Peru

Documents required to get married in Peru

Peru would make an unforgettable destination for a wedding. Although be warned, the process is laborious if you are not a Peruvian national. We would recommend getting formally married in the UK, and then having a post-marriage celebration/blessing in Peru. There are lots of venues to hold your wedding celebrations, including the Sumaq Machu Picchu Hotel and the Belmond Palacio Nazarenas. Nonetheless, if you have your heart set on formally marrying in Peru, this is what you need to do:

1. Firstly, you will need to get an affidavit stating that it is legal for you and your partner to wed.
2. To organise the affidavit, you will have to fill out and complete the affidavit form (found online) and bring it to the UK embassy or consulate in Lima. You will need to bring the documents listed below, including the fee of approximately £50 (converted into Peruvian currency). Bear in mind that both you and your partner will need your own individual affidavit.
3. Once this affidavit has been approved by the British embassy,  you will need to get it legalised (certified as genuine) by the local Peruvian authorities. This document will also have to be translated into Spanish by a professional translator.
4. Only civil ceremonies are certified as being legal, so if you'd like to get married in a church, you will first have to get married in the town hall.
5. For big cities like Lima or Cusco, it is possible that you will have to have a medical check up (for AIDS primarily) before marrying.
6. You should allow at least 3-4 months for all the paperwork to be sorted out if your documents are not already in Spanish.
7. After all this, you will have to get the announcement about your wedding printed in a local Peruvian newspaper, and then take it into the relevant registry office with all your other documents (listed below).
8. As long as there aren't any issues, after you've completed all of this and everything has been approved - you are all set to marry.

Be wary of the fact that Peruvian bureaucracy can be tedious, so follow all of the British embassy instructions to the letter. Good luck!

Necessary Documents

• Passport
• Passport sized photos
• Birth certificate
• Copy of the 2 witnesses' passports
• Fee (£50)
• Affidavit stating that you can legally marry
• Divorce certificate (if necessary from previous marriage)
• Death certificate (if you have been widowed)

Same-Sex Weddings

Same-sex marriage is not yet legal, however, it may be in the near future as it has been discussed in the Supreme Court recently.

Sources

• https://www.gov.uk/marriage-abroad/y/peru/uk/partner_british/opposite_sex
• http://theultimateperulist.blogspot.co.uk/2008/12/6c-marriage.html

Sources updated 15th May 2024

This information is appropriate for UK nationals getting married overseas. We always advise that you contact the relevant embassy for information before booking any trips. This information is up to date to the best of our knowledge.