Alas, solemnizing marriage abroad would be as easy as in India for non-residents (NRIs) or overseas citizens (OCIS) or person of Indian origin (PIOs)!

In India, there is no judiciary that would ever issue show cause notice to prove singlehood of the would-be spouse before marriage. Although, there is a provision to certify marriage under the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 (for Hindus) and the Special Marriage Act, 1954 (for Religion other than Hindu) but no mandate to show proof of bachelorhood prior. Almost every European country and some Asian countries, like Philippines, Malaysia, China and Indonesia, have provisioned to present the certificate of no marriage (CENOMAR). Despite known with different names, the motto of all of these docs is synonymous, i.e. to prove singleness of an individual.

Let’s catch on more names of the aforementioned certificate:

• Certificate of No Record
• Certificate of No Impediment
• Certificate of Nulla Osta
• Single Statutory Declaration
• Certificate of Legal Capacity to Contract Marriage and so on.

What is Single Status Certificate?

It’s a sworn statement that determines the affiant is single as per judiciary’s verifications of the specific country. It’s the legal licence to showcase capacity to solemnize marriage in any country. By qualifying the affiant for tying the knot, this document identifies that the bearer does not have any dependent from the previous marriage, if wedded previously. Therefore, the divorcee can also apply for the single status certificate to kick-start a new journey of married life.

In a nutshell, a person, if previously married or is a bachelor, has the right to get this document provided that he/she has presented its mandatory evidences.

Do you know which documents can help you to claim this status? Don’t trouble your mind as these are given below.

What documents are required to get bachelorhood certificate in India?
However, all documents are more or less same for the bachelor and divorce. But the latter has to submit some additional documents in contrast to the former applicant. Let’s walk through which ones are additionally require by the latter one.

For bachelor:
· An affidavit stating the affiant is single with more requisite details of address, identity and witnesses.

· Address proof, like Bank Passbook, rental agreement, voter ID, Aadhar card etc..

· Passport or visa

· Birth proof, like birth certificate, NABC, school certificate.

· Parents’ proof, their voter ID, Aadhaar card

For Divorce/Widowed: In addition to the foregone proofs, the divorce applicants have to present:
· Decree Absolute, if the applicant is legally divorced.

· Death certificate, if the applicant’s former spouse is no more.

Who issues this certificate?

As told above, Indian republic does not mandate certification of singlehood prior to wedding. Therefore, there is no competent authority delegated for issuing certificate of no impediment in India.

But it does not imply that none of the authorities can issue it. Courts, District Magistrate (DM) and Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM) can voluntarily issue an affidavit against the presented proof of singlehood. Then, the affiant can get the bachelorhood certificate attested from the Indian embassy. This attestation is compulsory since it puts the stamp of verification from the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA).

Let’s have a roundup of the composition of information to state in the affidavit.

Format of this certificate:

There is no static format of this document. But there are certain points that the affiant must bear in mind to mention. Inclusion of these points would make it impeccable way to get single status certificate from the Indian embassy.

Do remember these points to compose the format of its affidavit:

1. Sworn statement by the affiant: It should read as

“I, (name of the applicant), s/o or d/o (parents’ name) born on (D.O.B) in (place of birth), eligible to marry Indian or other national according to law. I am single (for unmarried)/ have no dependent from the previous marriage (for divorcee/widowed). ”

2. Sworn statement by the parents of the affiant: The parent who draft on behalf of his/her son/daughter should compose it as it goes:

“We (name of parents), of (age, like 50 years), married citizens of (country) with legal address after having been sworn to the law, hereby states that we are the legal parents of (the applicant’s name) born on (D.O.B) in (address). We are the evidences of the fact that he/she has never been married with any man/woman till today (for unmarried). Or, he/she is divorced now and has no dependent relation from the previous marriage (for divorcee).”

3. Date of birth: Don’t skip mentioning date of birth since it is compulsorily asked by the authority of the foreign country that registers marriages there.

4. Passport number: Passport is a legal document that lets the person travel across the globe. Since it is authenticated number, many countries require it to mention on the unmarried certificate.

5. Complete address: Complete address helps the competent authority to tap the affiant’s country and residential information. So, don’t skip it.

6. Witness’ statement: Witnesses are essentially required to present their affidavit in support of the affiant’s claim of this certificate. So, provide it with the applicant’s docs & affidavit.

7. Competent authority’s verification: At the end, the issuing delegate has to verify the authenticity of the presented documents. Therefore, the affidavit’s closure should read:

“I confirm that all the above information is true and correct.”

8. Date of verification and signature: The applicant has to mention the date of filing for the affidavit along with his/her signature.

Eventually, the competent authority verifies it after scrutinizing the presented supportive documents. Subsequently, the affidavit is apostilled by the MEA for which the fee is applicable. This procedure can take time. Therefore, the applicant can hire an outsourcer by providing the Power Of Attorney (POA) to take it on his/her behalf.

Hi :) My name is Muskan Agarwal. I am very headstrong and go getter in whatever i do. I work as a paralegal in the team and try to bring value in my work.

Muskan Agarwal

Muskan@startupsolicitors.com