Getting Married in Greece as an EU Citizen

Getting Married in Greece as an EU Citizen

Take Lena from Munich and Pieter from Utrecht (an example couple, not real clients). They want a civil wedding in Nafplio, a year from now, with about 60 guests. Two questions come up before anything else: what will the town hall ask for, and will the marriage count back home?

Short answer: yes, a civil or Orthodox wedding in Greece is a legal marriage once it is registered there, and other EU countries recognise it. The paperwork is lighter for EU citizens than for Americans or Australians, because an EU regulation removed the apostille for most civil status documents in 2019. In practice Greek town halls don't always follow the regulation, as the German embassy in Athens notes in writing.

TL;DR:

• A civil or religious wedding in Greece is legally valid once it is registered at the local registry (lixiarcheio), within 40 days. A symbolic ceremony is not a marriage.
• Each foreign partner needs proof from their own country that they are free to marry, plus a birth certificate translated into Greek and a passport.
• EU Regulation 2016/1191 exempts EU civil status documents from the apostille and lets you ask for a multilingual standard form. Greek registrars sometimes still ask for an apostille, so check with your town hall first.
• Back home, your Greek marriage is recognised. Registering it in your own country is usually optional, but often useful.

Are you legally married if you get married in Greece?

Yes, if you marry in a civil ceremony at a Greek town hall, or in a religious ceremony the Greek state recognises, such as a Greek Orthodox wedding. The US Embassy in Athens puts it plainly for its citizens: either a civil or a religious marriage "is considered a legal marriage. It is not necessary to undergo both." The same Greek rules apply to everyone who marries there.

There is one condition people miss. A Greek marriage is not complete until it is entered at the registry office (lixiarcheio) of the town where it happened. Greece's register of public procedures, mitos.gov.gr, gives couples 40 days from the ceremony to declare it.

A symbolic ceremony on a beach or a terrace is a celebration, not a marriage. Many couples do the legal part at home and the symbolic part in Greece, which avoids Greek paperwork entirely. If you want the Greek wedding to be the legal one, read on.

What the Greek town hall asks EU citizens for

The civil route works the same for every foreigner. Each partner files documents in person at the town hall (dimarchio) where the wedding will take place. Mitos lists these for a foreign partner:

• a statement from your consular or other competent authority that there is no impediment to your marriage,
• a birth certificate from your country, translated into Greek,
• your passport.

Town halls add their own extras, so ask yours for its list before you order anything. Some ask for proof that an earlier marriage ended, others for a notice in a local newspaper when one partner is Greek.

The mayor waits one week from the application for objections, then issues the licence. Mitos lists the licence as free (its page for foreigners who live in Greece shows an €18 fee) and valid for six months. You then book the ceremony with the town hall that will marry you. The ceremony fee runs from €0 to €150 depending on the municipality, and you need two adult witnesses, who can be relatives.

For the certificate itself, country by country, see our guide to the certificate of no impediment for Greece.

What EU rules change: apostilles, forms and translations

Since 16 February 2019, Regulation (EU) 2016/1191 has applied across the EU. The European Commission's summary of it says three things that matter for a wedding:

1. No apostille. Public documents about birth, marriage, capacity to marry and marital status, issued in one EU country and presented in another, are exempt from legalisation and the apostille.
2. Multilingual standard forms. For several of those documents, including capacity to marry and marital status, you can ask the issuing office for a multilingual standard form to attach as a translation aid. Not every country issues every form, so ask.
3. Translations. Where a translation is still needed, "a certified translation made in any EU Member State must be accepted."

In practice, the German embassy in Athens writes that Greek registrars still ask for an apostille on the German certificate of capacity to marry (Ehefähigkeitszeugnis), despite the regulation, and recommends getting one as a precaution. It also notes that Greek town halls usually want a separate certificate for each German partner, even when one German register office could issue a joint one.

So the cheapest route is a phone call or email. Ask the town hall that will marry you:

• Will you accept our certificate without an apostille, under Regulation 2016/1191?
• Will you accept the multilingual standard form instead of a translation?
• If you need a translation, will you accept a certified translation from our country, or only an official Greek one?

Get the answer in writing. If the answer is apostille, get one. It costs far less than a missed wedding date.

Germany as a worked example

The German route is the best documented one we found, so it shows how the pieces fit:

• Who issues the Ehefähigkeitszeugnis: the register office (Standesamt) of your current or last residence in Germany. If you never lived in Germany, the application goes to Standesamt I in Berlin. Germans living in Greece can apply through the embassy in Athens or the consulate general in Thessaloniki, and both partners must attend and sign.
• Apostille: legally not needed, in practice often asked for. See above.
• After the wedding: a marriage validly concluded in Greece is automatically valid in Germany. There is no duty to register it. You can still apply for a Nachbeurkundung, which enters the marriage in a German register and gets you a German marriage certificate. Berlin charges €80 for this where only German law applies, and €125 or €170 where foreign law applies to one or both partners, plus €12 for the certificate.
• Your surname: German law has not set a shared married name automatically since 1994. If you want one, you make a name declaration, either during the Nachbeurkundung or on its own. German naming law changed again on 1 May 2025, so check the current rules with the embassy or your Standesamt.

Lena would order her Ehefähigkeitszeugnis from her Munich Standesamt, ask the Nafplio town hall about the apostille, and register the marriage in Germany afterwards so she never has to get the Greek certificate translated again.

Is a Greek marriage recognised in my EU country?

The EU's own Your Europe guide says a marriage concluded in an EU country "will be recognised in all other EU countries" for the rights EU law gives you, such as free movement and residence. For rights under national law, inheritance for example, each country still decides, and it may want the marriage recognised and registered first.

Registering at home "is not usually compulsory", the same guide says. Rules differ by country, and the German one above is only one model. Ask your own civil registry or your consulate in Athens what they need, and which Greek document they want: usually the marriage certificate (lixiarchiki praxi gamou), sometimes with the multilingual form.

Same-sex couples

Greece has performed civil marriages for same-sex couples since 2024, and mitos lists the procedure alongside the one for mixed-sex couples. Recognition at home depends on your country's national law. Check with your registry before you book.

A paperwork checklist for EU couples

Most town halls want the no-impediment certificate to be recent, often issued within six months, so don't order it too early. Our Greece wedding timeline from abroad puts these steps on a calendar.

Guests from three or four countries

EU couples often have the most mixed guest lists we see: one family in Germany, one in the Netherlands, friends in Lisbon and Athens. A wedding website in English plus your guests' own languages saves you answering the same ferry question five times. WhiteClover builds sites in English, Greek, German, Dutch, French, Italian, Spanish and Portuguese, among others. You add the text for each language yourself, as there is no automatic translation. Collect replies, dietary needs and arrival dates with wedding RSVP in the same place. More ideas for the guest side are on our destination wedding in Greece page.

Talk to someone who knows the Greek side

We're not wedding planners. Email us at [email protected] and we'll suggest Greek vendors that fit your date, town and budget, and explain the paperwork for your nationality. Neutral advice, free, and we pass your details to a vendor only once you say so.

Frequently asked questions

Do EU citizens need an apostille to marry in Greece? Under EU Regulation 2016/1191, civil status documents from one EU country are exempt from the apostille in another. The German embassy in Athens reports that Greek registrars still often ask for one, so confirm with your town hall in writing before you skip it.

Is a marriage in Greece valid in Germany? Yes. A marriage validly concluded in Greece is automatically valid in Germany, with no duty to register it. You can still apply for a Nachbeurkundung to get a German marriage certificate.

Do I have to register my Greek marriage in my home EU country? Usually not, according to the EU's Your Europe guide, unless you need it recognised for national rights such as inheritance. Each country sets its own rules, so ask your civil registry.

How long does the Greek marriage licence take? The town hall waits one week for objections after you apply, then issues the licence, which is valid for six months.

Can we just have a symbolic ceremony in Greece? Yes, many couples do. It is not a legal marriage, so you would marry legally at home, before or after.

Recommended

• Certificate of No Impediment for Greece
• Greece Marriage Laws Guide for Foreigners
• Getting Married in Greece as an Irish, Canadian or Australian Citizen
• Greece vs Cyprus Wedding: Paperwork and Fees