Getting married in El Salvador - to El Salvadorian citizen?

Question

I am a US citizen and my fiance is from El Salvador-- a citizen there. If we are to be married there, is that marriage still valid in the United States? Do I need a certificate stating that I am "single" and able to marry from the US, and if so can I get that from the US Embassy in El Salvador?

Answer 1

Wow!  Really hard question!  I wanted to be able to provide true and accurate information for your question.  Took a lot of digging around, but I found concrete answers for you.

In general, marriages which are legally performed and valid abroad are also legally valid in the United States. Inquiries regarding the validity of a marriage abroad should be directed to the attorney general of the state in the United States where the parties to the marriage live.

As a rule, marriages are not performed on the premises of an American embassy or consulate. The validity of marriages abroad is not dependent upon the presence of an American diplomatic or consular officer, but upon adherence to the laws of the country where the marriage is performed. Consular officers may authenticate foreign marriage documents. The fee for authentication of a document is $32.00.

Here's the link to the US Department of State that details the validity of marriages in other countries:

http://travel.state.gov/law/info/marriag...

Here's the link to the US Embassy page with information and procedures for getting married in El Salvador:

http://elsalvador.usembassy.gov/consular...

And finally, here's a link to a site that details the process if your spouse wishes to emigrate to the US:

http://travel.state.gov/visa/immigrants/...

Best of luck on your wedding!

Answer 2

El Salvador's marriage laws are significantly different than those in the U.S. Primarily, it is important to note that, by law, the couple most have a civil ceremony performed by a public notary (most lawyers), a mayor or a governor officiating in El Salvador. The religious ceremony is optional, but if performed must be held after the civil ceremony. The following rules serve to guide the U.S. citizen through the relatively bureaucratic process. It should be noted that the marriage laws have changed as recently as two years ago. Due to this fact, many officials, especially those residing outside of San Salvador, might not be well-informed of the new laws. In addition, public officials (such as mayors and governors) might be more inflexible in applying the rules to U.S. citizens. The U.S. Embassy therefore advises that in order to avoid problems the U.S. citizen should strive to use a public notary in San Salvador.

1. The first requirement is to obtain proof of date of birth. This can be established through two different means:

a. Obtain a birth certificate issued 60 days prior to the proposed date of the civil ceremony. If the issue date of the birth certificate is more than 60 days before the ceremony, the citizen should return to the U.S. to obtain a valid birth certificate or ask someone to retrieve it. Then the citizen must take the birth certificate to the Secretary of State in the citizen's place of birth. The SoS will then place an "apostille" seal on the birth certificate. Contact American Citizen Services for information regarding the location of the citizen's SoS. OR

b. Find a qualified medical doctor and a public notary to certify an "Escritura de Edad Media" or document to prove average age. It is a good idea but not necessary to have a copy of an old birth certificate as well. Although the objective of the Escritura de Edad Media is to serve individuals who do not know their age or who have no way of obtaining proper documentation, several lawyers have advised that this document is acceptable regardless of the purpose of use.

2. The U.S. Citizen should go before the chosen official [either a public notary, a mayor (in one of the 246 municipalities) or a Governor (in one of the 14 provinces)] to draft a marriage license. The couple should find a public notary who speaks English so that he/she will be able to translate U.S. documents without problems. At this time, the couple should present their birth certificates/Escrituras de Edad Media, and passports (for the U.S. citizen), death certificates and divorce deeds.

3. A civil ceremony should be held (within 60 days of receiving the birth certificate or Escritura de Edad Media) and the couple should sign the Escritura Publica de Matrimonio in the presence of two witnesses. The chosen official will ask the bride which last name she will take at this time. The chosen official will be responsible for entering the marriage in a Duty book and send a photocopy of the entry to the Salvadoran's original city hall (place of birth).

4. Immediately after the ceremony the public notary should register the Escritura Publica de Matrimonio at the Salvadoran's City Hall and give two copies to the respective married individuals. The City Hall's certification will convert the Escritura into a Partida Publica de Matrimonio. The citizen should then take the Partida and certify it at the Mayor's office, the Governor's office, the Ministry of Interior and, lastly, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The citizen should then send the Partida to the citizen's home state to ensure the marriage is legally registered in the U.S.

5. Salvadoran law requires that the couple choose one of three patrimonial (prenuptial) regimes. 1) Separation of assets; Each one keeps what is theirs at the moment of the marriage 2) Participation in utility; each individual keeps its pre-marriage assets, however the couple must divide equally the properties that appreciated during the marriage-, 3) Division of Assets; all assets (initial and accrued) equally at the end of the marriage. The public notary will enter the chosen patrimonial regime in the marriage license.

6. If the citizen should not speak and write Spanish fluently he/she should either find a public notary who can translate the documents or hire an interpreter. Since the procedure for hiring an interpreter is fairly arduous, we recommend that if the U.S. citizens speaks Spanish reasonably well, he/she should ask a public notary to certify his/her "understanding" of the Spanish language.

7. The law applies in all Salvadoran jurisdictions. However, citizens who have plans to get married in remote areas of El Salvador should be mindful that some of the authorities tend to be more narrow minded in application of the law, for example in relation to the Escritura de Edad Media.

S. Please note that the previous law required the U.S. citizen to have a certain period of residency in El Salvador and a r

Answer 3

i dont know about that but the Embassy sure can help you out

i do know that you can get married there than bring her back to the USA im assuming your American :))

and than get the papers done in both countries and your 100% citizen in USA at least  

Answer 4

An application must be submitted (personally) by both of you in the Alcaldía Municipal (there are 262 municipios in El Salvador).

The non-salvadorean citizen must show: 1.- (valid to travel) passport, and 2.- recently issued birth certificate (maximum two months).

The salvadorean citizen must show: 1.- DUI (Documento Único de Identidad), and 2.- recently issued (maximum two months) partida de nacimiento (birh certificate).

Given the case, civil marriage must be celebrated before the religious marriage.