British citizens who wish to marry in Russia must first obtain a Certificate of No Impediment to Marriage (CNI) to present to the Russian authorities (Russian marriage registry office) as proof that they are eligible to marry under British law. A Certificate of No Impediment can be issued either in the UK by a district superintendent registrar or by a British Embassy Consular official. Charges relating to these services (fees 27 and 30) can be found on our Consular Fee Table.  Certificate of No Impediment to Marriage issued in the UK  A CNI can be issued by your district registrar in the UK. A notice of marriage will have to be displayed for 21 clear days before the registrar will issue a CNI. Please contact your local registry office for more details. Once issued, the CNI should be legalized with Apostile stamp at the Legalisation Office of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. The address is:   Norfolk House (West) 437 Silbury BoulevardMilton KeynesMK9 2AH Tel: 0044 01908 295 111
Fax: 0044 01908 295 122(between 9:30am-3:30pm)  If you have been married before, then your divorce certificate (Decree Absolute) or death certificate of a former spouse should also be legalised by the Legalisation Office in the UK.   IMPORTANT: Please note that your CNI (and Decree Absolute or death certificate of a former spouse if applicable) should be apostillised by the FCO in Milton Keynes.  Failure to do so will result in Russian authorities’ refusal to accept your documents.   The CNI (and Decree Absolute or death certificate if applicable) should then be translated into Russian and the translation notarised by the Consular Section of the Russian Embassy in London, a Russian Notary Public or the Consular Section of the British Embassy in Moscow .   A CNI issued in the UK is considered to be valid by the Russian officials for three months from the date of issue.    Certificate of No Impediment to Marriage issued in Russia  A CNI can only be issued by a Consular Officer of the British Embassy in Moscow after a Notice of Marriage has been displayed on the Consular Section’s notice board for a period of 21 clear days.         Notice of Marriage  To complete a Notice of Marriage it is necessary to have been resident in the Moscow, St Petersburg or Ekaterinburg consular district for at least 21 clear days after your last arrival in Russia. You will need to make an appointment with a Consular Officer to swear an affidavit and sign the notice. A CNI issued in Moscow/St Petersburg/Ekaterinburg is considered to be valid by the Russian officials for three months from the date of issue.   Documents required for the issue of a CNI to Marriage in Russia  If you wish to have the CNI issued at the British Embassy in Moscow/St Petersburg/Ekaterinburg we require the following documents (all original):

• your passport (containing your Russian visa and registration)
• evidence of the termination of any previous marriage for both partners i.e. divorce decree absolute or death certificate (if applicable) of former spouse; .  IMPORTANT: Please note that your Decree Absolute or death certificate of a former spouse (if applicable) should be apostillised by the Legalisation Department of the  Foreign and Commonwealth Office in London.  Failure to do so will result in Russian authorities’ refusal to accept the documents.
• Your fiancé(e)’s internal passport

The CNI will be issued in Russian.   Please note that  Decree Absolute or death certificate (if applicable) and data page of your passport should then be translated into Russian.  It can be done at local Russian translation office (working in liaison with a Notary Public) or at the Consular Section of the British Embassy in Moscow(please see our fee table for the charges involved, it’s Fee 12b. Consular Fee Table).   Please note it is important to plan well ahead if you want to obtain the CNI in Moscow/St Petersburg/Ekaterinburg as there are two qualifying periods of 21 days to consider: a) prior to the notice being drawn up and signed and b) the time during which the notice is displayed    Certificate of No Impediment to Marriage for people resident in a third country  If you are a British Citizen normally resident in a country other than the UK or Russia you can arrange to display a notice of marriage at your nearest British Consulate. The CNI can then be issued. Please check with them first for details of what is required.   Procedures after the Certificate of No Impediment has been issued  After the Certificate of No Impediment is issued, it is necessary to have the signature of the consular officer attested at the Legalisation Department of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs at the following address:   12, 1st Neopalimovskiy Pereulok Tel: (499) 244 37 97 Metro station: Smolenskaya or Park Kultury Monday - Thursday 10.00 - 12.30 15.00 - 17.00 Friday 10.00 - 12.30 15.00 - 16.30   Please note that you must visit the Legalisation Department of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs in person in order to legalise the Certificate of No Impediment. This normally takes them 5 working days.   Once these procedures are complete you should make an appointment for the marriage to take place, usually between one and three months later, at a Registry Office in the district of your fiancé(e)'s permanent residence. If your fiancé(e) is a resident (or registered) in Moscow/Moscow Region you have to make arrangements at the Palace of Marriages No.4 at the following address:   17 Butyrskaya Ulitsa Tel: (495) 685 19 60 / 685 79 88 Metro station: Savelovskaya Tuesday - Saturday 10.00 - 14.00 15.00 - 19.00    The deposit of foreign law marriage certificates in the UK  There is provision under UK law for the transmission of foreign marriage certificates of British Citizens (together with certified translations into English) to the Registrars-General in England, Scotland or Northern Ireland, according to the part of the UK to which the British Citizen concerned belongs. However, two points should be made clear:

• the marriage is not registered in the UK; the marriage certificate is simply deposited for record purposes only. This means that the original certificate is not returned to the applicant.
• there is no legal obligation to have a marriage recorded in the UK. The parties may take advantage of these facilities if they consider that it would serve some useful purpose to have their marriage recorded in the UK but the validity in English law of a marriage contracted in Russia is in no way affected by it having been, or not having been, thus recorded.

 The procedure for deposit of a marriage certificate is as follows:  The British party to the marriage must provide a consular officer in the district where the marriage has taken place with the marriage certificate issued by the appropriate local authority, together with a translation into English which should be certified by a Consular officer. The consular officer will then send the marriage record to the appropriate Registrar-General.  The information on this website on marrying in Moscow is provided as a general guide and is based upon information provided to the FCO by the relevant local authorities.  The information on this website is therefore only up to date and accurate to the extent that such authorities provide us with timely and accurate information.  Accordingly the FCO does not guarantee that this information is accurate and will not be liable for any inaccuracies in this information.  British nationals wishing to obtain information about marriage must also contact the relevant local authority to be sure of the requirements that they need in order for their ceremony to take place   

How to register a birth

If your child is born outside the UK you can register the birth at the Consular Section of the British Embassy in Moscow. You don't have to do this, but if you do your child will be given a British style birth certificate and the birth will be registered at the General Registry Office in the UK as well as in the consular district where the birth occurred. We recommend consular birth registration because it means you will be able to get extra copies of the certificate from the General Register Office in the future. A separate application is necessary for each birth registered. In case of multiple births the exact time of birth of each child is required.  Which births may be registered?   a)  The birth of a child born abroad after 1 July 2006 provided one of the parents is a British citizen by birth, naturalisation, registration or adoption in the United Kingdom, or a British Overseas Territories citizen by birth, naturalisation or registration in a dependent territory.   b)  The birth of a child born abroad before 1 July 2006 provided the child was born legitimate, in a marriage recognised as valid in English law, and at the time of the child's birth the father was a citizen of the United Kingdom and Colonies by birth, naturalisation, registration or adoption. In the case of an illegitimate child only the mother is able to automatically transmit British Nationality. If you and your partner are not married
If you are a British man and your child's mother is foreign you can apply for Consular birth registration only if the child was born on or after 1 July 2006. If you are an unmarried woman who has had a child abroad whose father's name in not on the local birth certificate and you would like the father's details recorded on the British certificate, you will need to swear the declarations in front of a consular officer from the British Embassy in Moscow. You will need an appointment to do this (for further information on paternity declaration, please call Consular Section). Processing time
 
We aim to process applications for birth registration within 5 working days.
  Documents required:   The following documents are required to register a birth.  All documents submitted in support of your application must be originals. Please note that you will also need to provide 1 photocopy of each supporting document. All original documents will be returned.   • The child's Russian birth certificate • Original postnatal record from maternity hospital   • Parents' full British birth certificates or proof of claim to citizenship, e.g. Certificate of Naturalisation or Registration (A full birth certificate is a copy of the entry made in the birth register and includes particulars of the mother and father. The short certificate only gives the child's full name, sex, date and place of birth. If you only have the short version you will need to obtain a full certificate from the General Registry Office, www.gro.gov.uk )   • Parents' marriage certificate   • Parents’ passports   • a completed application form Birth Registration Form   There are separate fees for registering the birth and providing a certificate.  Please refer to our Consular Fee  table for the latest charges.      * Please note that consular fees, once paid and receipted, are non-refundable.