Weddings in Mauritius

Documents needed for a wedding in Mauritius

Foreigners who wish to marry in Mauritius must send two copies of each document at least 10 weeks in advance of their wedding date, in French or in English, for both partners. One set of copies is destined for the Mauritian Registrar of Civil Status and the other for your Embassy in Mauritius, who is in charge of making your union official with the appropriate authorities.

• - Passport (and ID card)
• - Full Birth Certificate, less than 3 months old
• - A hand written statement of your profession
• - Proof of address
• - The form for the Mauritian Registrar of Civil Status and for your Embassy in order to publish the bans
  You MUST bring the original versions of these documents with you to Mauritius.
  NB The birth certificate must be dated no more than 3 months before the wedding day.
  
  In certain cases the following documents must be provided:
• - Divorce decree / certificate
• - Marriage certificate and death certificate (if widowed)
• - Certificate of adoption
• - Deed poll or other certificate in case of change of name
• - - A notorised certificate in case of a marriage contract (can be delivered upon your arrival in Mauritius, 2 copies)
  You MUST bring the original documents with you to Mauritius.
  

Steps to take in Mauritius

A few days before your wedding, you should make sure you have sorted out all the paperwork needed by the Mauritian authorities.
First of all, you need to give the originals of all the above listed documents to the registrar of Civil Status at Port Louis so that he can present you with a Certificate of conformity.
The same process will take place in front of the solicitor. He will verify your documents in order to give you an official certificate. He will also inform you of the laws concerning marriage in Mauritius so as to prepare you for the signing of an affidavit at the Supreme Court.
You will go to the Supreme Court where you will at last be able to sign the affidavit, that is, to witness with a clerk that the information on your certificate is correct.
Your Embassy will then verify the original documents.
The next step will be to meet the registrar of Civil Status who is to be present for the ceremony in the place you have chosen to be married. You will present them with the official certificate of non-residence in Mauritius as well as the certificate from the solicitor, signed by the Supreme Court.

Your marriage bans will be published 24 hours prior to your wedding ceremony and you will, after all that, be able to celebrate the happiest day of your life!

In the days after the ceremony, the marriage certificate will need to be taken to the Port Louis administrative services to be stamped with the Prime Minister’s seal.
The only thing left to do then is send a marriage certificate to your Embassy in Mauritius so that it can be registered in your country of residence.

Practical details concerning marriage formalities in Mauritius

In order to complete all of the paperwork, the couple is required to arrive in Mauritius 3 days before their marriage ceremony.
During the ceremony, the spouses must present the original notarial act in the case of a marriage contract.
If a woman intends to remarry, 300 days must have passed between the divorce decree or the death of her former partner, in order to ensure she is not pregnant (or a doctor’s certificate stating she is not pregnant may be presented)

Don’t worry, most weddings in Mauritius between non-residents are held in hotels which have lots of experience and all have wedding packages and specialist coordinators who are there to help and answer questions, they will take the stress away and let you enjoy this exceptional moment!