If you’re a foreign national getting a marriage or civil partnership in South Africa, you will need to submit certain documents to the local authority including a certificate of no impediment. This document is used to prove that there is no objection to a proposed marriage. Often this document is required by overseas government bodies before they will permit a marriage to take place in that country.
Meaning of the certificate of No Impediment
The certificate of no impediment is a legal statement from your country of citizenship verifying your single status and that you are free to marry. The purpose of the certificate is to confirm to foreign authorities that there is no impediment, obstruction or objection to enter into a marriage by a citizen concerned. An impediment can include being married to another person at time you are about to get married to another one for example. Although it is widely known as a Certificate of No Impediment, it also goes by a few other names in others countries including:
- Certificate of legal capacity in Germany
- Single Status Certificate in Mozambique
- Certificate of marital status in DRC
- Statement in Lieu of Certificate in Canada
- certificate of celibacy in France
- Certificate de Coutume in Cameroon
Translation of certificates of No Impediment
The document shows the names of parties involved, their names, nationalities, ages, occupations, marital status and the country in which they intend to get married. Certificates of no impediment must always be submitted in original. If the certificate was issued in a non-English speaking country a sworn translation into English have to be provided in addition to the original. In the case of international marriages with South African national a Sworn translation of the certificate of no impediment obtained from the issuing country will be definitely required by the department of Home affairs.
Sworn/ certified translation means that the translation has been done by a sworn accredited translator and that the document has to bear the translator’s stamp and signature.
Frenchside handles sworn translations of certificate of non-impediment. Our sworn translation service handle hundreds of Civil status certificates including certificates of no impediment (or affidavits) for international marriages between South African nationals and overseas spouses.
Authentication / Legalisation and Apostilles of certificates of No Impediment
Authentication / Legalisation is the official confirmation that a signature, seal or stamp on a public document is genuine. This is usually required by foreign authorities before they will allow a document issued in your country to be used for official purposes in their country. Please note that this process does not authenticate the contents of the document.
As a general rule, if your country is included in this list of countries who signed the Hague Convention – Abolishing the Requirement of Legalisation for Foreign Public Documents, you will need an Apostille stamp. For other countries (including Angola, most of the Middle East and China ), you will need a Authentication / Legalisation Certificate.
Frenchside is a Pretoria-based translation agency with a track record of high quality translation. We strive to offer the lowest prices to guarantee that you never pay over-the-odds for the highest quality translation. There are no languages, volumes or deadlines that can scare us. You will constantly be offered flexible rates, short turnaround time and a diplomatic approach. whether you need a translation of a civil certificate, a complex legal document or a formatted website or technical document we are ready to assist.
We work in French, Portuguese, Spanish and German languages. If you have any questions you’d like to discuss, please give us a call on 012 348 3134/ 0813476060. Alternatively, send us an email to info@frenchside.co.za and a member of our friendly team will get back to you.
