Marriage and Citizenship in Cape Verde
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I've often been asked the question about getting married in Cape Verde and also about getting citizenship, I think it's time to share with the Expat community some helpful information about this topic since it comes up often enough.
GETTING MARRIED IN CAPE VERDE
The marriage laws in Cape Verde are very similar to just about everywhere else. As an expat, you find a Cape Verdean mate, you fall in love and you want to marry him or her and live in Cape Verde. You can get married in a religious ceremony (in a church for example) or a civil ceremony (at the civil registry). You only need your passport and birth certificate (and if you're divorced, you'll obviously need the divorce decree). You need four witnesses to sign the civil documents and you are issued a certificate of marriage. It's that simple. And once you have the marriage certificate, you are immediately entitled to Cape Verdean citizenship. And you will never have to pay those pesky resident visa renewal fees anymore!
There is an interesting twist in Cape Verde's laws. YOU DO NOT HAVE TO BE PHYSICALLY PRESENT IN CAPE VERDE to marry a Cape Verdean local in a civil ceremony. You simply send a power of attorney to someone who will "stand in your place." That person attends the civil ceremony and signs all the documents on your behalf. At the end, a marriage certificate is issued in your name and the name of your new spouse. In other words, you don't even have to set foot in Cape Verde, and you can get married to someone in Cape Verde as long as you have authorized it. That's pretty incredible isn't it?
DIVISION OF MARITAL ASSETS
Under Cape Verde law, your spouse is entitled to HALF OF YOU LOCAL ASSETS in case of divorce. This can be very scary to expats since they usually bring substantial assets to the marriage. But there is no need for alarm, since you can have a PRE-NUPTIAL agreement in place at the time of the marriage. In fact, there is a generic check-box on the marriage documents where you can indicate that you do not want to share the assets you bring to the marriage union. However, I have never liked generic check-boxes when it come to the law. You never know what they actually mean. Instead, you can draft an alternative more detailed agreement which you can submit at the time you fill out the marriage forms. You and your spouse-to-be must both sign the agreement. This way you can be much more specific, especially about assets that may be accumulated after the date of the marriage.
Expats should be extremely careful about protecting their assets. You see, under Cape Verdean law, EVEN IF YOU DO NOT MARRY YOUR CAPE VERDEAN PARTNER, so long as you have lived together for 6 months, you are considered to be in a common law marriage and your partner is still entitled to half your assets. So you should request they since a pre-nuptial agreement even if you are not married, or even if you plan to officially marry at a later date.
DIVORCE PROCEEDINGS
What if things just don't work out? After you've been married for two years, you can apply for a divorce. You can do this together, or alone. If you file on your own, your spouse of course will be asked to respond, only in the sense that they are entitled to take possession of half the assets (and vice versa). It's a fairly simple process. The judge will order that half your bank accounts are held and the police will escort you to your marital residence to oversee the amicable splitting of the household contents. Of course, if you have that pre-nuptial agreement, the family-court judge is compelled to comply with its terms. And this is why you must keep receipts for everything you purchase while married, and make sure everything is ONLY IN YOUR NAME. If you purchase items such as a car or a house, and the receipt or documents are in both names, you will still have to split those items because they will be considered as items you have equally contributed to even if your spouse paid zero towards the item.
CITIZENSHIP
Your marriage certificate entitles you to immediate Cape Verdean citizenship and a Cape Verdean passport. Applying for the passport is very simple. You make an appointment to submit the passport application, you attend the appointment and provide your passport and your original marriage certificate. These documents will be immediately returned to you. You also pay the passport fee of about 50€. Passport photographs are taken by the passport authority so you don't even need to walk with photos. You must come to PRAIA to apply for the passport.
Unfortunately, you can no longer apply for a Cape Verdean passport in absencia. Cape Verde now uses the new biographic passports and pictures must be taken of the irises in your eyes. So you must be present to apply. Of course, once you have applied for a passport, you can have someone take delivery of it on your behalf and mail it to you, should you happen to be outside of Cape Verde at the time the passport is emitted.
Even if you get divorced later, you will not lose your citizenship. You can simply renew your passport by submitting the old passport when you apply for the new one and paying the renewal fee which is around 50€.
I hope this information is helpful to you. If you have questions, please ask. And if you need more detailed help, just send me a private message.
Hi can u give me ur mail I’d so I can mail u regarding this topic I want to get married in Cape Verde and I need advice so please can u help me with ur mail id
I'd be happy to help you, Marc. I'm not going to post my email address here though. You can simply send me a private message here on Expat. I always read my messages so I will respond quickly.
Gaspermarc wrote:Hi can u give me ur mail I’d so I can mail u regarding this topic I want to get married in Cape Verde and I need advice so please can u help me with ur mail id
Wow! What a post. Exactly what I was looking for. Ditto on the email contact for me. I'm new here, so haven't put up much of a profile. But am looking to travel to CV to see the one place that seems to understand how to live life simply -- a much overlooked intangible in this modern age.
Thanks!
Pop
Sir I would like to have your contact number or your email address please.i want to get married in Cape verde. Thanks
Well then, might it not be much more convenient to send me a private message as it is not recommended that people share their private phone numbers or email addresses on the public forums.
I can send you a full information packet including a list of the documents you will need and how to authenticate them so they will be accepted in CV. The packet also includes the complete step-by-step instructions about how to go about getting married, requesting nationality and then applying for your CV passport. The information packet has a cost.
Private message me for details.
Samsamy7777 wrote:Sir I would like to have your contact number or your email address please.i want to get married in Cape verde. Thanks
CV Angelo,
Does Cape Verde have a citizenship by investment program? I read that you can invest an amount and get citizenship fast. Is that true to your knowledge? Thanks in advance.
No, we do not. Wherever you read that information, it was not correct. A permanent resident visa by investment was proposed, but which makes absolutely no sense. The proposed "Green Card" law was not passed.
There are only 3 ways to get citizenship if you were not born in CV: 1) if either of your grandparents were born in Cape Verde; 2) if you get married here; and 3) you can become a permanent resident after 5 years, and then you apply to become a natural citizen.
Obviously, the 3rd option takes many, many years of living here, and still there is no published criteria for how long a permanent resident needs to be permanent to apply for citizenship and there is no designated time frame for approval of the request once it is made.
Angelo
clubworld360 wrote:CV Angelo,
Does Cape Verde have a citizenship by investment program? I read that you can invest an amount and get citizenship fast. Is that true to your knowledge? Thanks in advance.
About the Power of Attorney (Proxy): Would you begin the process in Cape Verde or in your own country?
In your own country. But it must be translated to Portuguese either there in your own country or here in CV. But you cannot create a power of attorney unless you know what the content must be.
cleopatrick wrote:About the Power of Attorney (Proxy): Would you begin the process in Cape Verde or in your own country?
Any idea how to apply if you married a Cabo Verdiana outside CV? We got married in Pt so there should be no trouble with translation of docs.
Hello Angelo, thank you so much for this very helpful thread. I have met a Cape Verdian national and we are considering marriage. I understand that in order to get a visa to visit my family in the UK, my Cape Verdian partner will have to go to Senegal. Would he still have to do that if we were married? Thanks in advance for your answer. 😊
Hi Sally,
Yes, even if you get married to your Cape Verdean partner, you have to visit a a British Embassy to get the necessary visas. The nearest UK embassy to Cape Verde is in Dakar, Senegal. For a family visit, you/they must apply >online< but they must visit the British Embassy in Dakar to turn in their documents and have an interview.
Angelo
Doolallysally wrote:Hello Angelo, thank you so much for this very helpful thread. I have met a Cape Verdian national and we are considering marriage. I understand that in order to get a visa to visit my family in the UK, my Cape Verdian partner will have to go to Senegal. Would he still have to do that if we were married? Thanks in advance for your answer. 😊
Angelo, thank you so much for your time and helpful answer.
😊
Hi,
I am married to a cape verdian since 2016, and i have the id card for national citizens. I never applied for the pasport, but considering doing it now.
But what will happen if i do get a divorce, i cannot apply for pasport ?
Bella
Hello Bella,
You are a citizen. If you get divorced, you are still a citizen!
Citizens can apply for their passports, whether they are single, married, divorced or widowed.
Cheers,
Angelo
Bella81 wrote:Hi,
I am married to a cape verdian since 2016, and i have the id card for national citizens. I never applied for the pasport, but considering doing it now. But what will happen if i do get a divorce, i cannot apply for pasport ?
Bella
Thank you ror the precious info.
I have 2 questions:
1- after marriage, how many days to have citizenship ?
2 - can we divorce one month after marriage ?
Thank you.
Jean
Hi!
What happens when one spouse does not agree with the divorce?
I have 2 questions: 1- after marriage, how many days to have citizenship ?
There is no waiting period. It takes as long as the bureaucratic process lasts to receive your application and to issue the certificate of nationality. It could take several weeks to several months. You will be informed once the certificate is issued.
2 - can we divorce one month after marriage ?
No, you certainly cannot just divorce after a month of marriage! Under the law, a divorce cannot be considered before two years. You legally must remain married for at least two years.
Jp132 wrote:Thank you ror the precious info.
I have 2 questions:
1- after marriage, how many days to have citizenship ?
2 - can we divorce one month after marriage ?
Thank you.
Jean
Same as anywhere else. You will have to have a contested divorce.
Beterbep wrote:Hi!
What happens when one spouse does not agree with the divorce?
Can anyone tell me what information needs to be in the Certificate of No Impediment.
Does it need a specific date and place or can it be general?
Thanks
It simply needs to be issued by a third party authority (government or government agency) and certify that you are not currently married. Obviously, the certification needs to show the date on which the certificate was issued, where it was issued and by which authority.
This certificate does not exist in most countries of the world because how can any government authority know whether you are married or not? They can only certify that you are not married in the jurisdiction where they have authority/keep records. And even in those cases, most authorities will not issue this certification. In any event, how could they know whether you are married outside of their jurisdiction? You could be married in China but live in England ... how would the UK know whether or not you were married outside of the UK?
At the very least, you should see if the authorities where you reside can issue a document that states that they have found no records of a marriage in your name in their jurisduction. That should hopefully suffice because in CV, they have no common sense. They just want the piece of paper required regardless of whether it makes sense or not. It's all about bureaucracy.
Angelo
Sazzle91 wrote:Can anyone tell me what information needs to be in the Certificate of No Impediment. Does it need a specific date and place or can it be general?
Thanks
Hi Angelo,
Really could use your help! Please get back to me, thanks!
I've sent you a message.
graymatterarea wrote:Hi Angelo,
Really could use your help! Please get back to me, thanks!
Hi Angelo, Would love to know more information about marriage in cape verde ! How May I Contact You ! Thank You !
Just send me a private message. I have a marriage information packet that I can send you.
Cheers,
Angelo
macspence wrote:Hi Angelo, Would love to know more information about marriage in cape verde ! How May I Contact You ! Thank You !
Hi Angelo, Would love to know more information about marriage in Cape Verde. I already send you a message, please get back to me.
Thank you so much
Hi Jason,
I've sent you a private message with the info you seek.
Cheers,
Angelo
jasontakamura wrote:Hi Angelo, Would love to know more information about marriage in Cape Verde. I already send you a message, please get back to me.
Thank you so much
Hi, i'm a UK citizen thinking about acquiring dual Cape Verde citizenship through marriage.
My question is are there any downsides to having citizenship of Cape Verde? E.g America taxes people's overseas assets and there's an expectation of military service in some other countries.
Is there anything like this i should be aware of?
Secondly would my citizenship be passed on to my children automatically? (Whether they were born before or after the date of marriage)
Hi Dean,
You have some good questions. Here are the answers:
Are there any downsides to having citizenship of Cape Verde? E.g America taxes people's overseas assets and there's an expectation of military service in some other countries. Is there anything like this i should be aware of? There are no downsides to having Cape Verde citizenship. There are no surprises. Cape Verde is very poor and lacks resources. They do not tax your worldwide income or any such over-reach. They do not even have sufficient resources to audit the income its own ciitizens earn WITHIN Cape Verde, so they could not possibly hope to determine what other income you may have. Bottom line is that they do not have the resources to create any downsides for dual citizens.
Secondly would my citizenship be passed on to my children automatically? (Whether they were born before or after the date of marriage) Yes, the children of CV citizens (whether born here or naturalized) are automatically citizens regardless of whether the children were born before or after marriage. In fact, even if you get divorced (heaven forbid), you cannot lose your citizenship. Thus children born even after any divorce, will also be citizens.
Regards,
Angelo
Dean Morris wrote:Hi, i'm a UK citizen thinking about acquiring dual Cape Verde citizenship through marriage.
My question is are there any downsides to having citizenship of Cape Verde? E.g America taxes people's overseas assets and there's an expectation of military service in some other countries.
Is there anything like this i should be aware of?
Secondly would my citizenship be passed on to my children automatically? (Whether they were born before or after the date of marriage)
Hello Angelo, Did the laws change of what documents you needed to get married? I was just recently in Cape Verde in February 2021 and tried to apply to get married to my fiancé. I had my birth certificate and passport but was told that I also needed a form proving my single status? I had never heard of this form before.
2nd question: I am a US citizen but am working and living in Tanzania. We plan to build a home in CV eventually, but in the case of divorce
How are assets split outside of Cape Verde? Or do we only have to split our assets within the country?
Hi Kimani,
Did the laws change of what documents you needed to get married? No, the laws have not changed. The document to which you refer does NOT exist in the USA. However, there are ways for American citizens to get around this requirement.
But might I ask, why are you wanting to get married in Cape Verde? Why do you not marry your fiancé while you are there in Tanzania? Is she not there with you?
In the case of divorce , how are assets split outside of Cape Verde? Or do we only have to split our assets within the country? In the case of divorce, a court in CV can only rule on how your assets in CV are split. There is a very simple way to keep the court outside of a judgement on the splitting of Cape Verdean assets and it is something that you must do at the time you apply for a marriage license.
Furthermore, Cape Verdean courts have zero jurisdiction on your assets outside of Cape Verde. Only a divorce court in the foreign jurisdiction can rule on assets in that jurisdiction. So you will need to deal with assets outside Cape Verde in the jurisdictions where the assets are found.
Kimani, if you need assistance with any of this, please contact me via private message on this website. just click on my profile icon and then "Send a Message". Later, you can click on the text message icon located on the top right corner of the screen and yo will find my reply.
Cheers,
Angelo
Kimani A wrote:Hello Angelo, Did the laws change of what documents you needed to get married? I was just recently in Cape Verde in February 2021 and tried to apply to get married to my fiancé. I had my birth certificate and passport but was told that I also needed a form proving my single status? I had never heard of this form before.
2nd question: I am a US citizen but am working and living in Tanzania. We plan to build a home in CV eventually, but in the case of divorce
How are assets split outside of Cape Verde? Or do we only have to split our assets within the country?
Sir , pls after the marriage and applying for the passport is it a must that I must remain in the country till my passport is out ?
No, it is not necessary to remain in the country while you wait for you application for citizenship to be approved.
evansugogodwin wrote:Sir , pls after the marriage and applying for the passport is it a must that I must remain in the country till my passport is out ?
Hi ,
I would like more info regarding citizenship by marriage and I'm in need for this citizenship as my country is occupied and my passport is weak ?
Please update if you can help along with the cost ?
Thanks
Husam
Hi Husan,
There is just too much information to share here. Please send me a private message and I will tell you how to get the details you seek.
Regards,
Angelo
Husam Barakat wrote:Hi ,
I would like more info regarding citizenship by marriage and I'm in need for this citizenship as my country is occupied and my passport is weak ?
Please update if you can help along with the cost ?
Thanks
Husam
Sir
Can I enroll into any university of my choice after my marriage before my passport is out while im inside the country (CV). Or will I apply online from my country before traveling to (CV) .
You do not need to be married or have Cape Verdean citizenship to attend a university in Cape Verde! You are confusing the two things. Marriage and citizenship has nothing to do with getting a residency visa in Cape Verde to work, study, retire, etc.
To go to a university here, you will need to enter Cape Verde and apply for a student visa. To be accepted at a university, you will need to have the requisite qualifications, one of which is that you must be fluent in Portuguese. All classes are taught in Portuguese. If you can't speak, read and write the language, you won't be accepted into any university here.
Regards,
Angelo
evansugogodwin wrote:Sir
Can I enroll into any university of my choice after my marriage before my passport is out while im inside the country (CV). Or will I apply online from my country before traveling to (CV) .
May i know is it as simple as you are saying sir.in.your.post to marry and get passaport.
Do I really need to answer this? The law in Cape Verde is that if you marry a Cape Verdean citizen, you are entitled to Cape Verde citizenship. What is so hard to believe about this? It's the same in many countries. You get married, you get citizenship. There is always a process to go through.
Regards,
Angelo
Sir Ali17 wrote:May i know is it as simple as you are saying sir.in.your.post to marry and get passaport.
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