Married abroad? Registering your marriage in Georgia

Under Articles 83 and 85 of the Law on Civil Acts, if the birth, marriage, divorce or another civil act of a Georgian citizen or a holder of a Georgian permanent residence permit was registered by another country's authority and is not registered in Georgia, it is re-registered. The request is made by the person the act concerns; if that person has died — by anyone.

Re-registration is based on a certified copy of the foreign civil act record, an extract or the registration certificate (Article 85, paragraph 2).

What can be registered

• A marriage or divorce registered abroad
• The birth of a child born abroad — including the birth and paternity of a Georgian citizen's minor child (Article 83, paragraph 2)
• A change of first name or surname, and a death

Where to apply

Civil acts are registered by the Public Service Development Agency and, within delegated powers, by Georgian embassies and consulates abroad and by notaries (Article 4).

Documents you will need

• A certified copy of the foreign record, an extract or the certificate
• An apostille or legalisation, unless Georgian legislation provides otherwise (Article 11, paragraph 2)
• A Georgian translation — the proceedings are in Georgian (Article 14)

A divorce in a foreign court

A foreign court's divorce decision must be recognised in Georgia. Recognition is not needed if, when the decision was made, both spouses were citizens of the country whose authority made it (Law on Private International Law, Articles 68 and 69). Recognition is decided by the Supreme Court of Georgia.

Good to know

• A mistake in a foreign record cannot be corrected in Georgia — you must ask for the correction in that country (Article 82)
• If you plan to marry abroad, the Agency and consulates issue a certificate that a Georgian citizen has no impediment to marriage (Article 4)