IT specialust  from Bangladesh but I have a mansión in Toronto Canadá
A beautiful Colombian woman said she would marry me if I put the house in her name.

Do you think it is a good idea?

Not many young women in Bangladesh to marry. Lots of goats and cows but very few young women . The people dont want daughters and now the new generation is screwed big time.

Like they say in Canada..Bangladesh like one big weenie roast

Or maybe better to say gigantic boy Scout jamboree..
LOL

Hello sir if I am stay in India how can I marry with my girlfriend who live in Colombia?

Quechimba wrote:

I have a mansion in Toronto, Canada.
A beautiful Colombian woman said she would marry me if I put the house in her name.

Do you think it is a good idea?

Quite so.  A brilliant concept.

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Sorry for the delay In getting back to you, Q.  I didn't notice your post until Raiyan Shaikh revived this thread a few hours ago..

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Raiyan Shaikh wrote:

Hello sir if I am stay in India how can I marry with my girlfriend who live in Colombia?

Dear Raiyan Shaikh,

Welcome to the Colombia forums of Expat.com ...

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What's the point?  You stay in India and she lives in Colombia?

Maybe she could fly to India, though that would possibly mean leaving behind her cherished traditions and culture.

Is this a long-distance marriage?  Maybe you could tell us more about how this could work.

cccmedia

Member paevti wrote...
You have to be personally in Colombia presenting :
Passport (and Visa if you need) plus fotocopy
register of births.

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The above, which is a small part of a longer post, was written in 2015 when this thread was young. 

All laws are subject to change, of course, especially over a six-year period.

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If what you're really asking is how to meet the Colombia requirements a.k.a. trámites, you may want to peruse that full post.

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For something as financially impactful as matrimonio, you will need to rely on the up-to-date advice of an attorney who has experience in this realm, not on the well-intentioned guidance of laymen Expats.

In some jurisdictions, regarding a man who leaves an estate, the bulk of the estate will pass to the widow, unless a pre-nuptial agreement or other legal document intervenes.  It would likely take an attorney to advise you about such.

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