Im getting the documents together to send to the Morrocan consulate in New York to declare our marriage. I cant remember if it was Rebecca that mentioned this...but im wondering if you all think they want (or any of you that have done this allready), original birth certificates/ certified copies..or can i just send a photo copy? what did you all do? I emailed them but they have yet to reply.


thanks as always,
Sarah

Hi sarah,

please let me know what you find. My husband just went last week and they said it wasn't necessary to register with them and the the information on the website was incorrect. I was furious, but my husband did what they said. I'd be curious to know if they give you some sort of confirmation for this.

otherwise, I am sorry i don't have any other info to share.

best,

prena

We sent in birth certificate copies and have not heard back.

We were told that it isn't "necessary" unless you want your marriage "official" in Morocco. It is written in the Moudawana that is must be done in order to have your marriage recognized, so I don't think the information on the website is incorrect because than the the entire section of law would be incorrect.

Rebecca

tatedaoudi
Sorry if I hijack your post. I have similar issue, Only thing is that I am still yet to go there. I am planning to travel to Morocco this summer and wed my fiancée
God willing. Since many of you have gone through this, can you help? We are hoping to have our ‘aqd over there. What are some of the documents Moroccan authorities require for US citizens to have, how long does it?
I heard that some of the documents they require are birth certificate and celibacy certificate “not currently married”
Help…

Hi there Abbas.

To get married in Morocco, the US citizen needs a few things. From my experience it varies in the area of Morocco you are in.

Generally you need:
Birth Certificate, translated (you can do that in morocco)
Passport
(also bring your drivers/id)- some areas ask for your "national identity" which is a European thing
Intent to marry- written by the fiance stating that they are legal and able to marry: its done at a office..they have them in every town, I cant think of what their job or title is, but they type legal documents.

My husband and I tried to get married in Essaouria and it was a nightmare of papers. The Officals in Essaouria asked me in addition for:

Working paper- declaration of what my job is in the states, translated.
Celebratory paper- which is something that they want from the Consulate it basically says that you are unmarried: the US consualte in Casablanca doenst issue these. This is where my problem was, the Moroccan Government wanted this paper and the US consuate doesnt produce it...it was mayhem back and forth from the consulate to Essaouria.
Religion decloration: a written paper from my church stating my membership, that I was baptized, confirmed..etc.

im trying to remember everything else they asked for...it was crazy and it took us almost 4 months to gather the papers only to have the officals say it wasnt enough...then after we filed for the fiance visa and get married in the states we were contacted saying that our papers were now ready and we could go to the court in Essaouria. RIDICULOUS.

im rambling. anyhow, I think im the only one here that tried to get married in Essaouria, other people got married in other cities and didnt have the same trouble, nor were they required to have the same documents.

Im not sure if my input is helpful...but I would try to have all the things I brought just in case.
maybe some other ladies that got married in Morocco could give their list.

Good Luck,
Sarah

Thanks Sarah! I really appreciate you input.
My fiancée lives in Oujda (Eastern Morocco). I don’t know if all cities require the same documents. However, when of the documents they require as my fiancée told me is the celebratory paper. How can I get this if the US consulate does not issue it as Sarah said? Also, I am a naturalized U.S citizen. Do they want my birth certificate of my home country “which I don’t have now” or just my naturalization certificate?
Guys I need your help……. Anybody?

Abdou and I have not done this yet, not sure we will.

Abbas, we went the K-1 route but I only supplied them with certified copies of my Embassy papers of my birth in England. The SF240 was sufficient. I know they told me not to supply my birth certificate as it states or proves I was born in England. We made it through the K-1 process just with my embassy papers and my passport too showing I'm a US citizen. My circumstances may be different than yours since I was born to American Citizens abroad. If you have naturalization papers, you can use that. I'm not real sure about the K-3 process. Good Luck.

Doreen

I had to take in a signed paper stating that I belong to a Christian religion as well as the other documents. I didn't need a paper of celibacy, but my divorce decree, since I was previously married.

Plan on several weeks of work and extra money to grease palms. They do things very differently there!

Good luck.

Hello, last night,i was reading a book about the new's law for family here in Morocco and i found an answer to your question.the new moudawana said in article 15: if some moroccan contract their marriage outside the country and want to declare their marriage,they have to send a copy of their marriage to the nearest moroccan consulate less than 3 months.if there is no moroccan consulate in their country where they live they have to send it to the moroccan department of foreign affairs less than 3 months.this department gonna send the copy to the family court in Rabat.i hope i answer your question if you want more infornations let me now.GOOD LUCK

what if its been more than 3 months?

At least in Egypt, if you didn't register it within 6 months, you had to pay an extra fee. We went to the Chicago consulate 2 days shy of 6 months

We could have sent everything in the mail, but knowing Egyptian beuracracy, we didn't trust them with husband's passport etc. I'm still peeved that they won't put me on his passport though. Only egyptian wives get that

Prena,

I think you submit it anyway and they make a determination. Here is a translation of the Moudawana http://www.globalrights.org/site/DocServer....pdf?docID=3106

Articles 15 and 16 address the issue (page 10).

Rebecca

Rebecca,
You are a wealth of information.... Thanks for all your input!
Noura

What's the reason / advantage to declaring your marriage? I'm not saying you shouldn't do it, just wondering what good it will do.

Good question, i was thinking the same thing. What are the potential disadvatnges to not declaring your marriage in Morocco?

Sharon,

Basically, declaring your marriage makes you recognized as his wife under Moroccan law.

It protects your rights regarding child custody, inheritance, divorce -- any of the things that pertain to wives under family law (Moudawana). For example, if your husband has property in Morocco name, say something he inherited, and he passes away, you will have no rights to inheritance unless your marriage is "recognized". Inheritance follows Islamic law. Declaring your marriage is probably most important if you will ever live in Morocco because than it would dictate child custody too.

It can only be declared if it meets the Moudawana requirements which are essentially those of an Islamic marriage.

Rebecca

So does that mean you must have been married in a mosque?

Jenn,

I was married in a mosque, so our marriage meets the requirements. However, my reading of the law is that a civil marriage in which the two witnesses were Muslim would meet the requirements also.

Rebecca

Seems we won't meet the requirements, then. We're planning a trip to Morocco around XMas time. Do you think we would be able to have some sort of ceremony then after which we could register the marriage?

My interpretation would be if you had an Islamic marriage, even at a mosque here, and included that with your civil certificate, it would be recognized. Again, that is just my take on it.

We received two marriage certificates, actually three. We have the civil one, which was also conducted at a mosque using the same witnesses we did for our Islamic marriage, and we have two Islamic marriage certificates, one in Arabic and one in English. It would seem to me that including an Islamic certificate in addition to the civil one would cover their requirements.

Big headache to get your marriage recognized, isn't it??? and they make you pay

Rebecca

Let me just re-emphasize this point for anyone who's planning on living in the ME. I know a lady via one of my wives of egyptians yahoo groups. She was religiously married to an egyptian man, living in egypt. They had several children together. However, their marriage was never registered. Her husband died suddenly, and she was shocked to find herself in a battle with her inlaws re: the custody of her kids, her husband's property, their apartment, etc. I do believe she retained custody of her kids, but for more than a year, it looked like her in laws were going to get everything. It's absolutely essential to take every legal recourse to protect yourself when moving abroad, and even if one doesn't think they'll move abroad now, it can't hurt to do what you can at the present, in case circumstances change in the future.

Thanks for all the info, Rebecca! One more quick question....Are we permitted to have an Islamic marriage given that I am non-muslim?

Yes, although you are supposed to belong to one of the monotheistic faiths (Christianity, Judaism) and they may ask.

Rebecca

Did anyone look into this, what you would do if you've been married more than 3 months? I think it's a VERY good idea to get the marriage registered. Not that I'm anticipating any problems, but what if something bad happened and I had no rights to joint property I have with my husband in Morocco or our future children (inshallah)? I definitely want to be legally recognized.

It looks like getting your marriage recognized if it took place outside of Morocco is a tough job...

http://www.wafin.com/mbureaucracy.phtml


I emailed the consulate to ask for more questions since they aren't answering their phone at the moment. I'll let you know what I find out (if anything)