A civil marriage in Seychelles is a legal marriage everywhere, because the rule almost every country applies is that a marriage valid where it was celebrated is valid at home. Seychelles has been in the Hague Apostille Convention since 1979, so the Supreme Court apostille on your certificate is accepted in around 130 countries. A few, such as the UAE and Madagascar, need an extra embassy stamp.
In one month we married couples from Poland, Hungary, Norway, Belgium, Mauritius, Germany and Türkiye, and answered the same question for each of them. Yes, it counts at home. What changes from country to country is the small step you take when you land, and that is what this table is for.
Recognition of a foreign marriage rests on two ideas that lawyers call lex loci celebrationis and the apostille. The first says a marriage that was valid under the law of the place where it happened is valid in your own country, provided you both had the capacity to marry. The second is the mechanism that lets your home authorities trust a piece of paper from a country they have never dealt with. Seychelles gives you both. The ceremony is a full civil marriage under the Civil Status Act, and the certificate carries an apostille from the Supreme Court under a convention that Seychelles joined on 31 March 1979.
Country by country
The table lists the countries our couples come from most often. “Apostille” means the Supreme Court apostille that is included in every one of our packages is all you need from Seychelles. The home step column is the procedure most couples from that country follow, with a link to the official source where we have one. Registries change their forms more often than they change the law, so treat the column as a map and confirm the current form with your own office.
| Country | In the Convention since | What you need from Seychelles | The home step |
|---|---|---|---|
| Germany | 1966 | Apostille | No registration required. A Nachbeurkundung at your Standesamt is optional and gives you a German certificate. |
| United Kingdom | 1965 | Apostille | Nothing. The UK has no facility to register a marriage abroad. Keep the apostilled original. |
| France | 1965 | Apostille | Transcription through the French consulate covering Seychelles, needed for the livret de famille and civil effects. |
| Belgium | 1976 | Apostille | Register the act with your commune, which records it in the civil status database. |
| Netherlands | 1965 | Apostille | Register with your municipality so the marriage appears in the BRP. |
| Austria | 1968 | Apostille | Register at your Standesamt so the marriage is entered in the central civil register. |
| Switzerland | 1973 | Apostille | Register through the Swiss representation or your cantonal civil office. |
| Italy | 1978 | Apostille | Trascrizione through the Italian consulate to your comune. |
| Spain | 1978 | Apostille | Inscripción at the consular civil registry, then the Registro Civil Central. |
| Portugal | 1969 | Apostille | Transcrição through the consulate or a Conservatória do Registo Civil. |
| Poland | 2005 | Apostille + sworn translation | Transkrypcja at any Urząd Stanu Cywilnego or via a consulate. Required if you want a Polish ID or PESEL update. |
| Czechia | 1999 | Apostille + translation | Registration at the special registry office (zvláštní matrika) in Brno. |
| Hungary | 1973 | Apostille + translation | Domestic registration (hazai anyakönyvezés) via the consulate or government office. |
| Romania | 2001 | Apostille + translation | Transcriere at your local civil status office. |
| Sweden | 1999 | Apostille | Report to Skatteverket so the marriage is entered in the population register. |
| Denmark | 2006 | Apostille | Report to your municipality for the CPR register. |
| Finland | 1985 | Apostille | Report to the Digital and Population Data Services Agency. |
| Norway | 1983 | Apostille | Report to Skatteetaten for the National Population Register. |
| Ireland | 1999 | Apostille | Nothing. Foreign marriages are recognised without registration. |
| United States | 1981 | Apostille | Nothing. There is no federal or state registration of a marriage abroad. |
| Canada | 2024 | Apostille | Nothing. Recognised provincially without registration. |
| Australia | 1995 | Apostille | Nothing. Foreign marriages are recognised under the Marriage Act. |
| Türkiye | 1985 | Apostille + translation | Register with the nüfus office or the Turkish consulate. |
| Russia | 1992 | Apostille + notarised translation | Present the translated certificate to ZAGS or your consulate. Translation and attestation at the Russian Embassy on Mahé is possible. |
| India | 2005 | Apostille | No registration required. Some couples register under the Foreign Marriage Act for convenience. |
| China | 2023 | Apostille + translation | Present to your local civil affairs bureau if needed. |
| Mauritius | 1968 | Apostille | Register with the Civil Status Office in Port Louis. |
| South Africa | 1995 | Apostille | Home Affairs can record the marriage on request. |
| Brazil | 2016 | Apostille + sworn translation | Registro through the consulate, then the cartório. |
| Israel | 1978 | Apostille | Register with the Population and Immigration Authority. |
| Japan | 1970 | Apostille + translation | Report to your municipal office. |
| Saudi Arabia | 2022 | Apostille | Registration through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs may still be requested. |
| United Arab Emirates | Not a member | Apostille + MFA letter + UAE Embassy attestation | Attestation by MOFAIC in the UAE. Our attested documents package covers the Seychelles side. |
| Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, Oman | Not a member (Bahrain and Oman are members) | Apostille + MFA letter + embassy attestation where not a member | Attestation by your national foreign ministry. |
| Madagascar | Not a member | Apostille + MFA letter + consular legalisation | Legalisation through the Malagasy authorities. Documents in French are accepted. |
How the apostille does the work
An apostille is a standard certificate, the same ten numbered fields in every member country, attached by a designated authority to confirm that the signature and seal on a public document are genuine. In Seychelles that authority is the Registrar of the Supreme Court at Ile du Port. The fee is SCR 250 and it is inside your package price. Once the apostille is attached, no embassy anywhere in the Convention may ask for further legalisation. That is the entire purpose of the treaty, and it is why an office in Budapest or Ohio accepts a certificate from a country it has no other dealings with.
The Convention has grown steadily. Canada joined in January 2024, China in November 2023, Saudi Arabia in December 2022, Indonesia and Pakistan in 2022 and 2023. As of 2026 there are around 130 contracting parties. The countries still outside are where the extra steps come in, and for our couples that is mostly the Gulf and Madagascar. The full and current list is on the Hague Conference status table, which we check before every non European wedding.
When your country is not in the Convention
The apostille still goes on. Then the Seychelles Ministry of Foreign Affairs adds a letter of authentication, SCR 150 per document and around two working days, and your country’s embassy or consulate adds its own attestation. For couples living in the United Arab Emirates, the chain ends with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the UAE, and our attested documents package, priced on request, handles every Seychelles step so you land with a certificate that is ready for MOFAIC. Madagascar follows the same pattern through its own consular route, and because French is an official language in Seychelles, a certificate in French is accepted there without translation. The Gulf route is set out in full in our guide for UAE and Gulf residents.
Mixed nationality couples
Most of the couples we marry hold two different passports, and this is where Seychelles is at its most useful. A Belgian and a Mauritian, a German and a Malagasy, a Norwegian and a Filipina. Each of you follows your own country’s row in the table, with the same apostilled certificate, and neither country’s procedure depends on the other. The notice of marriage is prepared from both passports and both birth certificates, we check each nationality’s document list separately, and the certificate names you exactly as your passports do so that neither registry has a reason to hesitate. If one of you has been married before, the apostilled decree goes in the file before the notice is published, which we explain in our guide to marrying in Seychelles after a divorce.
What to bring home, and what to do first
Bring the original certificate with the apostille attached, flat, in the sleeve we give you. If your country’s row says translation, have it done at home by a sworn or certified translator, because your registry will want a translator it recognises, not one in Victoria. Then take the certificate to the office in your row, or do nothing if your row says nothing. Change your name on your passport only after the registry step is complete, so the two documents never disagree. And if you will need the certificate in two countries, take two apostilled copies, because the original should never leave your hands.
Frequently asked questions
Is a marriage in Seychelles legally valid in Europe?
Yes, in every European country. A civil marriage conducted by a Seychelles officer of civil status is valid where it was celebrated, and the Supreme Court apostille on the certificate is accepted across the EU, the UK, Switzerland and Norway under the Hague Convention. Most continental countries then ask you to register or transcribe the marriage at home, which is a formality.
Do we have to register our Seychelles marriage when we get home?
It depends on the country. The United Kingdom, Ireland, the United States, Canada and Australia have no registration step at all. France, Italy, Spain, Portugal and Poland transcribe the marriage into their own registers. Germany treats registration as optional. The table above lists the home step for each country.
Is a Seychelles marriage recognised in the UAE and the Gulf?
Yes, with attestation. The apostille is followed by a Ministry of Foreign Affairs letter in Seychelles and an embassy attestation, and the certificate is then attested by MOFAIC in the UAE. Our attested documents package covers every Seychelles step, priced on request. Bahrain and Oman are Convention members and accept the apostille alone.
Do we need to translate the marriage certificate?
The certificate is issued in English. Countries whose registries work in another language, such as Poland, Hungary, Czechia, Türkiye, Russia and Brazil, will want a sworn translation done at home. English speaking countries and most of Western Europe accept it as issued. Seychelles also works in French, which Madagascar and Mauritius accept directly.
Is a Seychelles marriage recognised in Germany?
Yes. The Auswärtiges Amt confirms that registration in a German marriage register is not a condition of validity. Couples may apply for a Nachbeurkundung at the Standesamt of their last German residence, which produces a German certificate and removes the need for translations later. The apostilled Seychelles certificate is the document you present.
Can two people of different nationalities marry in Seychelles?
Yes, and most of our couples do. Each partner follows their own country’s document list and their own home registration step, with the same apostilled certificate. The certificate is written exactly as your passports read, so neither registry has a reason to query it.
- Hague Conference on Private International Law. Status table of the 1961 Apostille Convention, with accession and entry into force dates for every contracting party. www.hcch.net
- Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Diaspora, Seychelles. Apostilles at the Supreme Court and the authentication letter for non member countries. mfa.gov.sc
- Immigration and Civil Status, Republic of Seychelles. Marriage registrar FAQ, on the certificate’s validity abroad and the apostille requirement. www.ics.gov.sc
- Auswärtiges Amt, Germany. Eheschließung im Ausland, on the validity of foreign marriages and the optional Nachbeurkundung. www.auswaertiges-amt.de
- Service-Public.fr, France. Mariage d’un Français à l’étranger, on transcription through the consulate. www.service-public.gouv.fr
- Gov.pl, Poland. Transkrypcja zagranicznego aktu małżeństwa, on registering a foreign marriage act at a Polish registry office. www.gov.pl
- GOV.UK. Getting married abroad, on recognition of overseas marriages in the United Kingdom. www.gov.uk
- Schmidt and Schmidt. Consular legalisation for Madagascar, confirming Madagascar is not a party to the Apostille Convention. schmidt-export.com
Apostille included in every package
Tell us your two nationalities. We will tell you the home step for each.
Send your passports’ countries and we will reply with the exact document list for the notice of marriage, what your certificate will need from Seychelles, and which office to walk into when you get home.
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