GETTING MARRIED IN RUSSIA. MARRIAGE TO A RUSSIAN CITIZEN

Important Disclaimer

The below Family Law text on getting married in Russia to a Russian citizen should be used for information purposes only and appropriate legal advice should be sought as and when appropriate.

For legal advice on Russian marriage in Russia to a Russian citizen contact Mr Maxim POLYAKOV, your Russian qualified lawyer, member of the Moscow City Bar Association, tel. +7-495-518-72-62, email maxim@arbitratus.ru (English or Russian).

The Family Code of the Russian Federation

Article 10. ENTERING INTO A MARRIAGE

1. A marriage shall be entered into at registry offices.

2. The rights and duties of spouses shall arise as from the date of official registration of their entering into a marriage at registry offices.

Article 11. Procedure for Entering into a Marriage

1. A marriage shall be concluded in the presence of the persons entering into the marriage, after the expiry of one month from the date of their filing an application with the registry offices.

If there are valid reasons for doing this, the registry office may permit the conclusion of a marriage before the expiry of one month, and may also extend this term, but not by more than one month.

In case of the existence of some specific circumstances (such as pregnancy, the birth of a child, a direct threat to the life of one of the parties, or other circumstances), a marriage may be entered into on the date of filing the application.

2. The state registration of entering into a marriage shall be effected in conformity with the procedure, laid down for the state registration of civil status acts.

On the state recording of marriage, see Federal Law No. 143-FZ of November 15, 1997.

3. The refusal of the registry office to register a marriage may be appealed against in court by the persons who wish to enter into a marriage (by one of them).

Article 12. The Terms for Entering into a Marriage

1. To enter into a marriage, the voluntary consent of the man and of the woman entering into it, and their reaching the marriageable age, shall be necessary.

2. The marriage shall not be entered into in the face of the circumstances pointed out in Article 14 of the present Code.

Article 13. The Marriageable Age

1. The marriageable age shall be established as eighteen years.

Federal Law No. 140-FZ of November 15, 1997 reworded the first paragraph of Item 2 of Article 13 of the Family Code of the Russian Federation. See the previous text of the paragraph.

2. In the presence of valid reasons, the bodies of local self-government at the residence of persons wishing to enter into a marriage may, at the request of such persons, permit entering into a marriage to persons who have reached the age of sixteen years.

The procedure and the terms because of whose existence a marriage may be entered into by way of an exception, with account for specific circumstances, before reaching the age of sixteen years, may be laid down by the laws of the subjects of the Russian Federation.

Article 14. Circumstances Preventing Entering into a Marriage Not to be admitted shall be entering into a marriage by:

- persons one of whom at least already consists in another registered marriage;

- close relations (relations by the direct ascending and descending lines - by the parents and children, by the grandfather, the grandmother and the grandchildren), by full and by not full (having a common father or a mother) brothers and sisters);

- adopters and the adoptees;

- persons at least one of whom is recognized by court as legally incapable because of mental derangement.

Article 15. Medical Examination of the Persons Entering into a Marriage

1. The medical examination of the persons entering into a marriage, and consulting them on the medical-genetic issues and on those of family planning shall be effected by the institutions of the state and of the municipal public health system per the place of their residence, free of charge and only with the consent of the persons entering into a marriage.

2. The results of the examination of a person entering into a marriage shall be a medical secret, and may be reported to the persons, with whom he intends to enter into a marriage only with the consent of the person who has passed the examination.

3. If one of the persons entering into a marriage, has concealed from the other person the existence of a venereal disease or of an HIV-infection, the latter shall have the right to turn to a court with a claim for recognizing the marriage as annulled (Articles 27-30 of the present Code).

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Important Disclaimer

The below Family Law text on getting married in Russia to a Russian citizen should be used for information purposes only and appropriate legal advice should be sought as and when appropriate.

For legal advice on Russian marriage in Russia to a Russian citizen contact Mr Maxim POLYAKOV, your Russian qualified lawyer, member of the Moscow City Bar Association, tel. +7-495-518-72-62, email maxim@arbitratus.ru (English or Russian).