Getting Married in Seychelles – a Complete Guide for Foreign Couples

Can foreigners get married in Seychelles?

Yes, and without any of the hurdles you might expect. Seychelles does not require residency, advance visa applications, or a minimum stay before the ceremony. As long as both of you are 18 or older, neither of you is currently married, and you have the right documents, you are eligible.

Most of our couples are from the UAE, UK, Germany, India, Qatar, and France. They book a trip, sort their paperwork beforehand, and fly in ready to get married. The Civil Status Office handles the legal side. We handle everything else.

The marriage is performed by an official celebrant from the Seychelles Civil Status Office and conducted in English, French, or Creole. Your certificate comes directly from the government, which is why it is accepted worldwide.

Legal requirements for getting married in Seychelles

The rules are set by the Seychelles Civil Status Office and they are the same for everyone. Here is what applies to you as a foreign couple:

• Both partners must be 18 or older. There are no exceptions for foreign nationals.
• Neither partner can be currently married. You must be single, divorced, or widowed.
• Both partners must be physically present at the ceremony.
• Two witnesses are required. They must be 18+, with valid ID or passports. If you are travelling without witnesses, we provide them at no extra cost.
• Documents must be submitted to the Civil Status Office at least 11 days before the wedding date. This is the publication of banns period required by Seychelles law.
• If you cannot meet the 11-day window, you can apply for a special marriage licence. It is typically issued within 2 working days and costs SCR 500 (approximately €35). This is useful for couples booking a trip at short notice.

The fee for marrying on Mahe, Praslin, or La Digue is SCR 3,000 (approximately €200). This is included in all our packages, so you will not see it as a separate charge.

Documents you need: the complete checklist

Get these sorted before you travel. Missing or incorrect documents are the main reason weddings get delayed. Read the list carefully.

Required for both partners:

• Valid passport (copy of the photo page is sufficient for the submission).
• Original birth certificate with apostille. There is no rule about how old your birth certificate can be. Several other guides claim it must be under 3 months old, which is incorrect.
• If you were previously married: divorce decree absolute or death certificate of your former spouse.
• If your name on any document differs from your passport: change of name certificate.

No apostille? You can still get married.

You have no apostille on your birth certificate, or if obtaining one is not possible in your country, contact us before you travel. We have helped couples in this situation before and in most cases the wedding can still go ahead. There are alternative ways to authenticate documents and we know how to work through the process with the Civil Status Office. Do not cancel your plans before speaking to us first.

Authentication requirements:

All documents except passports must be authenticated. The type of authentication depends on your country:

• Countries that have signed the Hague Apostille Convention (this includes the UK, Germany, India, Australia, most of Europe, and many others): all documents need an apostille stamp from your country’s competent authority.
• Countries that have not signed the convention: documents need authentication from your Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA stamp or seal).
• All documents must be in English or French. If they are in another language, you need a sworn translation. We can advise on this once you contact us.
• Send us scanned copies by email approximately 8-12 weeks before your wedding date. Bring all originals with you to Seychelles.

Country-specific requirements

Most nationalities follow the standard process above. But a handful of countries have extra steps. Check your nationality below before you start gathering documents.

French citizens
This is the most involved process of any nationality. Because Seychelles was a French colony, France requires additional authorisation before allowing its citizens to marry abroad. You will need to obtain a Certificat de Capacite a Mariage (CCAM) from the French Embassy in Mauritius. This requires a separate set of documents sent directly to the Embassy, and the process takes up to 3 months. Start this at least 4 months before your planned wedding date. We can walk you through exactly what is needed.

UAE and GCC residents
Your Seychelles marriage certificate needs a UAE embassy stamp to be registered in the UAE. This takes 4/5 working days after the ceremony. If you are leaving Seychelles before that, we can send the stamped certificate to you via DHL. This applies to all GCC countries with similar embassy registration requirements.

Swiss citizens
Swiss nationals need to travel with 2 full sets of certified copies of all documents, in addition to the originals. The marriage will be registered with the Swiss Consul in Seychelles.

How to get married in Seychelles: Step by Step

Here is the full process from first contact to certificate in hand:

1. Choose your date and package. Contact us with your travel dates. We confirm your ceremony slot, the registrar, and the beach location.
2. Send your documents. Email us scanned copies 8-12 weeks before the wedding. We check everything, let you know if anything is missing, and handle the submission to the Civil Status Office.
3. Arrive in Seychelles. Plan to arrive at least 2-3 days before your ceremony. You do not need to do anything on arrival. We take care of the coordination.
4. The ceremony. Your celebrant arrives at the agreed time, conducts the ceremony in your chosen language, and you sign the register together with your witnesses. The official part takes around 15 minutes.
5. Apostille and certification. We collect your marriage certificate from the Civil Status Office, take it to the Seychelles Supreme Court for apostilling, and handle any additional verification your country requires.
6. Certificate delivered. Most couples receive their apostilled certificate before they leave the island. If you are departing before the process is complete, we courier it to your home address via DHL.

What happens on the day

The ceremony itself is simpler and more relaxed than most couples expect. Here is what a typical day looks like.

Your celebrant is an official from the Seychelles Civil Status Office. They conduct ceremonies in English, French, or Creole, depending on your preference. The official part of the ceremony takes about 15 minutes. It includes a welcome, the reading of the marriage act, your vows, the exchange of rings if you choose, and the signing of the celebrant’s register.

Two witnesses need to sign the register. They must be 18 or older and have ID or a passport with them. If you are coming to Seychelles as a couple with no guests, we provide witnesses for you at no charge.

Ceremony timing matters here for a practical reason. The sun rises and sets at almost exactly the same time all year round in Seychelles, around 6:15 in the morning and 18:15 in the evening. Beach ceremonies are typically scheduled between 10:00 and 16:00, Monday to Friday. The exact time is confirmed closer to the date because it partly depends on tides at your chosen beach.

If you want a ceremony after 16:00, on a Saturday, Sunday, or a public holiday, additional fees apply. Let us know when you book if this matters to you and we will sort it out.

After the wedding: getting your certificate home

This is the part nobody talks about enough. You have had the ceremony. Now you need the piece of paper that makes everything official back home. Here is how the timeline works:

• Apostille from the Seychelles Supreme Court: 2/3 working days after the ceremony.
• Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) verification, required for some countries: 2/4 working days.
• UAE embassy stamp, for UAE residents registering their marriage in the UAE: 3/6 working days.

If your stay is shorter than the processing time, we handle everything after you leave and ship the completed documents to your home address by DHL express courier.
Your Seychelles marriage certificate is issued in English and comes with the apostille from the Supreme Court. Seychelles is a signatory to the Hague Convention of 5 October 1961, which means the certificate is legally recognised in all 124 member countries without needing further authentication in most cases.

Russian nationals are an exception: your certificate will need to be translated into Russian and attested by the Russian Embassy on Mahe. The process can take up to 2/3 weeks.