Consular marriage is Concept, definition, conditions of imprisonment, pros and cons

2024 Author: Priscilla Miln | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 00:21

Statistics of our country shows that in the past few years, marriages between citizens of different countries have become more frequent. Compared to the previous period, their number increased by about 30 percent. A consular marriage is a union concluded between two people who love each other and are registered as citizens of different states. The family is being registered at the consulate of the countries of one of the participants of the event.

At first glance, everything looks very simple, but in reality there are many pitfalls, and any mistake, deviation from the rules can lead to the marriage being declared invalid. Also, spouses can be held liable for such an act. Therefore, it is very important to find out what the concept of consular marriage means and clarify all the nuances of its conclusion before holding the ceremony.

Basic

Given modern legal theory, we can safely say that people have the opportunity to spendmarriage ceremony in the diplomatic missions of the countries of which they are citizens. This is necessary if a person decides to start a family while outside his country, but wants to legalize relations with his loved one.

Consular marriages in private international law may be registered by a consul or an ambassador. These representatives of different countries are entrusted with special powers that allow them to fix the marriage and perform all the necessary legal functions.

Conditions

The main condition for such a marriage is that both partners become citizens of the entity represented by the embassy. In other words, from a legal point of view, marriage will take place on the territory of a particular country, since a diplomatic office is a remote representative office of the state and, accordingly, is considered an integral part of it.

Consular marriages are concluded between a citizen of the country in which the consulate is located, and one who was born and raised in the state represented by the diplomatic institution. That is, a native of the country of the embassy and a representative of any other country participate in the marriage. But it should be borne in mind that this practice of concluding marriage unions is far from being used everywhere.

Legislation

Consular marriages are official unions that must comply with the norms of the family code of the Russian Federation, they are represented by Article 157. We recognize unions of foreign citizens as legal,which conclude on our territory. For example, two Frenchmen, staying on the territory of our country, decided to legalize their relationship. They can do this in their embassy.

But if representatives of different states decide to conclude an alliance, their decision may entail a chain of undesirable and serious legal consequences. Consular marriage is a complex event in terms of bureaucracy. The basis for this may be the conflict of norms of the legislation of different countries. For example, the civil law of our country allows marriages held in France. But holding a wedding in Andorra will become questionable, and a person will have to prove with the help of legal representatives and lawyers how true this marriage is from the legal side.

Consular marriages in PIL

Private international law is a system of codes and laws of the national law of countries. In addition, this includes consular agreements that regulate the rules for the recognition and conclusion of civil acts.

The Hague Convention, adopted in 1978, acts as the main legal act coordinating mixed marriages and remote marriages. According to this document, the following issues are regulated: the conduct of the marriage procedure between citizens of the agreed countries and the rules for recognizing this marriage in those countries whose citizens have legalized their relationship.

Family Code of the Russian Federation

The Family Code acts as the basis of Russian national legislation, which affects the sphere of family relations between people. If consular marriages are concluded, article 157 of the RF IC must be taken into account. Its meaning is that our state recognizes marriages of Russian citizens concluded on the territory of embassies of other countries.

It also takes into account that the state recognizes marriages between our citizens, which they entered into in our missions on the territory of other states. Russia also legalizes unions of foreign citizens, formalized within the representative offices by consuls and ambassadors of the countries they represent.

Features of marriages

Private international law recognizes the principle of reciprocity. This means that different states can agree on the registration of consular marriages. This is possible only if the union is between people who are citizens of the states participating in the agreement. There are several forms of the basic rules for this type of union:

• Traditional.
• Wife with multiple husbands.
• Husband with multiple wives.
• Same-sex marriage between women.
• Same-sex marriage between men.

The moral principles of Russia recognize only the first option, but this does not affect the possibility of concluding other types of unions on the territory of consulates and embassies. But still there are some restrictions that you should definitely take into account so that the marriage union is consideredlegally legal.

Both spouses must reach the minimum age under the laws of both countries. In most states, like ours, a consular marriage is a marriage between people who have reached at least 18 full years of age. It is also important that there are no family ties between them. It means that unions cannot be entered into by children with parents and brothers and sisters. Between them there is no agreement on guardianship for orphanhood or legal capacity. Both parties to the marriage must be fully capable. Also, the union should not be forced, but completely voluntary for both parties.

Conclusion order

Marriage procedures in registry offices and consulates do not differ much from each other. In fact, consular marriages are standard procedures for confirming the legality of family relations between people. According to the current Family Code, citizens wishing to enter into an alliance are required to perform the following actions: appear at the mission with a statement that contains all the necessary data of both spouses, including full name, date of birth, passport details, addresses of registration and age.

After that, the consul must make sure that the intentions of the bride and groom do not have any violations. This means that he checks documents, requests certificates of death or divorce from previous partners, confirms that none of the spouses are legalrelationships with other people, both have reached the required age and the like. Further, future spouses must pay all state fees. Tariffs are taken into account by the legislation of the countries of which the bride and groom are citizens. And after that, all the necessary documents are processed and handed over to the spouses.

Nuances

If Russian citizens got married outside the Russian Federation, they can get all the necessary documents at the consulate, the legal force of which is fully confirmed. But as soon as they return to their homeland, they still have to come to the official local registry office, since the embassy does not stamp their passports. Only after reconciliation of all documents and affixing a stamp on the desired page, the marriage will be considered legalized. If foreigners held the ceremony on the territory of their consulate, then the marriage is recognized as legal according to the principle of reciprocity.

Pros and cons

Consular marriage is not only an opportunity for people to secure their relationship on a legal level, but also the possible creation of additional problems that have not very good consequences. Consider the benefits that this type of union provides:

• A person who marries a foreigner at a consulate in Russia receives a second citizenship corresponding to the spouse's place of residence.
• If children are born in marriage, they automatically become citizens of both countries at once.
• A family has many more opportunities to travel after marriage.
• There is an opportunity to find out for yourselfnew language and culture of another country.
• There are no barriers to getting an education in the territory of the state of the spouse.
• There is an opportunity to freely get a job or develop a business in both countries.

At the same time, marriage to a citizen of another country has its drawbacks, which must be taken into account before deciding to go to the consulate and make the relationship legal:

• When entering into marriage, a person is obliged to observe the laws and traditions of the state of the spouse.
• It is not always easy to study and understand the mentality of another country.
• There is always a threat that the marriage may be declared fictitious or invalid.
• If polygamy is accepted in the state of the spouse, then in the end the person may not be the only one loved.
• If children were born in a foreign country, it has the right not to allow them to be taken to your homeland.
• The spouse's state may less value the rights of its citizens.