The information on this website on marrying or entering into a civil partnership in Albania is provided as a general guide and is based upon information provided to the FCO by the relevant local authorities. The information on this website is therefore only up to date and accurate to the extent that such authorities provide us with timely and accurate information. Accordingly the FCO does not guarantee that this information is accurate and will not be liable for any inaccuracies in this information. British nationals wishing to obtain information abour marriage or civil partnership must also contact the relevant local authority to be sure of the requirements that they need in order for their ceremony to go ahead.

The guidance below provides instructions on the requirements that couples need to meet to allow them to be married in Albania.

We regret that marriages cannot be celebrated at the British Embassy, in Tirana.

If you wish to marry in Albania then we recommend that you contact The Main Civil Status Office in Tirana for advice:

Zyra e Gjendjes Civile
Bashkia Tirane
Bulevardi Deshmoret e Kombit
Tirana
Tel: 00355 4 2253023/ ext 154 & 2259966

They should advise you that before there can be a marriage celebrated in Albania, which involves a British national, that they will require the production of both a legalised Full British Birth Certificate and a legalised ‘Certificate of No Impediment or CNI’. A CNI may be obtained from a Registrar’s Office in the UK or the British Embassy in Tirana. If you are preparing your marriage documents from the UK, please note that the Main Civil Status Office in Tirana requires both the UK issued CNI and the British Birth Certificate to be legalised by the Legalisation Office in London.  Finally, the document will need to be legalised by the Albanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs through the Albanian Postal Service (Posta Shqiptare).

The CNI can be issued by a consular officer at the British Embassy in Tirana. Thereafter you need to legalize the CNI at the Albanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs through the Albanian Postal Service (Posta Shqiptare).

A British national requiring a Certificate of No Impediment from the British Embassy must reside in the Consular district of Albania, where notice of the proposed marriage is to be given at least 21 clear and consecutive days before giving notice. At the end of the period the applicant is required to come to the British Embassy to complete and sign a Notice of Marriage and to swear an Affidavit. After the notice has been displayed on the Consulate’s notice board for 21 clear days and without any objection to the marriage having been raised, the Consular officer will issue a legalised copy of a Certificate of No Impediment.

Applicants should be aware that neither a Consular officer nor the FCO are competent to certify that no impediment to a particular marriage exists. The certificate simply states that public notice has been given of the proposed marriage and that no impediment to that marriage has been SHOWN to exist.

The following documents are required:

• full British Birth Certificate (showing parents’ names)
• British passport
• written consent of parent or guardian when under the age of 18, this will be verified with the signatory
• if either of the party to the purpose marriage have been married before or widow/widower then an original divorce or death certificate should be presented
• the prospective Albanian husband or wife’s passport and birth certificate
• the relevant fee for giving notice and issuing the Certificate of No Impediment.

Visit the Consular Fees page for payment details.

Depositing a marriage certificate in the UK

A British party to a marriage, celebrated in Albania can deposit a copy of their Albanian marriage certificate with the UK authorities. The requirements to be met are that:

• the British party to the marriage must provide the Consular officer in the district of Albania with a certified copy of the marriage certificate
• before presenting this paper to the Consular officer, it should have already been duly authenticated by the Legalisation Office at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Albania, accompanied with a notarised translation into English.

If these requirements are met then, and the relevant fee paid, the document will be forwarded to the Office of the Registrar General in the UK nearest to where the couple will be living. The applicant's full home address, email, telephone and fax number in the UK should be stated when paying the fee.

Note:

• The marriage will not be registered in the United Kingdom; the marriage certificate will simply be deposited for records purposes only. This means that the original certificate will not be returned.
• There is no legal obligation to have a marriage recorded in the UK. The parties may decide to do so if they consider that it will be useful purpose, but the validity in English law of a marriage contracted in a foreign country is in no way affected by its having been, or not having been, thus recorded.
• Either party or only one member of the couple can be present in order to deposit the Marriage certificate with the Consular Section at the British Embassy in Tirana.