Can an Indian marry a foreigner?

Special Marriage Act prescribes the age limit for marriage along with prohibited degrees of relationship such as mothers, stepmothers, step-grandmothers, etc. The Central Information Commission while highlighting the applicability of the Special Marriage Act has identified that bride and groom can belong to different religions or different countries.

Performance of rituals enough:

We associate marriage with comprehensive rituals like walking around the fire, enjoying music, and exchanging garlands, the Court has clarified that any couple, whether an Indian, an NRI, or a foreigner, who wants to marry in India has to either perform a religious marriage ceremony or the court marriage ceremony even if the marriage is celebrated under Hindu Marriage Act, Muslim Marriage Act, Christian Marriage Act, and the Parsi Marriage and Divorce Act or any other Act.

A marriage Ceremony in India is a legally valid marriage, but it needs to be registered mandatorily. For immigration purposes, a Marriage Certificate from the Registrar of Marriages is essential. 

Documents:

a) Birth certificates

b) Visa of more than thirty days for the foreign national

c) single-status affidavit signed by both parties

d) Address proof and passport-size photographs

e) Adequate documentary evidence of 30-day residence in India

f) No-objection letter – The foreigner has to get a ‘no-objection certificate’ from the respective embassy of his native country

Once the marriage is performed, the marriage officer provides a certificate of marriage to the spouses. This certificate shall be signed by the couple and three other witnesses. The certificate of marriage is evidence that the marriage between the two parties; a foreigner and an Indian has been performed under this act with all the required formalities. 

Succession to Property:

When parties of different countries marry in India, succession is ideally governed by Indian laws. It is the Indian Succession Act that determines the rules applicable for deciding succession. In the event both parties, despite belonging to different nationalities are Hindus, the provisions of the Hindu Succession Act would apply instead.

Lead India has a panel of lawyers who can help you with your marriage and everything from documents to marriage certificates will be taken care of by our team.