Please help... Has anyone attested a greek wedding certificate? | ExpatWoman.com
 

Please help... Has anyone attested a greek wedding certificate?

10
Posts
EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 09 October 2013 - 17:15

Hi I'd really appreciate some information on the process for attesting a greek wedding certificate. Me and my husband are both british but were married in Greece. I'm pregnant and need to have my wedding certificate attested. The Greek embassy in Abu dhabi aren't replying to my request for info and I feel like I'm banging my head on a brick wall. If I go down to the ministry of foreign affairs will they be able to tell me what to do? Thanks

1
Posts
EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 14 August 2021 - 14:22
I realise this is almost a decade old, but what was the final solution to this? I’m looking to get married in Greece (I am British and my partner is Ukraine, both live in the UAE)… and it would be good to know the best route for getting the marriage recognized in both the UK and UAE.
548
Posts
EW GURU
Latest post on 13 October 2013 - 10:11
Hi Naomip, Roi's info is correct, and this process is in fact the one followed for all Greek government issued docs that need to be used in the UAE as unfortunately the UAE are not party to the Hague convention (if they were all you would have needed would be one stamp from the relevant department...). It is a bit of a hassle but you could if need be arrange a slightly complex courrier drop off and pick up schedule at extra cost to do this, the ministries accept that. I used to have the direct contacts for the individual who deals with the attestations at the Ministry of Interior, Foreign affairs and the contacts for the UAE Embassy from a year back when I did this for a birth certificate, if I can find it later today I'll post them for you. The Embassy in AD can do many things but they generally try to avoid doing them, even for Greek citizens, so you may not get much from them but if you do live in Abu Dhabi stop by and ask to speak to someone in the consular section (not the receptionist) and maybe they can help you. To be fair though it is likely they would have to send the docs via the diplomatic route to Athens for attestations etc and it might end up taking longer. One other thing I would recomend is that you could perhaps contact a law firm in Athens, no need for a major one etc and ask if they can allocate a junior PRO type resource to handle your documents for a fee, could end up being reasonable.
3
Posts
EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 10 October 2013 - 18:53
Hi Naomip, I just got my Greek marriage certificate attested today at the UAE embassy in Athens. We are both Greeks and still in Athens. The procedure I followed was: a) I obtained a marriage certificate from the municipality office of the location of the wedding b) I legalised the certificate at the Ministry of Internal Affairs in Athens c) I got a second legalisation at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (like an apostille) d) I got it translated at the Translations Dpt of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (same building as (c)) e) I got it attested at the UAE Embassy in Athens. You have to make sure you clarify that you need the document for the UAE, which is not party to the Hague Conventions. The cost was 12 euro for the express translation (5 days) and 40 euro for the (2 days) attestation service at the UAE embassy. I asked at the UAE Embassy if you can do the process in the UAE and the officer said that he thinks it has to be done here in Athens. Not sure there. Also, please note that the certificate has to be recent, issued in the last 6 months, to be valid. You should try calling the Greek Embassy in Abu Dhabi or better go there yourself to ask what part of the above procedure can be done there. I hope this helps. Please let me know if you need any further help. <em>edited by Roi on 10/10/2013</em>
 
 

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