Marriage Certificate Apostille in Chennai | Apostille Stamp on Marriage Certificate
- UPDATED A MONTH AGO
If you are planning to travel or settle abroad with your spouse, you may need to get a marriage certificate apostille in Chennai. As a legalization requirement in a Hague apostille country, your marriage certificate will not be valid there without getting an MEA Apostille for marriage certificate. In this article we will learn everything about getting an apostille stamp on marriage certificates issued in India including the process, time frame and requirements.
4 Simple steps to get MEA Apostille on your Documents
- Register on Apostille Portal
- Collect all Documents you want to Apostille
- Submit the Original / Photocopies of documents
- Receive Documents with Apostille Directly to your home
What is a Marriage Certificate Apostille?
Marriage certificate is a personal document issued by the government authorities in India. You may need to submit this certificate in a foreign country, as part of the migration process. However, these documents are issued by Indian government authorities. A foreign country cannot simply accept those documents as valid and legal documents. They cannot ensure the authenticity of documents issued in India.
Apostille is a legalization method introduced after the Hague Apostille Convention. An apostille is a certificate pasted on your documents such as marriage certificate after verification which validates that documents in any Hague apostille country. However, for countries that are not members of Hague convention on apostille, an attestation from the embassy is required for legalization.
In essence, a marriage certificate apostille is a certificate or stamp pasted on the backside of your marriage certificate which makes it legally valid and authentic document in a Hague Apostille country. In India the ministry of external affairs is the competent authority eligible to issue an apostille.
Why Do You Need a Marriage Apostille in Chennai?
In Chennai, you may need to get apostille stamp on marriage certificate for the following purposes:
- To apply for spouse visa
- To relocate to a foreign country with your partner
- To apply for permanent residence in another country.
- To apply for citizenship in another country.
- To register your Indian marriage in another country.
- To go through immigration or legal proceedings abroad.
- To claim the inheritance of your deceased spouse in a foreign country.
Documents Required to Apply for Marriage Certificate Apostille in Chennai
To get MEA apostille for marriage certificate in Chennai, you need to submit following documents to Secure Apostille Services:
- Original Marriage Certificate; You can courier it directly to the Delhi branch or our Chennai branch will arrange pick up from your home.
- Photocopy of Passport front and back page of both husband and wife as a supporting document ; You can send it to us through mail or Whatsapp
- Form submission form. This is an online form you need to fill after submitting your document. It serves as a proof for your submission of your documents to us.
Apostille for Marriage Certificate issued by Religious Institutions in Chennai
The ministry of external affairs issues an apostille stamp for marriage certificates, only if it is issued by the government officials. If you have marriage certificate issued by any of the below mentioned institutions, you need to register your marriage with local registrar to get marriage certificate:
- If you have Nikah Nama issued by Kazis under Tamil Nadu State Waqf Board.
- Church issued marriage certificate issued by a church registered under Indian Christian marriage act
- Mariage receipts or letters issued by Hindu temples confirming the ritual of marriage.
In all of the above mentioned cases, you should visit the nearest registrar office and register your marriage under Hindu marriage act or special marriage act. You will get a marriage certificate after a few days. It can be used for the apostille process in Chennai.
Process of Getting an Apostille Stamp for Marriage Certificate in Chennai
Legalization of marriage certificates for a Hague country is carried out by the MEA India. However, you can not directly apply for an apostille stamp. Your marriage certificate needs multiple levels of verification and attestation before finally submitting to the MEA. Mainly, there are two methods of authentication for a document issued in India to get an apostille on it. They are:
MEA accepts marriage certificates attested by SDM as well as the state home department for apostille. Some Hague countries may mandate getting a state attestation for documents. However, it is usually for educational documents. In case of marriage certificate apostille, apostille after SDM attestation is mostly accepted. Thus, unless your destination country specifically mentions state attestation, you can do SDM attestation. SDM is mostly chosen as an authentication method because of its fast delivery and cheap charges.
Steps to Get Marriage Certificate Apostille in Chennai
We have listed each step, secure apostille services follows after receiving your marriage certificate for apostille:
- Notarization: In this stage, we submit your marriage certificate to a public notary. Public notary is an official authorized by the government to authenticate documents. The notary checks the authenticity of the sign and seal on your marriage certificate and attest it.
- SDM/State Attestation : In this step, we will submit your documents to the state home department or SDM based on the authentication method you have chosen. If it is the SDM method, we will submit your marriage certificate to the sub divisional magistrate. This is a court procedure. Thus, there is not much involvement of government authorities. We will get it back from SDM within one or two days.
If you are choosing the state attestation method, the state department involved is the home department of the state where the document was issued. You cannot get state attestation from another state. We will submit the marriage certificate to the home department. The department will assign the duty of verification to the secretary of the respective district. The secretary will verify with the office of registrar for the authenticity of the signature on the marriage certificate and the capacity of the person who issued the certificate. After verification, the secretary of the district will report back to the home ministry. Finally, the ministry will attest on the back side of the marriage certificate. Sinceit involves multiple authorities and verification of documents at its origin, it will take more than a month. In Tamil Nadu, usually it takes around 45 days for state attestation.
- MEA Attestation and Apostille: In this stage, we submit your documents to the ministry of external affairs located in Delhi. The ministry will verify the documents from their end. The officials will also verify the attestations in it. If you have submitted a marriage certificate issued by an Indian consulate in another country, the ministry may contact the consulate for verification. If they delay in replying, your apostille may be delayed. Though, it is uncommon for the ministry to contact the document issued authority directly, we cannot eliminate the possibility. The Ministry does this exercise once in a while for a randomly chosen document. (Thus, keep in mind all the possible delays while you apply for a marriage certificate apostille.) The Ministry will finally attest the document followed by an apostille stamp.
Apostille for Marriage Certificate Affidavit in Chennai
If you have lost your marriage certificate or if you don’t have one, you can make a marriage certificate affidavit and get an apostille for it. Since, you need a notarized affidavit, your presence in front of a notary in India is mandatory. You need to submit proof of marriage to the notary for notarizing your marriage affidavit. Following are the documents that are accepted as proof of marriage:
- Wedding invitation card and wedding photo
- Govt issued ID card with spouse name preferable, passport.
- Joint utility bills, rental agreement, bank passbook showing same address
- Temple/religious marriage certificate
- Photocopy of the lost marriage certificate.
Time Required to Get a Marriage Certificate Apostille in Chennai
You can get a marriage certificate with an apostille stamp in Chennai within 2 to 14 days. However, depending on the following factors time may vary:
- Authentication method: State authentication needs more time. Especially,if it is a Tamil Nadu issued document, it will take more than a month for state attestation alone.
- Your choice of service : We have same day apostille(excluding courier time), 3-4 days service, 7 days service and 14 days service.
- Where and who issued marriage certificate
Marriage certificate apostille in Chennai is an essential service for couples who are planning to travel abroad together. Any situation involving the submission of your Indian marriage certificate in another (Hague )country, requires legalization of marriage certificate. With the help of an authorized apostille service provider in Chennai, you can get your marriage certificate apostille in Chennai hassle free without travelling anywhere.
Register for Online MEA Apostille
Provide applicant details
Frequently asked questions
In India, the ministry of external affairs is the only authority eligible to provide an apostille for marriage certificates.
Attestation for a marriage certificate is required if you are submitting it in a non-Hague country. However, if you are submitting it in a Hague country, you need to get an apostille for marriage certificate.
No. Marriage certificates issued by religious institutions are not eligible for an apostille. Only government issued marriage certificates are eligible for an apostille. Thus, if you have only Nikah Nama, you need to visit the nearest registrar’s office with your spouse and register your marriage under the special marriage act. You will get your marriage certificate after a few days. You can use that certificate for apostille process
No. Legalization is a general term which includes apostille and attestation. Mostly, legalization is used to denote attestation. Attestation from the embassy is required for authenticating marriage certificates in a non-Hague country.
No. MEA India issues apostille for documents in English only. Thus, if your marriage certificate is in Tamil or any other local languages, you need to translate it into English. Then only, you can submit it for an apostille.