More and more Chinese choose to come to Australia, choose to emigrate to this beautiful country, choose to take root in this country for a long time, and over time new immigrants are more and more in love with this country. But many people have asked me about how to get married and register in Australia. Because registration of marriage in Australia is not as simple as going to the Civil Affairs Bureau in the mainland to obtain a license, so as to be the marriage registrar authorized by the Australian goverment, I think it's time to write something about Australia's marriage.
First of all, under what circumstances can I get married in Australia?
This is very simple and will not be stingy to go, I believe that most Chinese friends will not be affected. The simple summary is that both parties are over 18 years of age (if a parent is required to sign a confirmation document between 16 and 18), both parties are unmarried, and both parties are not immediate family members. It is strange that Australia should allow nieces to marry their own uncle.
Australia is a monogamous country, bigamy is a felony, so every registrar will strictly review your marital status, if divorce must produce a divorce agreement and other written certificates, widows need to produce death certificates. A deliberate concealment of an existing marriage abroad will be subject to strict legal sanctions.
In Australia, marriage is not subject to race, language, visa status, and any person who meets the above conditions can be married in Australia, even if a visa expires.
Under Australia's marriage law, marriage is still a union between men and women, so same-sex marriage is not recognized for the time being. (I think it will change slowly, after all, it seems that the trend is getting stronger and stronger now.)
Second, who are you looking for when you want to get married?
Strictly speaking, there are Birth Death and Marriage Office (, BDM), Authorised marriage celebrant, State officer and Religion minister. who can be registered for marriage in Australia. But most Chinese choose the first two. After all, religious and political figures are far apart from our ordinary Chinese newcomers, so there is not much to say here.
First, in Sydney, for example, BDM, has two office to help couples sign up for the ceremony, one behind Central station and the other on the Parramatta River. The two agencies, similar to China's Civil Affairs Bureau, deal with legal documents such as marriage and marriage. Newcomers can go directly to office to fill out the money and make an appointment for the wedding, both of which have their own small auditorium and staff to host the wedding, issue certificates, and pay 401 working days and 507,507 Australian dollars on weekends. Each couple can bring witnesses, relatives and friends to the formal ceremony. BDM office is the most authoritative place, so it is loved by Chinese friends, but it has its own drawbacks. For example, when the newlyweds want a more distinctive wedding, BDM office's auditorium obviously doesn't meet their needs. After all, the background of the only venue is the same, slightly boring. More importantly, it is impossible for BDM staff to go to places designated by newcomers to marry them, such as restaurants, beaches, parks, lawns, and so on, so in Australia most people's weddings are performed by marriage registrars authorized by goverment. The two pictures below are office photos of city and parramtta, respectively.
Well, let's talk about the registrar authorized by the goverment, that is, having a relevant degree and training in professional courses, including legal knowledge, scenario simulation, character testing, and so on, and so on. Finally approved and authorized by goverment professional personnel. They not only offer marriage-related legal advice, officiate at the wedding ceremony and issue marriage certificates, and register information about the newlyweds at BDM office, And provide some advice on wedding arrangements and guidance on how to maintain family-run love (one of the biggest advantages of relationship consultant). Gover's appointment to a marriage registrar is that the relative flexibility of time and location, after all, (BDM officer is a civil servant. Relatively speaking, it is certainly not as good as the service attitude of the service providers, let alone offering rehearsals, and so on. In addition, the price authorized registrar can also charge different fees according to different job conditions. It might be more affordable. Many older Chinese immigrants prefer to find authorized Chinese registrars because they are, after all, Chinese and communicate more easily. And according to the requirements of Marriage Act 1961, both sides of the new person must be able to fully understand English, understand the questions raised by the Registrar and the requirements. If the English of the new couple is not good enough, then they must look for a third-tier translator. Unless the wedding registrar can master the language required by the newlyweds and use that language to preside over the whole wedding process. So when the newcomers have some language scruples, it is easier to choose to understand their own language of Marriage celebrant, communication, but now as new immigrants are made up of skilled immigrants, English exchanges become more and more smooth. So this question will not be a problem.
Third, when certain, where to register, to whom to registe
Then you can talk about Australia's registration procedures and requirements.
NOIM（Notice of intended Marriage）
When new couples decide to register for marriage, they first need to find a registrar or go to BDM to fill out a form called NOIM, which, as the name implies, means a letter of intent. According to Australian legal newcomers, only after completing the NOIM can a legal wedding be held after a Calendar Month, and this calendar month, that is, the cooling-off period that we often call, both parties can reverse their regrets during the period. During the cooling-off period, couples are not allowed to hold weddings. If the couple does not have a wedding within 18 months after completing the NOIM, the form will automatically expire and the couple will need to re-fill in.
When the newcomers are ready to fill in the NOIM, they need to provide some necessary documents.
- Birth certificate or passport
- If both parties have a history of marriage, please provide a divorce agreement or death certificate of the original spouse
- Both parties need to provide a photo certificate, such as passport ID card driver's license, to prove their identity.
If some of the necessary documents are not available, you can fill in an Statuary Declaration Form under the registrar's or JP's credentials.
A newcomer can ask for a shorter cooling-off period in exceptional circumstances, but requires the approval of a local court, which can be shortened to as long as it takes a judge to decide whether or not to grant it, depending on the actual situation. Generally speaking, the following conditions can shorten the cooling-off period, such as travel to work, medical condition, legal requirements, religious reasons, delay caused by mistakes made by the registrar, and so on. If you really need to apply for a shorter calm period, please discuss it with the registrar)
When the NOIM is completed, the couple can discuss with BDM officer or Celebrant when the wedding will be held, and if necessary, can also discuss with celebrant the details of wedding rehearsal and so on, here is not much form.
Fourth, wedding day
On the day of the wedding, the couple were required by law to bring two relatives and friends over the age of 18 as Witness, laws that did not require a lot of visas, nationality, and so on. Their names will also appear permanently in the couple's marriage certificate and in the goverment filing, so it is recommended that the couple's most important and meaningful family and friend be chosen to sign.
The venue for the wedding can be chosen in the BDM auditorium, the beach, the park grass, the cruise boat hotel and so on, and even in the backyard of our own hall, so I would like to briefly say something about the preparation of the wedding venue. Of course, this possibly professional wedding company will give the organization a better organization. If the newcomers want to go to the beach park and so on, Public facilities, said in principle that they need to apply with council and pay for some venues, indicating the specific time and location, and if necessary, may require payment of the public liability insurance.. This needs to be paid special attention. After all, no one wants to crash with other newcomers on a happy day or be chased by ranger all over the street. The other thing to pay attention to is to pay attention to the weather. If the weather is bad on the wedding day, be sure to prepare for an emergency.
Throughout the wedding process, couples can arrange their own stories, wedding themes, vows, special ceremonies, etc., which need to be notified to the registrar in advance. But in addition to the federal marriage law, there are some necessary legal processes (legal words) needs to appear during the ceremony, otherwise the wedding will be considered null and void. A lot of friends are worried that their English is not good enough to understand the questions asked by the registrars during the ceremony, and I will list the Vow exchange vows in the necessary Legal words section that these newcomers will present to them, here is a list of the Vow exchange vows that these newcomers will present in the necessary Vow exchange section. It can help Chinese friends prepare in advance to avoid embarrassment.
Groom， please repeat after me：
I call upon the persons herepresent to witness that I_______ takethee______ to be my lawful wedded wife
Bride， please repeat after me：
I call upon the persons herepresent to witness that I_______ takethee______ to be my lawful wedded husband
These legal words are mandatory, but the average newcomer may want to make the content richer, if there is no way to do it at BDM, you have to follow the BDM officer content. But if it's with Marriage celebrant, you can negotiate it together and add what you want to make it more vivid and moving. After the registrar has completed all the legal part, exchange rings and so on, the new couple will be declared husband and wife. After the ceremony, the Registrar will have both parties and two witnesses sign legal documents and issue marriage certificates.
Finally, Marriage Certificate's marriage certificate.
Many Chinese friends may actually hold weddings in order to emigrate or plan to return home, so perhaps for them, the wedding in Australia is actually just a process, a legal process, and the most important thing they attach importance to is actually this certificate. Therefore, we introduce some specific marriage certificate related things.
Australia has two legal marriage certificates, the first of which is signed by the newlyweds and two witnesses on the day of the wedding, issued by the Registrar, which is usually available on the spot.
The second one is the Registered Marriage Certificate, issued by goverment, which contains all the information, and this one is also required when dealing with immigration and other formalities. Usually newcomers can wait until BDM has successfully registered all the wedding information (usually about 2 weeks) to BDM office to fill in the application form, the next day can get, the NSW fee is $51, or the newcomer can contact the registrar to assist in the application, It will be mailed to the newcomer in 2 weeks.
So, where do you choose to get married? who's the best place to get married?
BDM Office:, as part of the goverment division, is often considered the most reliable place to be, and this feeling is understandable, so it's also a choice for some friends who just want to go through a legal process, and goverment workdays 401, A weekend fee of $507 is also more reasonable. Relatively speaking, the disadvantage is that the registration time is too short, relatives and friends do not have enough time to take photos, wedding content vows, and so on, cannot be prepared according to the requirements of the newcomer. And some of Non-English native speaker celebrant's weird accents do not work well with. (Parramatta office) most importantly, goverment civil servants, who are relatively service-oriented. Generally speaking, choosing to come to BDM office is a safe choice.
PS: is a headache for both City BDM office and Parramatta parking, so it's a good idea to give some information about parking around you when you notify your friends and relatives.
After talking about the goverment department, let's talk about the MarriageCelebrant, authorized by goverment. I'll discuss this into two categories: Westerners and Chinese registrars.
- Western registrar: many friends choose to hold weddings in Australia. They think Australia is, after all, a traditional English-speaking country dominated by white people. To hold a western-style wedding, of course, it is necessary to find a blond and blue-eyed western registrar. The effect of the film is more foreign, in this case, the choice of a Westerners should be the first choice, I believe that Australia's major wedding companies know some, it is easy to find the right one. Generally speaking, the only problem with the Western registrar is that the charge price is really high, as far as I know, it is much higher than the BDMOffice price;
- Chinese marriage registrar: the advantage of the Chinese registrar is that the price is more affordable, the communication is more convenient and more flexible, and it is more suitable for people who are not very confident in their English. In addition, some Chinese registrars can provide venues for wedding ceremonies or door-to-door services to make guests more convenient.
Think of so much, if there are any questions you can contact me, I will do my best to help you, I hope to be useful to everyone!
Xuan Wang
Authorised Marriage Celebrant
Goverment authorized Marriage Registrar, Australia
Contact: 0449079290
E-mail: [email protected]
