Canadians Marrying in Cuba

Love is in the air! Fresh, oceanic, breezy Cuban air. Congratulations on choosing to marry in the beautiful island of Cuba. Perhaps your fiancé/e is Cuban or perhaps you are both Canadians taking advantage of a beautiful Cuban destination wedding. While the latter is simple, there are technical barriers you will have to overcome in order to marry in a Cuban resort. In both cases, you will need to have certain paper work compiled, authenticated and legalized in order to marry in Cuba.

The Paperwork

In order to marry in Cuba, you will need to obtain official permission from your future spouse’s government. Their government will require proof of the following with documentation:

• Your marital status as being single and eligible to marry
• Proof of country of birth
• Proof of date of birth to meet the legal age requirement of 18 years old to marry

To prove that you are single, as a Canadian you will need to provide a Statutory Declaration of Single Status, along with notarized copies of your identification such as a birth certificate and passport. (Please contact our office for Statutory Declaration of Single Status template). If you are divorced/widowed, there are additional documents you will need to provide such as your marriage certificate, divorce certificate, divorce order, or death certificate.

All of the documents that you provide must be translated in Spanish, notarized, authenticated by Global Affairs Canada, and legalized by the Cuban consulate or embassy. For easy processing and a hiccup-free wedding in Cuba, you will want to have all of this paperwork completed before you depart to Cuba for the big affair!

While this takes care of your end of documentation, your Cuban partner will need to do some paperwork of their own. Your future husband or wife will need to provide the following to their government:

• His/her identity card
• If they are divorced, a notarized copy of their divorce certificate
• For a female, if she has been divorced for less than 300 days, she will require a medical certificate stating that she is not pregnant

The Actual Marriage

Once all of your paper work is in order, you will then apply for the marriage itself. In order to do so, you can go to one of two offices in Havana, Cuba, along with your future spouse and two witnesses who are not related to either of you. Your witnesses will need to bring with them documentation/identification that proves the following:

• Their full names
• Address
• Identity document number, passport, and residency permit/tourist cards

At the end of it all and after several fees and stamps, you will obtain three copies of your marriage certificate. And voila, you are now husband and wife!

Get Us to Help!

The prospect of marriage in Cuba can be daunting due to the paperwork and processing involved. Which documents you will need to compile vary case by case and can be complicated and confusing. To ensure that you have everything you need prepared correctly, it is best to consult with an experienced authentication and legalization service professional. You can call our services to obtain professional consultation. We will help you prepare your documents from start to finish, so that your love-filled affair remains as simple and exciting as possible.

Image credit: Bonas en Cuba Fiestas