Certificate of No Impediment and Nulla Ostas

If you are marrying or having a civil partnership abroad you may need a Certificate of No Impediment (CNI) or a Nulla Osta.

What is a Certificate of No Impediment (CNI) and a Nulla Osta?

They are certificates which confirm there are no objections to your proposed marriage.

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

Do I need a Certificate of No Impediment?

Check with the authorities conducting your marriage ceremony in the country you want to get married in.

If you live in the UK you can obtain a CNI from your local UK registrar.  

You should check with the the local authorities conducting your marriage ceremony to see if you need to get your UK CNI translated or legalised for it to be valid in the country where you wish to marry.

‘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 info.

We cannot issue certificates of no impediment for marriages in a Commonwealth country. You will need to speak to the authorities conducting your marriage ceremony to make them aware you live in the U.K., and ask them what sort of alternative (if any) should be provided instead. This is because the UK is not able to issue a CNI for any Commonwealth marriages. Even if you are getting married to an Irish national overseas, you will not obtain a CNI from us.

I am getting married in Italy

You need to obtain a Certificate of No Impediment from your local register office and make an exchange for a Nulla Osta at the nearest British Consulate to where you are getting married in Italy.

I am marrying an Irish National

If you’re marrying an Irish national abroad you will not be able to obtain a CNI from a UK registry office. You will need to apply for it through our office in London if you are resident in the UK, or through your nearest British Consulate if you live overseas. Your Irish fiancé/e should contact the Irish authorities to obtain  their CNI to go to an address in the country concerned.

If you live overseas you will need to obtain a CNI from the nearest British embassy or consulate. Contact them for more details.

If you are marrying an Irish national in Italy then you will need to obtain a Nulla Osta as below.

Applying for a CNI to marry an Irish national through our office in London

Download the Certificate of No Impediment or Nulla Osta (if you're getting married in Italy) forms

We CAN’T accept personal callers so all applications are dealt with by post.

You’ll need to send us your original documents with two photocopies so we recommend you send them by special delivery. We will also need your application form plus another copy. 

You will need to include a special delivery envelope for us to return your original documents to you. We’ll send an acknowledgement letter and return your documents within 20 working days.  

The application will then be forwarded to the relevant British Consulate who will issue you with a certificate in the local language. 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 certificate is ready for collection by either you or a third party (eg your wedding planner, a friend or relative)

Fees

The fee for this service is £63.00 but this is subject to change. You will need to pay a further fee at the British Consulate in Italy if you are applying for a nulla osta (£63.00). You can pay by postal order or bank draft, made payable to ‘The FCO’.  We cannot accept personal cheques. Please see the full terms and conditions.

Before you complete the form:

Step1:

You must publicly announce your intended marriage through a notice which must be in your local newspaper for at least one week.  
The application form includes a specimen with correct wording for you.  You should use this to ensure the announcement is correct.

Step 2:

You must swear an Affidavit in front of a Commissioner of Oaths. Again, a specimen affidavit is included in the application form.
If you’ve been previously married, delete paragraph four. The Affidavit should bear the official stamp of the Commissioner of Oaths.
Ensure you include original copies of all the documents on the checklist.

Please note:

Please take care to fill in the correct application form with full information, and to submit your application with all documents requested allowing good time for the application to be processed and your certificate to be returned to you (N.B. It takes at least 10 working days for an application to leave the UK and the certificate to return to us before we can forward it to you).

In complete applications will be returned, and we will not be held responsible for any resulting inconveniences.

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