Marriage in Sweden

Marriage in a church

If the parties wish to be married in a church before a pastor, they should contact the pastor well in advance to make the necessary arrangements.

If the wedding is to take place in the Established Church of Sweden, one of the parties must be a member of this denomination or of a closely related denomination abroad.

Marriage before a civil authority in Stockholm

In Stockholm a marriage can take place either at the Stockholm District Court or at the City Hall.

Reservations should be made at least two weeks in advance at the Stockholm District Court:

Stockholms tingsrätt
Vigselavdelningen
Box 8307
SE-104 20 Stockholm
Sweden
Phone: +46-8-561-650 00

Marriage before a civil authority in other districts than Stockholm

In these cases inquiries should be directed to the district court where the ceremony is to take place.

To be able to get married in Sweden a couple must first complete a procedure for an investigation into possible impediments (hindersprövning). The Local Tax Office (Lokala skattemyndigheten) handles this procedure, applicable to all foreigners, in the district in which the parties are registered. If they are not registrered with a local tax office, they must contact the local tax office in the district where they are staying temporarily or where their wedding is to take place. All applicants must appear in person.

The local tax office determines whether there are any impediments to the marriage. It is recommended that the applciants contact the office early to find out what documents are required.

The general provisions governing the procedure to determine whether or not any legal impediments to the marriage exist are contained in Chapter 3 of the Swedish Marriage Code, while a decree of December 14, 1973, covers situations where neither of the parties, or only one of them, is a Swedish citizen.

According to this decree, a United States citizen who plans to get married in Sweden should produce the following documents:

• An affidavit listing the general impediments to marriage in the state which he/she maintains permanent residence (for instance State of California, State of Florida etc.). Such an affidavit can be obtained for each state from the Court in the respective State of the United States.
  
  This document contains only the general impediment to marriage in that particular state, and does not refer to a specific case and is merely a guide for the Pastor or Civil Authority to be used to determine whether any impediments exist in that particular State for the intended marriage.
  
  
• Evidence regarding the current marital status. An affidavit stating that the person in question is not married is usually considered sufficient. Two individuals who know the applicant well should sign this affidavit. The document should be notarised. A form for the affidavit can be obtained from the Consulate General of Sweden in Los Angeles.
  
  It should be noted that, if a previous marriage has been dissolved by death of one of the spouses, a notarised copy of the death certificate must be produced. Furthermore, if a previous marraige has been dissolved by divorce, the competent court's decree must be produced, together with a certificate stating that the decree is final i.e. cannot be appealed. This certificate should also be notarised.
  
  If a US citizen has been living in Sweden continuously for more than two years, he/she may choose to have his/her right to marry determined by Swedish law.
  
  Swedish law generally recognises a divorce decree issued by a court in a country in which at least one of the former spouses is a resident.
  
  
• An affidavit or marriage license signed by the applicant stating that no impediments to marriage exist. This affidavit or marriage license is in accordance with the Swedish law.
  
  
• A document of identity. A passport is usually accepted.