“Marital capacity” of foreigners

If a foreigner intents to contract marriage in Poland, it needs to be established whether they are capable of entering into marriage, i.e. have the so-called marital capacity, understood as lack of impediments in accordance with the law of their country of origin (cf. Article 48 of the International Private Law (ustawy Prawo prywatne międzynarodowe).

The following principles are adopted in order to establish the applicable law of the country of origin:

Polish citizens who also hold other citizenships are subject to Polish law;
if a foreigner has at least two nationalities, the law of the country to which he has the strongest ties applies;
if a person has no citizenship, the law of their country of residence applies and in case of lack of place of residence, the law of the country of their habitual residence applies.

Marital capacity must be certified by a document issued by a state authority (including a consul) of the country of which the foreigner is a citizen, in the form stipulated by the law of that country. Article 79 section 1 of the Vital Records Law (ustawy Prawo o aktach stanu cywilnego) provides for an obligation on the part of the foreigner to submit the abovementioned document to the Registrar General.

List of countries which, according to their legislation, may issue documents confirming marital capacity under the law of the country of origin

No.	Name of the country	Authority or person entitled to issue a certificate of marital capacity
1.	ANGOLA	Civil registry office or diplomatic representation
2.	AUSTRIA	Registrar competent for the place of residence of the person intending to enter into marriage Civil registry office in Vienna if the person in question has no place of residence in Austria
3.	BELGIUM	Registrar competent for the place of residence of the person intending to enter into marriage
4.	BELARUS	Police authority or registrar competent for the place of residence of the person intending to enter into marriage
5.	BULGARIA	Commune council competent for the place of residence of the person intending to enter into marriage
6.	CHILE	Chilean civil registry office
7.	CHINA	Notarial office competent for the place of residence of the person intending to enter into marriage
8.	CYPR	Religious authorities or district internal affairs offices
9.	CZECH REPUBLIC	Registrar competent for the place of residence of the person intending to enter into marriage
10.	DENMARK	Mayor (town hall) competent for the place of residence of the person intending to enter into marriage
11.	FINLAND	Evangelical-Augsburg clergyman, clergymen of other religious associations, judges competent for the place of residence of the person intending to enter into marriage
12.	FRANCE	Mayor competent for the place of residence of the person intending to enter into marriage, diplomatic representation or consulate
13.	THE NETHERLANDS	Registrar competent for the place of residence of the person intending to enter into marriage and in case of lack of such place – any registrar diplomatic representation or consulate
14.	IRELAND	Ministry of Foreign Affairs diplomatic representation or consulate
15.	JAPAN	Diplomatic representation or consulate
16.	YEMEN	Ministry of Foregin Affairs
17.	JORDAN	Islamic office competent for the place of residence of the person intending to enter into marriage, then legalization by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
18,	KENYA	Central Civil Registry Office
19.	COSTARICA	Registrar competent for the place of residence of the person intending to enter into marriage
20.	CUBA	MCuban Ministry of Justice
21.	LAOS	Diplomatic representation
22.	LIBERIA	Diplomatic representation
23.	LUXEMBURG	Registrar competent for the place of residence of the person intending to enter into marriage
24.	LATVIA	Consular Department of the Latvian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in consultation with the Ministry of Justice
25.	MEXICO	Registrar competent for the place of residence of the person intending to enter into marriage
26.	MONGOLIA	the Executive Board of the People’s Delegates Khural competent for the place of residence of the person intending to enter into marriage, or Diplomatic representation or consulate
27.	MOZAMBIQUE	Central Registry Office
28.	GERMANY	Registrar competent for the place of residence of the person intending to enter into marriage Civil registry office in Vienna if the person in question has no place of residence in Austria
3.	BELGIUM	Registrar competent for the place of residence of the person intending to enter into marriage
4.	BELARUS	Police authority or registrar competent for the place of residence of the person intending to enter into marriage
5.	BULGARIA	Commune council competent for the place of residence of the person intending to enter into marriage
6.	CHILE	Chilean civil registry office
7.	CHINA	Notarial office competent for the place of residence of the person intending to enter into marriage
8.	CYPR	Religious authorities or district internal affairs offices
9.	CZECH REPUBLIC	Registrar competent for the place of residence of the person intending to enter into marriage
10.	DENMARK	Mayor (town hall) competent for the place of residence of the person intending to enter into marriage
11.	FINLAND	Evangelical-Augsburg clergyman, clergymen of other religious associations, judges competent for the place of residence of the person intending to enter into marriage
12.	FRANCE	Mayor competent for the place of residence of the person intending to enter into marriage, diplomatic representation or consulate
13.	THE NETHERLANDS	Registrar competent for the place of residence of the person intending to enter into marriage and in case of lack of such place – any registrar diplomatic representation or consulate
14.	IRELAND	Ministry of Foreign Affairs diplomatic representation or consulate
15.	JAPAN	Diplomatic representation or consulate
16.	YEMEN	Ministry of Foregin Affairs
17.	JORDAN	Islamic office competent for the place of residence of the person intending to enter into marriage, then legalization by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
18,	KENYA	Central Civil Registry Office
19.	COSTARICA	Registrar competent for the place of residence of the person intending to enter into marriage
20.	CUBA	MCuban Ministry of Justice
21.	LAOS	Diplomatic representation
22.	LIBERIA	Diplomatic representation
23.	LUXEMBURG	Registrar competent for the place of residence of the person intending to enter into marriage
24.	LATVIA	Consular Department of the Latvian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in consultation with the Ministry of Justice
25.	MEXICO	Registrar competent for the place of residence of the person intending to enter into marriage
26.	MONGOLIA	the Executive Board of the People’s Delegates Khural competent for the place of residence of the person intending to enter into marriage, or Diplomatic representation or consulate
27.	MOZAMBIQUE	Central Registry Office
28.	GERMANY	Registrar competent for the place of residence of the person intending to enter into marriage
29.	NIGERIA	Diplomatic representation
30.	NORWAY	Ministry for Children’s and Family Affairs or Public Notary’s office
31.	NEW ZEALAND	Central Civil Registry Office
32.	PORTUGAL	Central Civil Registry Office in Lisbona
33.	RUSSIA	Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs Diplomatic representation or consulate
34.	SENEGAL	City office competent for the place of residence of the person intending to enter into marriage
35.	SLOVENIA	Registrar competent for the place of residence of the person intending to enter into marriage
36.	SUDAN	Diplomatic representation
37.	SWITZERLAND	Registrar competent for the place of residence or the of regional affiliation of the person intending to enter into marriage
38.	SWITZERLAND	parish office in which the person intending to contract marriage is entered into the register of parishioners, and for persons residing abroad – Ministry of Foreign Affairs Diplomatic representation or consulate
39.	THAILAND	Civil registry office competent for the place of residence of the person intending to enter into marriage
40.	TANZANIA	Central Civil Registry Office
41.	TOGO	District commissioner competent for the place of residence of the person intending to enter into marriage
42.	TUNISIA	Diplomatic representation
43.	TURKEY	registrar Diplomatic representation
44.	URUGUAY	Registrar competent for the place of residence of the person intending to enter into marriage
45.	HUNGARY	Registrar competent for the place of residence of the person intending to enter into marriage Diplomatic representation
46.	VIETNAM	State administration authority competent for the place of residence of the person intending to enter into marriage
47.	UNITED KINGDOM	Registrar of Births, Marriages and Deaths competent for the place of residence of the person intending to enter into marriage diplomatic representation or consulate if the person intending to contract marriage permanently resides abroad
48.	ITALY	registrar Diplomatic representation
49.	ZIMBABWE	Chief Civil Registry Office

The national law of the foreigner’s country of origin may also set additional requirements which must be met in order to enter into marriage with a foreign national.

List of countries which, according to their legislation, require their citizens to obtain a special permit for entering into marriage with foreign nationals

Yemen – permit of the Minister of Internal Affairs; marriages contracted without such permit are invalid under Yemeni law;
Cambodia – permit of the Minister of Foreign Affairs
Libya – permit of a regional office (baladijat), marriages contracted without such permit are invalid under Libyan law;
Syria – permit of the Minister of Internal Affairs; marriages contracted without such permit are invalid under Syrian law;

A number of countries do not issue documents confirming the marital capacity of their citizens.

List of countries which, according to their legislation, do not issue documents confirming marital capacity under the law of the country of origin

Albania
Saudi Arabia
Argentina
Australia
Bangladesh
Bolivia
Croatia
Egypt
Ecuador
Estonia
Ethiopia
Ghana
Greece
Guyana
Guatemala
Spain
Honduras
India
Indonesia
Iraq
Iran
Israel
Cambodia
Cameroon
Canada
Columbia
Korea
North Korea
Kuwait
Lesotho
Lebanon
Libya
Lithuania
Macedonia
Mali
Malta
Morocco
Namibia
Pakistan
Panama
Peru
Republic of South Africa
Romania
Serbia
Syria
Ukraine
Zambia
United Arab Emirates

In case of such countries, or if there other obstacles difficult to overcome arise and prevent from obtaining the document, a court may exempt the foreigner from the obligation to provide such document, in non-contentious proceedings initiated at the foreigner’s request. The court independently assesses the positive prerequisites, as well as the lack of negative ones, for contracting marriage, and its decision issued in a given case may substitute the required document. The court decision must be submitted to the civil registry office.

In order to obtain said decision, the foreigner should submit an application for exempting them from the obligation of submitting the relevant document to the civil registry office to the District Court competent for the place of their domicile and in case of lack of such place – to the District Court competent for the place of their residence. The fixed fee for such application is PLN 100. The application should describe the obstacles difficult to overcome, preventing the person in question from obtaining the relevant document in their country of origin. The court will not deem a long distance from the country in question or high costs of travel a sufficient reason to exempt the foreigner from the requirement to submit a document certifying their capability to contract marriage with a Polish citizen in accordance with the national law of their country of origin.