Where is it easiest to get legally married in Europe? Five countries compared
Almost everyone picks the country first and discovers the law afterwards. It is worth ten minutes the other way round — because on this one question the five most popular destinations in Europe are not remotely alike.
The table
| Country | Residency required? | The catch | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|
| Portugal | None | A complete document file, then 4–6 weeks at the conservatória. Any registry office in the country. | Easiest |
| Greece | None | Documents apostilled and translated, €18 licence, one week's public notice, valid six months. | Easy |
| Italy | None | The nulla osta is issued by your own consulate INSIDE Italy, then legalised at the Prefettura. Several comune appointments. | Moderate — arrive early |
| France | 30–40 days in the commune | Plus ten days' publication of banns. Roughly 40–50 days in country before you can marry. | Hard |
| Spain | Two continuous years | Or Spanish citizenship. A Catholic church wedding is the exception and has no residency rule. | Effectively closed |
That is the whole answer, and it is stable enough to plan around. Everything below is why, and what to do about it.
If the legal ceremony must happen abroad
Some couples need the marriage itself to take place at the destination — for family reasons, for immigration reasons, or simply because signing the register at home first feels like the wrong order. If that is you, the field narrows to three.
- Portugal — The clear first choice. No residency test, any conservatória, and roughly €500–€1,500 for the whole document exercise. It is also the cheapest of the five to actually get married in.
- Greece — Nearly as easy. The licence is €18 with a one-week notice period, and it stays valid six months. The paperwork can be done almost entirely before you fly.
- Italy — Workable, but it sets your travel dates rather than fitting around them — your consulate can only issue the nulla osta once you are in Italy.
If you have your heart set on France or Spain
Then have the wedding there and marry legally at home. This is not a workaround the industry is embarrassed about — in both countries it is what most foreign couples do, and planners will assume it unless you say otherwise.
A registry office appointment in your own town takes ten minutes and two witnesses. Everything you actually picture when you picture the wedding — the château, the finca, the vows, the guests, the photographs — happens exactly as planned, conducted by a celebrant instead of a registrar.
The one genuine exception in Spain: a Catholic church wedding is legally recognised there with no residency requirement. If at least one of you is a baptised Catholic and you are happy with a church ceremony, that route is fully legal and well-trodden.
What every country asks for, whatever else differs
The vocabulary changes — nulla osta, certificat de célibat, certificate of no impediment — but the underlying list is remarkably consistent:
- Proof of identity — passports, and often recently-issued full birth certificates.
- Proof that you are free to marry — the document with a different name in every country, and the one with the shortest shelf life. Obtain it late in the process, not first.
- Proof that a previous marriage ended — a final divorce decree or a death certificate, if relevant.
- Legalisation — an apostille, from the country that issued the document. Never from the destination.
- Translation — into the destination's language, by a translator that country accepts — sworn, court-appointed or certified depending on where you are going.
A sensible order of operations
- Decide whether the legal ceremony has to happen abroad. This is the question that filters the list.
- Pick the country. If the answer above was yes, that is a shorter list than you thought.
- Confirm the document requirements with the specific municipality — not with a venue, a blog or this page. Local variation is real in Italy, France and Spain.
- Order the slow documents early: birth certificates, divorce decrees, apostilles.
- Leave the freedom-to-marry document until two to three months out; several countries treat it as expiring.
- Book the venue on its own clock. Peak weekends go twelve to eighteen months ahead and have nothing to do with the paperwork.
Last reviewed August 2026. Requirements change, municipalities differ, and none of this is legal advice — confirm anything you are about to spend money or book travel on with the relevant authority or your consulate.
Common questions
Which European country is easiest to get legally married in?
Portugal. There is no residency requirement for non-Portuguese nationals, you can apply to any registry office in the country, and the whole document exercise typically costs €500–€1,500. Greece is a close second, with an €18 licence and a one-week notice period.
Can we get legally married in Spain as foreigners?
Generally no. A civil marriage requires one partner to be a Spanish citizen or to have held legal residency for two continuous years. The exception is a Catholic church wedding, which is legally recognised in Spain with no residency requirement.
How long do you have to be in France to get married there?
At least one of you must establish 30–40 days of continuous residence in the commune before the banns are published, and the banns run for ten days — roughly 40–50 days in total. Most foreign couples marry at home and hold a symbolic ceremony in France.
Is a symbolic ceremony a real wedding?
It is a real ceremony with no legal effect. The couple marries legally at home, usually at a registry office, and the ceremony abroad is the one with the guests, the vows and the photographs. In France and Spain it is what most foreign couples do.
Do we apostille documents before or after translating them?
Apostille first, then translate, so the translation covers the apostille as well as the underlying document. Translating first means paying again later to translate the stamp. This applies in every one of these countries.
Which country is cheapest for a destination wedding in Europe?
Portugal, at roughly 30–40% below Italy and France for a comparable wedding — and it is also the easiest to marry in legally, which is an unusual combination.
Last reviewed August 2026. Requirements and prices change, and municipalities differ in the details — confirm anything you are about to spend money or book travel on with the relevant municipality or your consulate.
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