Certificate of No Impediment and Nulla Ostas

A Certificate of No Impediment (CNI) is a certificate which confirms there are no

objections to your proposed marriage.

If you are getting married overseas, you may be asked to prove that you are
single or that you are allowed to marry. In most cases, you will be able to obtain
a CNI for this purpose. You should check with the authorities in the country where
you are getting married if you need a CNI.

A Nulla Osta is the Italian version of the Certificate of No Impediment.

I have been told I need a Certificate of No Impediment or Nulla Osta.

How can I get one?

In most cases, if you are marrying overseas and you live in the UK, you can
obtain a CNI from your local register office. If you live overseas, you should
contact your nearest British Embassy or Consulate who will be able to provide
you with details on how to apply for a CNI. There are exceptions to this
(principally for marriages in Commonwealth countries or if you are marrying an
Irish national) and further details on these can be found below.

You should check with the authorities in the country where you are marrying
whether they can accept the CNI as issued by the UK registrar or if it must be
exchanged for a locally acceptable version (ie a certificate in the local language)
issued by the British Embassy or Consulate. If it needs to be exchanged for a
locally acceptable version please contact the nearest British Embassy or
Consulate to where you are getting married who will be able to do this for you.

If the authorities will accept the CNI as issued in the UK you should also check
whether it needs to be legalised or translated into the local language.

Legalised means the certificate needs to be stamped with an official stamp (an
apostille) by the UK Legalisation Office. We can do this for you - see our
Legalisation pages for more information.

If you need to have your CNI translated please contact the Institute of Linguists
who will be able to provide you details of certified translators.

Exceptions

Marrying in Italy: once you have obtained your CNI from your local register office
(or British Consulate if you live overseas), you will need to exchange it for a
Nulla Osta at the nearest British Embassy or Consulate in Italy to where you are
getting married.

Marrying in a Commonwealth country: you cannot obtain a Certificate of No

Impediment for a marriage in a Commonwealth country. You will need to speak to
the authorities conducting your marriage ceremony to make them aware that
you cannot obtain this and ask them what sort of alternative (if any) should be
provided instead.
Marrying an Irish national:

If you live in England or Wales, you will not be able to obtain a CNI from
your local register office. You will need to apply for a CNI through our office in
London. If you are marrying in Italy, you will need to apply for a Nulla Osta
through our office in London. Details on how to apply and the fees involved are
below. (Your Irish fianc/e should contact the Irish authorities to obtain their CNI.)

If you live in Scotland or Northern Ireland, you can obtain your CNI from
your local register office. If you are marrying in Italy you will need to exchange
your CNI for a Nulla Osta at thenearest British Embassy or Consulate in Italy to
where you are getting married.

Applying for a CNI/Nulla Osta to marry an Irish national through our

office in London

Before submitting your application:

Step1:

You must publicly announce your intended marriage through a notice which must
be in your local newspaper for at least one week: that is, seven consecutive days
in a daily newspaper or once only in a weekly newspaper.

The application form provides details of the correct and legally acceptable
wording of the announcement. Please ensure you use the correct wording when
placing your announcement or you risk invalidating the application.

Step 2:

You must swear an Affidavit in front of a Commissioner of Oaths. Again, a

specimen affidavit is included in the application form. Please reproduce the
correct text onto another piece of paper - do not use the specimen provided.

If youve been previously married, do not include paragraph four. The Affidavit
should bear the official stamp of the Commissioner of Oaths.

Submitting the application:

Please complete a Certificate of No Impediment or Nulla Osta application form.

Please take care to provide all the information and documents requested and
allow sufficient time for the application to be processed.

Ensure you include the originals of all the documents indicated on the checklist
along with the requested number of photocopies.

Incomplete/incorrect applications will be returned, and we will not be held

responsible for any resulting inconveniences.
All applications are dealt with by post and as you are required to provide original
documents containing personal information we recommend that you use special
delivery to ensure their safe delivery and return.

Applications are processed within 20 working days of receipt, though during busy
periods this deadline may slip. Once processed in London your application will be
acknowledged and your original documents will be returned. The application will
then be forwarded to the relevant British Consulate who will issue the CNI or
Nulla Osta. This is usually valid for three months, but you should check this with
the local authorities conducting your marriage ceremony. You will be contacted
by the Consulate when the CNI/Nulla Osta is ready for collection, either by you or
a third party (eg your wedding planner, a friend or relative)

Fees

The fee for this service is 65.00 (not including postage; price correct, March
2013) but this is subject to change. You will also be required to pay a further fee
of 65.00 at the British Consulate when you collect your CNI/Nulla Osta.

You can pay by postal order or bank draft, made payable to The FCO or by
debit/credit card using our on-line payment service below. If you pay on-line
please include a copy of your confirmation e-mail or payment reference with the
application. We cannot accept personal cheques.

You will need to include a pre-paid, self addressed special delivery envelope, or
include the postage fee (10), in order for us to return your original documents
to you. If you do not include sufficient postage we will assume that you are
content for your personal documents to be returned by regular mail and we will
not be held responsible for any resulting loss.

Card payments are only valid for applications being made in the UK. If you are
applying directly to your local British Consulate overseas, you should not use this
payment method. Please contact your local British Consulate for payment
instructions.

Address to send applications:

Nulla Ostas/Certificates of No Impediment

Consular Directorate
K4.9
Foreign & Commonwealth Office
King Charles Street
London
SW1A 2AH