Transcription of a UK marriage, divorce or civil partnership

A marriage celebrated in the United Kingdom is valid in Italy from the day of the ceremony, but it exists for the Italian registers only once it is transcribed in the comune. The same applies to a divorce and to a civil partnership. Until then the Italian citizen appears as unmarried, or as still married, in the ANPR, and every later act is blocked: the registration of a child, the application of the spouse for citizenship, the inheritance, the survivor’s pension. The transcription is a postal procedure through the consulate of the district, and it should be made as soon as the event occurs, not when a document is refused.

Marriages

At least one spouse must be registered in the AIRE of the consulate, at the current address. Previous marriages and divorces of either spouse must already be recorded in Italy. The file for a marriage celebrated in the United Kingdom contains the consulate’s request form, a certified copy of the marriage certificate issued by the register office or by the General Register Office, the paper apostille of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, the official translation into Italian and the copies of both spouses’ passports. The London consulate receives the file by Royal Mail Special Delivery only, at the Registry Office in Farringdon Street, and processes it in order of receipt, in about sixteen weeks. The originals are retained in the consular archive. The consulate transmits the act to the comune by certified email and notifies the applicant, and the outcome is checked on the ANPR portal.

Italian law does not change a person’s surname on marriage. A woman who uses her husband’s surname in Britain is recorded in Italy under her birth surname, and her Italian passport and identity card show the birth surname. The transcribed marriage record carries both names as they appear on the British certificate, and no declaration can replace the Italian rule. A religious ceremony recognised by British law as a marriage is transcribed like a civil one, on the certificate issued by the register office.

Divorces

A British divorce is recognised in Italy under articles 64 and 65 of Law 218/1995 without any court proceeding, provided the marriage is recorded in Italy first. The file contains the consulate’s declaration form, a copy of the identity document, the decree absolute or the final order with a certification of true copy signed by a district judge, a solicitor or a notary, the paper apostille, and the official translation. A final order issued as a PDF by email is accepted with the email, and in that form it needs neither apostille nor translation of the order itself, while the other requirements remain. Where there are minor children the agreement or the order concerning them is added, with apostille and translation, or a declaration in its place. Where the respondent did not take part the acknowledgement of service is added, certified, legalised and translated. The consulate transmits the decree to the comune, which annotates the marriage record and updates the civil status.

Civil partnerships and same-sex marriages

A civil partnership between persons of the same sex registered in the United Kingdom is transcribed in Italy in the register of civil partnerships, under Law 76/2016, with the same file as a marriage. A same-sex marriage celebrated in Britain, where at least one spouse is Italian, is transcribed in the same register and produces in Italy the effects of a civil partnership, under article 32-bis of Law 218/1995 introduced by Legislative Decree 7/2017. The act keeps its name of marriage in the record, and the civil status of the parties can be recorded, on request, as civil partners. The London consulate processes these files in about twelve weeks. A civil partnership between persons of the opposite sex has no equivalent in Italian law and cannot be transcribed, with the exception of a partnership registered in Scotland and converted into a marriage there.

Why the order matters

The comune records the events in the order in which they happened, and refuses an act which contradicts the register. A second marriage cannot be recorded for a person who appears married to someone else. The birth of a child of married parents cannot be transcribed while the marriage is absent, and the consulate asks for both acts together. The spouse of an Italian citizen cannot apply for citizenship until the marriage is transcribed, and the date of the transcription does not change the date from which the period of marriage runs, which is the date of the ceremony. The transcription of a marriage celebrated years ago is made with the same documents, and the only cost of the delay is the time it adds to whatever the family needs now.

If you married, divorced or entered a civil partnership in Britain and the event was never sent to Italy, send us the certificates and your AIRE details. We prepare the files in the right order and follow them until the comune confirms.