Apostille Your Single Status Affidavit and Get Married Overseas
More people are leaving the U.S. and jetting off to their dream wedding destinations. But before you get on the plane and say ‘I do’ to the love of your life, there’s one more box left to check – the single status. All countries require that you prove your freedom to marry before they can register your marriage. To do this, you must present a single status affidavit, proving that you are not legally married back in the U.S.
But what is a single status affidavit? You may know this document by other names, including:
– Letter of freedom to marry,
– Affidavit of single status,
– Single letter, and
– Statement of freedom to marry.
These and other terms essentially point to a statement under oath in which you attest to being honest about who you claim to be. Moreover, it also asserts the claim that you can marry freely. Freedom to marry can result from not having married in the past or an ended previous marriage owing to death or divorce. Please note that all countries dictate what should be in the statement. So, before signing such a statement, you should ensure that it meets the destination country’s requirements. But for the most part, you find that the required information is quite similar.
Is the affidavit of single status that important? Yes! Without it, you cannot prove that you are single and free to marry. Most foreign governments would be unwilling to recognize your marriage or even offer you a marriage license to go ahead with the ceremony. You cannot afford to take such a risk with your big day.
What makes a single status affidavit valid? First, the document must contain your full name, a statement that you are free to marry, and the date of the signature. Some countries also require you to include your date of birth, passport details, and home address. Secondly, it must have an apostille. The only way to prove the document’s legality is to apostille it when traveling to a Hague Convention member country. Without this apostille single status affidavit, receiving authorities cannot gauge the legality of the statement.
Does every foreign government require an apostille single status affidavit? No – for non-party countries, you must get the document legalized.
Let us get your single status affidavit apostilled in readiness for your big day. It takes six or fewer days and ensures that you don’t encounter legal hurdles on your walk down the aisle.