Despite the myriad arrangements associated with the event - guest lists, gift registries, receptions, rehearsal dinners and the like - it is relatively easy to get married in the West. And despite popular opinion, getting married in Ukraine is not as difficult or expensive as many believe.
Not that Kyiv is Las Vegas: There are no drive-up wedding chapels on Khreshchatyk, and getting the paperwork done properly takes time. But then again, nobody in Ukraine wakes up with a hangover and says, "I married who?"
One expat was sufficiently averse to exploring Ukraine's marriage rules that he says that he obtained a visa for his fiancee to attend a business conference in the United States, followed her there and tied the knot overseas. Given the expense of airfare, and the potential dangers of getting a visa under misleading circumstances, the Ukrainian approach may make more sense.
That said, marrying in Ukraine does require patience and, preferably, a friend in the home country who is willing to receive and mail documents - although it is possible to do the same from here using commercial services or express mail.
When it comes to interacting with government officials in Ukraine, fluency in Ukrainian or a translator (most likely the potential spouse) is invaluable.
With luck and some planning, a previously unmarried expat can tie the knot in Ukraine in about two months for as little as $100. A divorcee will find that the process takes longer and costs more: about four months and $150.
Web sites operated by both Ukraine's embassy in the United States and the U.S. embassy in Kyiv offer some information, but neither is comprehensive and should be relied upon only as a starting point. Information provided on the sites conflicts in places, and the information may not be up-to-date. The staff at the U.S. embassy's American Citizen Services section can be helpful and is a good source for general information.
As with many situations in Ukraine, it is best to go straight to the official who will ultimately decide whether the documents you have acquired are sufficient. In Kyiv, the central civil registrar's office, or ZAGS, performs marriages involving foreigners.
Unlike many government offices in this country, the central ZAGS building is modern and the staff is, for the most part, accommodating.
The administrator, Nataliya Naberezhna, will provide a preliminary consultation and clarify which documents are necessary for Hr 25. Once you've agreed upon what you need, it is key to return to the same official later - this helps to ensure that she'll accept the documents that have been accumulated. Ukrainian laws are open to broad interpretation, so a different examiner may expect different documents.
Once you have started to obtain the documents you need to register for marriage, a countdown clock starts ticking. ZAGS will not accept any document issued more than six months prior to the date it is submitted.
Persons who have never been married before should obtain a "Letter of Non-Impediment to Marriage" from the U.S. embassy's consular section. Completing the form in both English and Ukrainian eliminates the need to obtain a certified translation of the document. Once the form has been signed by a U.S. consular official (for a $30 fee), the completed document must be legalized by the Foreign Affairs Ministry. That costs Hr 25 for next-day service. Same-day service costs double. The document and fees should be submitted to the Foreign Ministry's legalization office at 2 Velyka Zhytomyrska.
A certified translation of your passport's data page is also required. Most translation agencies in Kyiv offer this service. Ensure, however, that the translated pages are bound to the photocopy and that the agency's certification is notarized. This is an important point, since ZAGS will reject translations that are notarized but not certified, or certified but not notarized.
The Ukrainian embassy Web site indicates that a legalized copy of the applicant's birth certificate is required, but Kyiv's central ZAGS office doesn't require it. Likewise, the Web site advises that applicants must obtain a document attesting to current marital status from a district court, but the U.S. embassy's "Non-Impediment" letter is more easily obtainable and perfectly acceptable.
Applicants who are divorced must also obtain translated and certified copies of any divorce decrees.
All vital records documents issued outside Ukraine, such as birth certificates or divorce decrees, must be authenticated for use in Ukraine. Authentication proves that the document in question is legitimate and that the court or agency that issued it had the authority to do so. It creates a paperwork chain that requires action by each level of government from the issuing authority through the Ukrainian embassy in the country that issued the document. For example, a person divorced in Washington State must first obtain a certified copy of the decree from the issuing court. That document must then be submitted to Washington's Secretary of State for authentication. Those two documents are subsequently sent to the U.S. State Department for authentication, and finally to the Ukrainian embassy in Washington.
This is a time-consuming and expensive process, as each agency charges a fee for the service and the document will spend a considerable amount of time in the mails. Since the certified copy must be mailed to each agency in sequence, it helps to have a friend or relative who can assist. It can easily take two to three months for a document to complete the certification chain.
Applicants with more than one previous marriage will need to complete the authentication process for each decree.
Fees during the authentication process vary, but a certified copy of a court decrees can cost $10 to $25 and state authentication costs an average of $10, though a handful of states perform the job without charge. New Jersey charges the top fee, at $25. Authentication by the U.S. State Department is a relative bargain at $6, and the Ukrainian embassy in the United States charges $60. The embassy also requires that the documents be accompanied by a prepaid U.S. Postal Service Express Mail envelope. It will not honor prepaid envelopes from Federal Express or other courier services.
The authenticated forms must then be translated, certified and notarized before it is time to present the documents, along with your fiancee's internal passport and documentation of any previous divorces in Ukraine, to the ZAGS administrator for final evaluation. If everything is in order, a meeting with another clerk with set the date for the wedding. This date is typically a month in the future, although an earlier date may be arranged for an additional fee.
At this point, ZAGS becomes a sales office for just about any wedding service imaginable, from limousines to buffets, traditional caraway bread to photographers. Couples are presented with a lengthy menu of services to review while waiting to set the date. No-frills ZAGS weddings are possible for less than Hr 115. With extras, the sky is the limit.
On the day of the wedding, the service fees are paid and each couple is presented with a bottle of Kyiv-brand sparkling wine and two glasses - said to be a gift from Kyiv Mayor Oleksandr Omelchenko. The ceremony itself is formal and quick - sign a document, say "Tak!" and the process is complete.
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