You should first approach the Registrar in the town in which you are resident to establish what formalities have to be completed. The Registrar may ask you to produce one of two consular documents and it is in your interest to be quite clear which document is required from you.

It may be that you simply have to prove your marital status, which would involve you making a declaration before a Consul that you are not married. The document is made in English and can be issued to you immediately. If the declaration in English suffices, then you would need to bring your passport and birth certificate, and, if you have been married before, your divorce papers or the death certificate of your former spouse. The fee for this service is € 62.

Alternatively, you may be required to make a statement, again before a Consul, that there is nothing legally preventing you from marrying your fiancé(e). This alternative declaration is known as a ‘ Certificate of No Impediment to Marriage ’, which is issued to you in Dutch after a Notice of Marriage has been displayed at the Consulate-General for a period of 21 days and no objection has been made to your proposed marriage (This is similar to the posting of bans in the UK). The British party should have been resident in the Netherlands for at least 21 days. In addition to your own passport, birth certificate and evidence of the termination of any previous marriage, the Consul would need to see your fiancé(e) ’ s passport or birth certificate and evidence of the dissolution or ending of any former marriage. If both parties to the marriage are British, then both will need to attend the Consulate General to give notice of marriage. The fee for the Certificate of No Impediment to Marriage is €148.

Should you have any further enquiries, please do not hesitate to contact the Consulate General, Tel.: 020 676 4343, and ask for extension 2229.