Can You Get Legally Married In Bali?

You may be wondering whether it’s possible to get legally married in Bali, and perhaps whether the marriage will be recognised in your home country. You’ll be glad to hear that foreigners can have a legal wedding in Bali. The most important thing couples need to know is that you are legally required to have a religious ceremony followed by a civil registration.

Bali is part of the Republic of Indonesia and is subject to Indonesian Laws. Every couple who would like to getting married in Bali must comply with these marriage Laws No. 1 of 1974 concerning marriages in Indonesia (Article 2 (1): “marriage is legitimate if it has been performed according to the laws of the respective religious beliefs of the parties concerned”. However, it’s by no means 100% foolproof, as sometimes the laws in Indonesia are subject to change based on the Regional Autonomy or have not been made crystal-clear.

We’d definitely advise you to contact us and make an appointment for Wedding Consultation to seek the assistance of our legal expert if you’re planning to have your Legal Wedding in Bali. It’s important to follow few steps to clearly understand and make sure you know what’s involved in regards to follow the laws and customs for different religions and nationalities.

Both Bride & Groom must declare the same religion. The keyword here is declare. There’s no actual proof needed for foreigner other than the bride and groom’s declaration that they are both Christian, or both Muslim, etcetera. Their declaration will not be investigated or scrutinised. Except for the Indonesian, they will need to proof that they have religion as the government will investigate before they register the marriage. You must have the right ceremony for the religion you have – so no Buddhist ceremonies for Christians or vice versa.

There are 5 religions in Indonesia which accepted legally by Indonesia Civil Registry Office which are; Moslem, Protestant, Catholic, Buddhist and Hindu. Agnosticism and Atheism are not recognized. A Civil Registry office in Bali will only able to record marriages for the couple which is can provide documents certified by one of the religion in Indonesia.

For those who have different religion will need to contact our legal adviser as one of them should make a written declaration of change of religion. Contact us and make an appointment for Wedding Consultation.

Bali Wedding Butler normally organise Legal Wedding on the same day, at the same location for the religious ceremony and civil registration. You can choose to take place at your home/ villa/ hotels, or at a restaurant, on public beach or any other public places. Most venues are fine except Balinese temples, which are off limits. The wedding venue will affect the process of legal documentation by the government as we will need to make Police report to certify that you genuinely in Bali and stay at the hotel within the same area with the wedding venue.

Since 2005 Bali Wedding Butler expert in organising Legal Wedding, especially Desyana Squires as founder of Bali Wedding Butler who already on the wedding business since 2003. Her networking through lots of Embassy in Indonesia and some Embassy out of the country make us easier to follow up request of Legal paperwork for foreigner from all over the world. Here are the list of the country that we have done previously: Australia, Austria, Bangladesh, Belgium, Bhutan, Brazil, Bulgaria, Cambodia, Canada, Chile, China, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Egypt, Fiji, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Korea (South), Lithuania, Malaysia, Maldives, Mexico, Netherland, New Zealand, Norway, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Philippine, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Slovakia, South Africa, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Tajikistan, Thailand, Timor Leste, Ukraine, United Arab Emirate (UAE), United Kingdom (UK), United States of America (USA), Vietnam.

It’s mandatory for all foreign national to bring ‘Certificate of non-Impediment’. This document is usually obtained from your Embassy/ Consulate in Indonesia. This is where it can get a bit complicated if you country does not have a consulate in Bali. You may then need to obtain this document from your embassy in Jakarta (Indonesia’s capital) which takes 2 hours flight from Bali. Some of the embassy required personal meeting to the Embassy office in Jakarta, and some of the Embassy are able to help via mail and email. This varies from country to country.

For further and more detailed information regarding ‘Certificate of Non-Impediment’ please contact your embassy or let your wedding planner/coordinator help you.