British nationals may be married in Portugal in accordance with Portuguese law. You should contact the relevant civil registration office before making any arrangements to confirm you are able to meet all the local requirements for the ceremony to go ahead. Further information on getting married in Portugal is available on the Portuguese Civil Registration Office’s website.

There is no facility for Consular marriages at the British Embassy or at any of the British Consulates in Portugal.

Documentation

The Portuguese authorities will require:

• identification documents - a British National permanently resident in Portugal must produce a residence certificate and valid passport; a temporary resident must produce a valid passport
• full birth certificate, issued in the previous 6 months and apostillised by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office’s Legalisation Office under the terms of the Hague Convention of 5 October 1961 Abolishing the Requirement of Legalisation for Foreign Public Documents
• Certificate of No Impediment - if you are a British National and have been resident in Portugal for 21 days or more, you may give notice of marriage to your nearest British Consulate. Once the notice has been on display in the Consulate for 21 clear days, a certificate of no impediment may be issued. The Certificate is valid for three months from the date of issue.
  

Where a British national has lived outside Portugal during the previous 12 months, the Portuguese authorities may require (in addition to the Certificate of No Impediment) that the party concerned provide 4 witnesses who can vouch for his/her identity and good character.

Giving notice of marriage at a Consulate in Portugal to obtain a Certificate of No Impediment

In order to receive the Notice of Marriage, the Consulate will need to see the following:

• evidence that you have resided in their consular district for 21 days or more
• your British passport AND full birth certificate 
• your fiancé(e)’s passport or ID card
  

You will be asked to complete a Notice of Marriage and to take an oath or affirmation.  

If you do not live in Portugal, you will have to give notice of your intended marriage to the Civil Registrar or Consular Officer in the country and district in which you are resident. Once your notice has been on display in their office for 21 clear days, they will issue confirmation that no impediment has been shown to your marriage taking place. In exchange for such confirmation, we will issue the certificate of no impediment for production to the Portuguese civil registration officer.

Additional documentation where appropriate

• minors - the written consent of both parents is required if you are under 18
• previous marriage - documentary evidence must be produced of any former marriage and its termination, ie, marriage and divorce decree nisi absolute or death certificates.
  

Documents issued in the United Kingdom must be apostillised by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office’s Legalisation Office. All documents must be translated into Portuguese. If this is done outside Portugal, the translation must be certified by a Portuguese Consular Officer. In London, translations can be undertaken by:

De Pinna Notaries
35 Piccadilly
London W1J 0LJ
Tel: +44 (0) 20 7208 2900
Fax: +44 (0) 20 7208 0066
Email: info@depinna.co.uk.

Nationality

Foreign nationals no longer acquire Portuguese nationality on marriage to a Portuguese citizen. However, they become eligible to apply after three years of marriage. Applications should be made to the Conservatória dos Registos Centrais, Rua Rodrigo da Fonseca 198-202, 1099-003 Lisbon. Under UK law, the acquisition of Portuguese nationality does not imply the loss of British nationality. However, a person who becomes a dual national is regarded in Portugal as Portuguese and should travel in and out of the country on a Portuguese passport or national identity card. In addition, they can not claim assistance from the British authorities while in Portugal . 

A Portuguese spouse does not acquire British nationality on marriage to a British national. They may, however, apply for registration as a British national following the marriage after completing three years of permanent legal residence in the United Kingdom.

Religious ceremony in English

The Anglican churches in Lisbon, Estoril, Oporto, Funchal and the Algarve and the Scottish church in Lisbon are not licensed for marriages. A religious ceremony or blessing may, however, be arranged after the legal civil marriage has taken place. 

For more information, please contact your local church authority:

Lisbon and Estoril
Oporto
Funchal
Algarve
Scottish Church in Lisbon

Recording of marriages celebrated in Portugal

A certified copy of the Portuguese marriage certificate may be transmitted by the Consulate to the relevant General Register Office (GRO) in the UK for deposit in their archives. The marriage certificate is deposited for record purposes only; it does not have the effect of registering the marriage in the UK.  

For those who wish to deposit their marriage certificate in this way, we advise that an international version of the certificate is requested from the Portuguese civil registration office in order to avoid the expense of having a Portuguese document translated.

Fees

Consular fees are payable in Euros for all the services described above. See the Consular fees table.

This information is provided as a general guide and is based on information provided to the Embassy by the relevant local authorities. The information is therefore only up-to-date and accurate to the extent that such authorities provide us with timely and accurate information. The British Embassy does not guarantee that this information is accurate and will not be liable for any inaccuracies in this information.