Certificate of No Impediment and Nulla Ostas
A Certificate of No Impediment (CNI) is a certificate which confirms there are no objections to your
proposed marriage.
If you are getting married overseas, you may be asked to prove that you are single or that you are
allowed to marry. In most cases, you will be able to obtain a CNI for this purpose. You should check
with the authorities in the country where you are getting married if you need a CNI.
A Nulla Osta is the Italian version of the Certificate of No Impediment.
I have been told I need a Certificate of No Impediment or Nulla Osta. How can I get one?
In most cases, if you are marrying overseas and you live in the UK, you can obtain a CNI from your
local register office. If you live overseas, you should contact your nearest British Embassy or
Consulate who will be able to provide you with details on how to apply for a CNI. There are
exceptions to this (principally for marriages in Commonwealth countries or if you are marrying an
Irish national) and further details on these can be found below.
You should check with the authorities in the country where you are marrying whether they can
accept the CNI as issued by the UK registrar or if it must be exchanged for a locally acceptable
version (ie a certificate in the local language) issued by the British Embassy or Consulate. If it needs
to be exchanged for a locally acceptable version please contact the nearest British Embassy or
Consulate to where you are getting married who will be able to do this for you.
If the authorities will accept the CNI as issued in the UK you should also check whether it needs to be
legalised or translated into the local language.
‘Legalised’ means the certificate needs to be stamped with an official stamp (an apostille) by the UK
Legalisation Office. We can do this for you - see our Legalisation pages for more information.
If you need to have your CNI translated please contact the Institute of Linguists who will be able to
provide you details of certified translators.
Exceptions
Marrying in Italy: once you have obtained your CNI from your local register office (or British
Consulate if you live overseas), you will need to exchange it for a ‘Nulla Osta’ at the nearest British
Embassy or Consulate in Italy to where you are getting married.
Marrying in a Commonwealth country: you cannot obtain a Certificate of No Impediment for a
marriage in a Commonwealth country. You will need to speak to the authorities conducting your
marriage ceremony to make them aware that you cannot obtain this and ask them what sort of
alternative (if any) should be provided instead.
Marrying an Irish national:
•
If you live in England or Wales, you will not be able to obtain a CNI from your local register
office. You will need to apply for a CNI through our office in London. If you are marrying in Italy, you
will need to apply for a Nulla Osta through our office in London. Details on how to apply and the fees
involved are below. (Your Irish fiancé/e should contact the Irish authorities to obtain their CNI.)
•
If you live in Scotland or Northern Ireland, you can obtain your CNI from your local register
office. If you are marrying in Italy you will need to exchange your CNI for a Nulla Osta at thenearest
British Embassy or Consulate in Italy to where you are getting married.
Applying for a CNI/Nulla Osta to marry an Irish national through our office in London
Before submitting your application:
Step1:
You must publicly announce your intended marriage through a notice which must be in your local
newspaper for at least one week: that is, seven consecutive days in a daily newspaper or once only
in a weekly newspaper.
The application form provides details of the correct and legally acceptable wording of the
announcement. Please ensure you use the correct wording when placing your announcement or you
risk invalidating the application.
Step 2:
You must swear an Affidavit in front of a Commissioner of Oaths. Again, a specimen affidavit is
included in the application form. Please reproduce the correct text onto another piece of paper - do
not use the specimen provided.
If you’ve been previously married, do not include paragraph four. The Affidavit should bear the
official stamp of the Commissioner of Oaths.
Submitting the application:
Please complete a Certificate of No Impediment or Nulla Osta application form.
Please take care to provide all the information and documents requested and allow sufficient time
for the application to be processed.
Ensure you include the originals of all the documents indicated on the checklist along with the
requested number of photocopies.
Incomplete/incorrect applications will be returned, and we will not be held responsible for any
resulting inconveniences.
All applications are dealt with by post and as you are required to provide original documents
containing personal information we recommend that you use special delivery to ensure their safe
delivery and return.
Applications are processed within 20 working days of receipt, though during busy periods this
deadline may slip. Once processed in London your application will be acknowledged and your
original documents will be returned. The application will then be forwarded to the relevant British
Consulate who will issue the CNI or Nulla Osta. This is usually valid for three months, but you should
check this with the local authorities conducting your marriage ceremony. You will be contacted by
the Consulate when the CNI/Nulla Osta is ready for collection, either by you or a third party (eg your
wedding planner, a friend or relative)
Fees
The fee for this service is £65.00 (not including postage; price correct, March 2013) but this is subject
to change. You will also be required to pay a further fee of £65.00 at the British Consulate when you
collect your CNI/Nulla Osta.
You can pay by postal order or bank draft, made payable to ‘The FCO’ or by debit/credit card using
our on-line payment service below. If you pay on-line please include a copy of your confirmation email or payment reference with the application. We cannot accept personal cheques.
You will need to include a pre-paid, self addressed special delivery envelope, or include the postage
fee (£10), in order for us to return your original documents to you. If you do not include sufficient
postage we will assume that you are content for your personal documents to be returned by regular
mail and we will not be held responsible for any resulting loss.
Card payments are only valid for applications being made in the UK. If you are applying directly to
your local British Consulate overseas, you should not use this payment method. Please contact your
local British Consulate for payment instructions.
Address to send applications:
Nulla Ostas/Certificates of No Impediment
Consular Directorate
K4.9
Foreign & Commonwealth Office
King Charles Street
London
SW1A 2AH