Hello! US Citizen marrying a Peruvian in a few weeks!(hope)

[chrisivey1004]

Well in a few weeks, 9/12 actually is the date I plan on leaving the US to go down to Peru and marry my fiancée. But we've ran into quite a few problems dealing with paper work. As of now I have my original birth certificate, and my passport photo copied. And I am not sure on where to go next with this. I know I need to get my birth certificate apostilled asap. So I plan on shipping this over to the government and paying the priority fee to get it back quickly.

Now here's where I need help/advice. She's been told I need certain medical exams here, and those as well need to be notarized and apostilled. But, it seems every site I go to, I can get those done down there as well as the single certificate? Is this correct? Or do I need to get those tests done here?

So to my knowledge this is what I need....

Original birth certificate ------- check.
Passport photo copied ------- check.
Single certificate(getting in peru)
Medical exams ------ ????????? I dont know what to do on this one, should I get them done here or there?


I believe that is all I need? Please help, I need urgent advice!

[Kelly]

The medical exam is done here. When we went, it was just a simple blood test.

[chrisivey1004]

So the medical exams ARE done in peru correct? They were telling her that I'd need to be tested for HIV, STDs, and blood test.

You're a life saver!

Is there any other type of advice you might be able to give?

[chrisivey1004]

Also all I need to do in the states is bring my photo copy of my passport and get my birth certificate apostilled? I don't need to be freaking out correct?

[chrisivey1004]

Also where did you get married? Sorry for so many questions, my wife to be and me are very nervous about messing this up. I am paying 3,000$ to fly down there. Wanting to get it all right the first time if you know what I mean!

[Kelly]

Read this article - http://www.expatperu.com/marrying-a-per ... -peru.html

It should answer all, or at least most, of your questions.

[Big Gray Golem]

For me, it's been an agonizing process. I am still waiting for certified copies of my birth certificate, so many delays are from the US side, worsened by the fact that I am not in the US and can't personally go to these offices and get the copies.

Consider, as well, that once you have everything notarized and apostilled, you need to still get it officially translated into Spanish. There may be additional requirements by the particular municipality in which you are getting married, too (but it sounds like you are up to speed on that.)

We've moved the date twice already, and are running into problems because our muni wants everything to be dated within 3 months of the wedding date, and the US paperwork delays may force me to start over again with some of the documents I already had certified.

Keep me (us!) posted on your progress.

[chrisivey1004]

Oh man, now you got me even more worried, we'll see! I hope it isn't as bad as I keep thinking it will be.

So is your munic. telling you your birth certificate can't be more than 3 months old? Mine is one of the newer ones since I am only 22, and has all the certifications, and being apostilled next week... If I need to be getting a new one, I will be absolutely screwed. But to my understanding with her talks with the munic. all it needs to be is apostilled?

[Big Gray Golem]

Oh man, now you got me even more worried, we'll see! I hope it isn't as bad as I keep thinking it will be.

So is your munic. telling you your birth certificate can't be more than 3 months old? Mine is one of the newer ones since I am only 22, and has all the certifications, and being apostilled next week... If I need to be getting a new one, I will be absolutely screwed. But to my understanding with her talks with the munic. all it needs to be is apostilled?

I mean the official certification on the birth cert. You need to get it certified by the state you were born in. My problem is that the stamp on my declaration of soltero is aging as I wait for the birth cert stamp, and I STILL need to get it all apostilled and translated.

But don't panic yet! That was a LOCAL MUNICIPALITY rule, and those are different everywhere. They said any certification stamps have to be within 3 months of the wedding. Your muni may not have that rule.

In fact, we are trying to use a friend's address just a few blocks away because their muni has more flexible rules than the one we live in. So it depends on where you are getting married. Call the office, they can walk you through it. It might be a breeze in your case.

[rideout]

I'm a little hesitant to answer these types of questions sometimes because often people have very different experiences.

Much depends on the municipality in which you are getting married. Some munis require documents to be less than 3 months old, some 6, and some a year. Unfortunately, you will be required to get married in the municipality in which your fiance has official residence, technically speaking.

Though they may have changed the policy, or the muni has different requirements, for my wife and I, my documents, once in Peru, had to be translated by an official registered translator, and then stamped at the RREE (Ministry of Foreign Affairs) prior to submission to the municipality. The blood test we had done in a part of the city hall (just a simple blood typing/HIV test) and that only took a day or two for the results.

You may want to post where you are from (the States, Canada, etc) and the muni and see if anyone here has personal experience with those specifics. In any case, Peru is definitely not a place to get married if you are short on time.

Wow! 22 and in a rush to get married .... either way, I wish you the best of luck!

Oh, and I found this website helpful (though verify everything if you can) and it provides a declaracion de soltero (affidavit of single status) which is what I used with no difficulty.

http://theultimateperulist.blogspot.com/2008/12/6c-marriage.html

[fanning]

Single certificate(getting in peru)

It sounds weird to me that you would get this document in Peru. ¿How can Peru certify that you are single?

The logic thing would be that you get that document from your local/state/national authority and have it apostilized, translated and legalized.

When we got married they also demanded a 'certificate of good conduct', but maybe they don't ask that anymore. ( Seems also a bit illogical, like a criminal could not get married .. )

Furthermore I needed also a Certificate of residency of my local municipalidad, proofing were I lived.
All offcourse needed to be legalized and translated ( and then the translation also be legalized again.. As in Peru there are no translators from Dutch to Spanish ). In that time all the documents costed like $30 + $800 of legalizing and translation costs.

[rideout]

Single certificate(getting in peru)

It sounds weird to me that you would get this document in Peru. ¿How can Peru certify that you are single?

The logic thing would be that you get that document from your local/state/national authority and have it apostilized, translated and legalized.

When we got married they also demanded a 'certificate of good conduct', but maybe they don't ask that anymore. ( Seems also a bit illogical, like a criminal could not get married .. )

Furthermore I needed also a Certificate of residency of my local municipalidad, proofing were I lived.
All offcourse needed to be legalized and translated ( and then the translation also be legalized again.. As in Peru there are no translators from Dutch to Spanish ). In that time all the documents costed like $30 + $800 of legalizing and translation costs.

It sounds weird to me that you would get this document in Peru. ¿How can Peru certify that you are single?

Except, that is the way it is...didn't make much sense to me either, but a lot of things here don't make much sense.

[fanning]

Except, that is the way it is...didn't make much sense to me either, but a lot of things here don't make much sense.

Sorry, but I don't agree. Peru can be very bureaucratic, but mostly that is because they don't trust their own citizens. That is the reason you have to proof to the letter any small paper or document.
If you look at the requirements of Surco http://www.munisurco.gob.pe/municipio/losTramites/matrimonioCivil/matrimonioCivil.pdf It tells you a 'Certificado de Solteria'. Who you think gives that ? Offcourse an authority who can certify that. And in the case of a foreigner that would not be the Municipalidad of Surco.
If they would accept a sworn declaration than it would say so. ( A Declaracion Jurada de Solteria).

In this case a Certificado de Solteria can only be given by the local authority of the foreigner. ( In fact in my case that made some problems, as in Holland they don't give an explicit declaration of single as your marital status is already printed on your Municipal record, and Peru demanded an explicit 'single declaration'. In the end my Dutch municipalidad would give me that by exception)

[rideout]

And YOU my friend (not really) is why I started my posting with:

I'm a little hesitant to answer these types of questions sometimes because often people have very different experiences.

I was married here....in Peru...that was the requirements....yours may have been different than mine, that document woked for me just fine.

However, it is people like YOU that make people not want to post at all!

I have been on this forum a lot in the last few years and let me say....it has gone to crap! All of the good posters have left because of the likes of Chi Chi and this Fanning fella! Well, I wont be contributing any information anymore. Chow!

[fanning]

Wow, sleep well, dude.

[fanning]

Reading the link of (ex)rideout of the ultimate list shows that a US citizen can make a sworn statement under US law to a US authority that he is single. Then that document is apostiled, legalized by RREE and maybe translated to make it usable for the Peruvian municipalidad. So in the end it is a US document, and not a Peruvian document.. No need to get so excited and delete your account over.
Chi Chi and me have by the way very few in common, read our both posts and we usually say the opposite. Bu thanks anyway for your contributions, hopefully you see enough basis to return to the forum !

[Big Gray Golem]

The Certificado de soltero is nothing more than an official document stating you are eligible for marriage; i.e., you don't have another wife somewhere that would result in the the Peruvian marriage being deemed null and void after the fact. It actually makes a lot of sense, especially in developing countries where there is potential for a "mail order bride industry" and all the legal problems that sometimes brings.

You simply sign a piece of paper at your embassy (US embassy if you are American), raise your right hand and swear it's the truth, and they notarize it. You can even download the document from the internet ahead of time.

It has as much truth to it as a piece of paper can. You can feel free to lie if you like, but if you do, it's not then the fault of the Peruvian government that YOU lied on an official document.

There's nothing uniquely Peruvian about it, nor anything particularly BAD about it.

[mtwilson]

You simply sign a piece of paper at your embassy (US embassy if you are American), raise your right hand and swear it's the truth, and they notarize it. You can even download the document from the internet ahead of time.

I can vouch for this, this is all I did. I was in Peru and I did the whole thing while in Peru. I had a certified copy of my birth cert sent from my state and got the translations done. Had a simple blood test and got married in 2010.

Don't freak, just follow the rules. It seems to be better to get married in a more rural local since the bureaucracy isn't often as well developed.

We were married in Barranquita en la selva and had no problems.

[jimuazu]

It's not true that you have to get married in your spouse's registered municipality. In my wife's village, the woman in charge was completely clueless and told her that my papers were fakes. In desperation, she went to the next village and they knew the whole process backwards and were very helpful. They married us in my wife's village, in the municipal hall, but all our papers are now on record in the next village, so every time we need a new copy of the marriage certificate (every year whilst you have a CE) we have to take a little trip up there.

[dendrojosh]

I am a bit confused as to whether the certificado de solteria needs to be apostilized or not... I am guessing it won't have to be because it is gotten at the US ebassy in Lima... But I could be wrong... Any input on this?? thanks!

[argidd]

I am a bit confused as to whether the certificado de solteria needs to be apostilized or not... I am guessing it won't have to be because it is gotten at the US ebassy in Lima... But I could be wrong... Any input on this?? thanks!

Hi, all legal documents must be appostilled. Your embassy should offer the appostille service; ask them about it so you can do it timely!