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Marriage in France (and PACS)
Marriage
Please note that marriages are not performed at Australian embassies or missions.
To be legally recognized, a marriage in France must take place at a town hall (Mairie). The town hall must be either the town hall where one of the applicants was born, or the town hall of the district where one of the applicants is currently resident.
The requirements (which may vary slightly for each town hall) are as follows:
at least one of the applicants must be either a citizen or a legal resident of france.
most town halls take approximately 4-6 weeks to process the application, which has to be accompanied by the following items:
Certificate of no impediment (Certificat de coutume)
Issued by the embassy
Full birth certificate (less than 90 days old) with an apostille from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade in Australia (please note that the apostille can only be delivered in australia. The embassy cannot deliver an apostille)
Translation of birth certificate (by a sworn translator)
Valid passport
Statement of no previous marriage (from the appropriate registrar's office in Australia), with translation
Divorce certificate (if applicable), with translation
French resident's card (if available)
In addition to providing the abovementioned documents, the applicants are also required to undergo a medical examination and blood tests.
Once the completed dossier is delivered to the town hall, there is normally a waiting period of 28 days before the marriage can take place.
PACS
Pacs is a legal protocol in France that formally recognises both opposite sex and same sex de facto relationships. The requirements for a PACS are the same as those for a marriage, except that the Certificate de Coutume cannot be delivered by the embassy. If required, an attestation to this effect can be obtained from us.
Consular section, Paris