The legal basis: who can marry in Georgia
Georgia is one of the most accessible marriage jurisdictions for foreign nationals: no citizenship condition, no residency condition, and no statutory waiting period. The Civil Acts law sets no citizenship requirement for marriage registration, so even two foreign nationals with no prior connection to Georgia can lawfully marry here.
The statutory basis sits in Article 36 of the Law of Georgia on the Legal Status of Foreigners: a foreigner may marry a Georgian citizen or another person in accordance with Georgian legislation, and under the same article the spouses acquire equal rights and duties in the marriage. The only universal administrative condition is lawful presence in Georgia, which you confirm with the relevant document.
The marriage age is 18 (Article 51 of the Civil Acts law), and registration takes place only by the free and full will of both persons. One material restriction applies regardless of nationality: under Article 54(1), the registration or recognition of same-sex unions is not permitted — a same-sex marriage registered abroad acquires no legal force in Georgia.
The document package: the short list that is actually required
Wedding-agency marketing often displays a "complete package" of impressive length. The official list of the Public Service Development Agency is much shorter — and that brevity is precisely the advantage of marrying in Georgia:
- the joint written application of the persons marrying (Article 52(1)–(3) of the Civil Acts law);
- identity documents of the couple and the witnesses — a foreign passport is accepted without a Georgian translation if the personal data in it appear in Latin transliteration;
- a document confirming lawful grounds for being in Georgia;
- only if you were previously married: proof of dissolution of the prior marriage (a divorce certificate, a former spouse's death certificate, or a court decision), apostilled or legalized and carrying a notarized Georgian translation;
- at least two adult competent witnesses.
Under Article 11(2), foreign-issued documents other than identity documents must be legalized or apostilled and carry a notarized Georgian translation — unless an international treaty provides otherwise. For the states of the 1993 Minsk Convention this exemption is exactly what applies: no apostille is required, and only the notarized translation remains.
The most persistent agency myth is the home-country "certificate of no impediment" — a certificate of marital capacity. No such document exists in the Georgian procedure: under Article 52(3) the applicants themselves declare in the application that no impediments to the marriage exist and that they know each other's health and family status, the number of prior marriages, and whether they have children. If you have never been married, you need no additional certificate at all — the document whose legalization agencies recommend for other jurisdictions is not required at any stage of the Georgian procedure.
The procedure: application, personal attendance, and choosing the date
Marriage is registered by the civil-acts registration authority — wedding houses, territorial offices of the Public Service Development Agency, and Justice House branches; since 2019–2020, notary bureaus may register marriages as well. The place is your choice: under Article 49, registration takes place at the location chosen by the persons marrying — a traditional hall or another space you select.
The law is precise about representation: the application may be filed personally or through a representative (Article 52(2)) — the representative presents proof of authority and their own identity document. The registration ceremony itself through a representative is prohibited (Article 52(4)): both spouses must attend in person, together with at least two adult witnesses. A power of attorney therefore covers the paperwork stage only — on the wedding day, both of you must travel to Georgia.
There is no statutory waiting period: registration takes place at the time indicated by the applicants, so the date — including the same or the next day — is your choice. The practical constraint is document readiness: if the prior-marriage documents still need an apostille and a notarized translation, that process — not a state queue — will set your calendar. "Marriage in 24 hours" promises are agency marketing rather than law; with documents ready, same-day registration is realistically achievable.
Cost: registration at the Agency's territorial offices and Justice House branches, without special ritual services, is free. Payment applies only to ceremonial services, whose tariffs are set by the Justice House fee decree and are revised from time to time — confirm the current tiers with the Justice House or the Agency before booking. A separate "expedited registration" state product does not exist: speed comes from choosing the date, not from a surcharge.
Apostille or the Minsk Convention: getting the certificate home
Georgia is a party to the 1961 Hague Apostille Convention — it acceded in 2006 and the convention has been in force since 2007 — so an apostilled Georgian marriage certificate works for most major corridors. The crucial exception is the Russian corridor: under Article 13 of the 1993 Minsk Convention on legal assistance and legal relations in civil, family and criminal matters, civil-status documents issued by competent Georgian authorities require neither legalization nor an apostille in the Russian Federation — a notarized Russian translation suffices.
This is an official position, not agency folklore: the Russian Interests Section in Tbilisi explains directly to its citizens that the Minsk Convention remains in force between Russia and Georgia, and the Russian Ministry of Justice confirmed in 2023 — even after joining the Kishinev Convention — that Minsk continues to govern relations with Georgia. The marriage itself is recognized in Russia under Article 158 of the Russian Family Code, without re-registration. In practice, some Russian bodies — a bank or a service center — request an apostille out of habit; the lawful answer is still Article 13 of the Minsk Convention, and the receiving body's stance should be confirmed in each case in advance.
Other corridors: Ukraine and Armenia are parties to the Hague Convention and also have the Minsk treaty basis — the apostille is the safe universal answer; Azerbaijan signed but did not ratify the Minsk Convention, so the apostille is the only clean route; Israel works under the apostille regime. The apostille on civil-acts documents is affixed by the Public Service Development Agency — you file the application at its territorial offices and Justice House branches. The fees: 8 working days — 30 GEL; 4 days — 60 GEL; 2 days — 120 GEL; same day — 150 GEL; the electronic apostille for electronic documents costs 50 GEL within 3 working days; translation starts from 30 GEL per page.
Fictitious marriage: annulment and the risk of losing residence rights
If a marriage in Georgia is concluded for a residence permit or another external purpose, without the intention to create a family, the law addresses it directly. Under Article 1145(1) of the Civil Code, a marriage concluded without the purpose of creating a family may be declared void. Standing to sue belongs to the registration agency's territorial service and — where one spouse married without that intention — to the other spouse (paragraph 2). At the same time, paragraph 3 protects real families: if by the time the court examines the case the spouses have in fact created a family, the marriage can no longer be declared fictitious.
There are migration consequences too: under Article 21 of the Law of Georgia on the Legal Status of Foreigners, a foreigner's period of stay in Georgia may be terminated if they married fictitiously in order to obtain a residence permit. Let us state the honest boundaries of liability: Georgian family legislation contains no separate criminal article for fictitious marriage — the real consequences are the property effects of annulment and migration measures, not criminal liability.
For genuine couples, the marriage-to-residency chain is fully lawful: the spouse of a Georgian citizen obtains the special spousal residence permit — the application is processed by the 90th calendar day and requires proof of lawful income or bank funds of at least twice the subsistence minimum — and permanent residence becomes available after five years on the spousal permit. A detailed guide to this chain sits on our separate page about marriage-based residence.
Frequently asked questions
Below we answer the questions foreign nationals most often raise before marrying in Georgia.
Is a certificate of no impediment from my home country required?
No. No such document exists in the Georgian procedure: under Article 52(3) the applicants themselves declare in the application that no impediments to the marriage exist. Only persons who were previously married add proof of dissolution — apostilled or legalized, with a notarized Georgian translation.
Can two foreign nationals marry in Georgia?
Yes. Under Article 36 of the Law on the Legal Status of Foreigners, a foreigner may marry a Georgian citizen or another person, without a citizenship restriction. You need only proof of lawful presence, identity documents, and two witnesses.
How fast can the registration be?
There is no statutory waiting period: under Article 49 registration takes place at the time indicated by the applicants. Your practical calendar is set by document readiness — above all, the apostille and notarized translation of any prior-marriage documents.
Does marriage give me residence rights?
Marriage to a Georgian citizen opens the spousal residence permit: the application is processed by the 90th day and requires proof of income or bank funds of at least twice the subsistence minimum; permanent residence follows after five years on the spousal permit. This entire route is lawful and expressly provided by statute.
Do I need an apostille on the Georgian marriage certificate for Russia?
No. Under Article 13 of the 1993 Minsk Convention, Georgian civil-status documents require no apostille in Russia — a notarized Russian translation suffices, and the marriage itself is recognized under Article 158 of the Russian Family Code without re-registration. For most other countries an apostille from the Public Service Development Agency is the route.
How We Help on Legal.ge
Our lawyers will check your document package against the Agency's requirements, plan the correct sequence of apostilles and notarized translations, set a realistic calendar built around your chosen date, and represent your interests before the Justice House. If the marriage is part of a residency chain, the same team will take you from the spousal permit to permanent residence. Contact us for a consultation — we will assess your case and draw up a precise plan.