What you need to know if you’re a South African citizen marrying a foreign national

Before we get into the nitty gritty, let me say that once we’ve jumped over all the hurdles and laid our careful plan to get you and your fiance engaged, there is so much excitement and joy awaiting you. You’re getting married in Cape Town. Cape Town!!! It’s magnificent. And more than that, you’re getting married to your person. Here’s a photograph to make you a little excited before we deep dive into the boxes that need ticking.

Attaining a letter of non-impediment as a foreigner

The first thing you should know is that the foreign national needs to attain a letter of non-impediment – essentially a letter confirming their marital status from their country. This letter will usually be issued by their equivalent of home affairs or a consulate. Every country handles letters of non-impediment differently. For example, Germany issues quite a standard letter of non-impediment which contains within it an English translation – this may seem simple enough but Germany also requires the SA citizen to first attain their own letter of impediment from SA home affairs, have it apostilled, and only then they will issue the required letter to the German national. The process for the UK on the other hand is very simple – all that is required is for the English national to do an affidavit at an SA police station (or if they choose to get a notary to do it in the UK) confirming that there is no legal impediment to their proposed marriage to such-and-such. There’s also a standard letter that the marriage officer must lodge with the marriage documents and together this affidavit and standard letter suffice for the letter of non-impediment. As you can see from these two examples, the hurdles for attaining a letter of non-impediment vary widely and I cannot detail each country here nor do I know of the processes involved within each country. I do, however, know the process when it comes to some countries and I have examples of letters and so please let me know where the foreign partner is from and I may be able to point you in the right direction.

Importantly, the letter of non-impediment must be linked to the passport that the foreign national enters the country on.

Another important thing to note: If your letter of non-impediment is issued overseas, it must be apostilled. This is because South Africa’s home affairs will not make contact with foreign entities to confirm the authentication of the letter of non-impediment. The apostille means that the authentication is not necessary and so the home affairs official can skip this step. If, for example, your letter of non-impediment was issued by the French consulate in Cape Town then you wouldn’t need an apostille. The home affairs official would, however, have to contact the consulate to verify the authenticity of the letter of non-impediment. This can cause ‘lost’ days if the official and the consulate struggle to connect but sometimes the process is a quick one (see logistics below).

An immigration interview

Many SA/foreign partner couples are not aware that they have to undergo an immigration interview at home affairs before they can go ahead and get legally married. This is true even if the couple has no intention of living in South Africa. It is an unavoidable step if you want to get legally married in South Africa.

Different home affairs within South Africa have different protocols around booking these interviews.

Each marriage officer is linked to a specific home affairs. I am linked to Barrack Street in Cape Town CBD. My home affairs, and many others, have implemented the ‘rule’ that the interview and marriage registration must happen under one home affairs roof – ie in the same office. This is because after the immigration interview, a report is issued and this report needs to find its way to the marriage section of home affairs. When the interviews were taking place at one home affairs and the registration at another, the interview reports often weren’t sent to the right officials or not received and this caused a lot of delays.

Immigration interviews at Barrack Street only take place on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday mornings.

Logistics

It is often the case – due to work commitments and life – that SA/foreign couples don’t have a lot of time in South Africa and it’s a challenge to make sure all the necessary steps are complete. If, for example, a groom is flying in on a Wednesday and departing the next Monday, it becomes near impossible for us to tick all the boxes of getting the two of you legally married for a number of reasons: (1) Interviews only happen on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays and so your schedule does not allow for an interview day; (2) The home affairs official needs at least 48 hours to verify the entry stamp of the foreigner entering the country and so even if the groom arrived really early on on the Wednesday, the entry stamp wouldn’t have ‘cleared’ and so the interview would not be able to proceed. For this reason and others, couples should plan for at least two weeks in Cape Town if they want to do an immigration interview and get legally married during the same visit. These two weeks should, ideally, include as many Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays possible.

In order for us to have the best chance of lining everything up, you need to give me at least two months warning of your intention to do the interview and get legally married – this is due to the fact that home affairs’ diary fills up and so if you let me know a week before your arrival that you’ll be in the Cape Town for two weeks, I won’t be able to assist because there won’t be any interview dates available for the time you’re here.

There are other logistics that I will discuss with each couple on a case by case basis such as which dates for the interview we will try for and small details like where to be and when.

How soon after your immigration interview can you get legally married?

As long as you pass the immigration interview, I can marry you. It could even be on the same day. What does pass mean? The official must give you verbal confirmation that you can go ahead and get legally married.

Should we be nervous about the interview process?

No. Any genuine couple has absolutely nothing to worry about.

What other documentation is required for us to get legally married in South Africa?

A copy of the SA citizen’s SA ID;

A copy of the foreign nationals passport;

A copy of the entry stamp within the foreign partner’s passport on arrival in South Africa;

A copy of divorce decree/s if either or both of the partners has been previously married before; and

A letter from your notary confirming that you have signed/executed an ante-nuptial contract, if you have decided to enter into such a contract.

And then a letter from me confirming I will be legally marrying you (but you don’t have to worry about this part).