FactsofIndonesia.com

The Process of Getting Married in Bali

Review by : Yuli SE., MM

Getting married in a dreamy place like Bali must be every couple’s wedding goal.

Not only the domestic couple, people or tourists from different countries are coming to get married in Bali.

It is proven that Bali Indonesia is recognized by the nations in all around the globe. Many wedding ceremonies are held here, in the Island of Gods.

Bali as the Island of Gods is one of the world’s paradise. Besides being famous for its tourists recreation and relaxation, Bali also offers such beautiful, exotic and romantic Wedding Venue in Bali for couples to have a sacred marriage in Bali.

Generally, every couple who wants to get married in Indonesia is adherent to at least one of the five religions recognized by Indonesia (Islam, Catholicism, Buddhism, Hinduism and Protestantism).

According to the law enforced in Indonesia, marriage that takes place in any region of Indonesia is carried out by a national institution named KUA as a legal institution who handle marriages.

For couples who are not Moslem is obliged to fill a letter for the civil registry office, the letter itself is a “notification letter to get married”.

The information inside includes where they came from and who wants to hold a wedding ceremony in Bali.

Therefore couples who are listed as Catholic, Protestant, Hindu, or Buddhist, the marriage record is done after the ceremony is held (the ceremony is led by the religious leaders). After that, the people from civil registry service will give a certificate for the newlyweds.

Prior to the amendment of Law No. 23 of 2006 that marriage was recorded in accordance with the principle of events, which means that the incident occurred and can be recorded in the area of the occurrence of the marriage event.

Therefore this law is enforcing the principle of domicile, or requiring the couples are registered as a resident in a specific region.

However the amendment doe not make it impossible to hold a wedding in Bali whether it is in a religious way or being recorded in the citizen registry office.

Due to the hype and the high amount of interest to get married in Bali, there are a lot of wedding services that will help you to get married in Bali and will guide you to go through the processes step by step.

Now talking about marriage, it can not be separated from terms and condition so that the wedding will run well in Bali, and it is obliged for the couples who want to get married in Bali to fulfill the conditions.

The requirements are differ into two category; for Indonesian and the another one is implied for tourists.

1. Documents needed for Indonesian

Identity card. This is the most important thing for any marriage. To get married in Bali, there should be the identity card of the groom, the bride, and two persons who will act as the wedding’s witnesses.
Both the bride and the groom must attach a Letter of Impediment from their respective civil records (as stated on the ID card)
Widow / Widower must include a divorce certificate or a statement that the previous partner has passed away or legally divorced
The copies of birth certificate (applied to both bride and groom)
Photograph of the bride and groom side by side. The position of the photograph is also set, the groom is on the right side of the bride. The photograph must have red colored background and the size must be 4cm x 6 cm
most importantly the marriage should be based on liking, should be held in a sacred way, and without force

Meanwhile for the couples who come from abroad or called as WNA (foreign citizen) should fulfill the term and conditions as this follow:

2. Documents needed for Non-Indonesian (WNA)

The very first thing is ID card or passport. If they do not posses any Indonesian ID card yet then they could bring passports.
Similar like the requirements above, the second one is copies of birth certificates.
CNI or Certificate of no Impediment. It can be obtained from the registry office (civil registry) in the foreign country. It can also requested from the consulate of the country concerned, the representative of Bali (if any). The last thing is no less important information, the CNI must be translated by a sworn translator.

The foreign citizens find it really exciting to make a wedding celebration or get married in a heavenly-like destination like Bali, Indonesia.

The reasons are such as due to the Bali natural beauty, many perfect places for honeymoon and the couple can have selective guests to attend the ceremony.

If you are foreign citizens and you want to legally married in Bali, you need to abide by Indonesian law and custom.

The requirements to get married in Bali is similar with the requirements for Non-Indonesian (WNA) that has been written above.

So make sure you have those documents packed in your luggage before the ceremonial event.

The marriage taken place in Bali will be recognised by their origin countries as long as the couple being married would be allowed to be married in the origin country. The couples should be 18 or above, and one was a boy and one was a girl.

Couples must have both religious and civil ceremony in Bali.
The religious ceremony and the legal ceremony must be held at the same location on the same day.

Religious ceremonies under Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, Christian-Protestant faith can be held at a home, a villa, a hotel, a restaurant, a beach or a purpose built wedding venue excepting temples.

If you intend to marry under Catholic faith you are required to do so in a Catholic church in Bali. Couples of non-Islamic faith require “Notice of Intention to Marry”. This is done at the Civil Registry Office in the regency where they are staying in Bali.

For the couples, being married by an Indonesian priest requires couples to declare a recognized Indonesian religion and both partners must also be of the same faith. Hindu, Buddhist or Islam are acceptable, however Atheism or Agnostic are not recognised by Indonesian marriage law.