How to register a marriage in Kazakhstan

I want to discuss the different rules, regulations, and documents required for getting married in Kazakhstan. We are sharing our experience, and make sure to follow these rules because, in Kazakhstan, the rules are always being updated and changing. So, these are the rules you need to follow.

In 2019-2020, the most difficult part of getting married in Kazakhstan with a local Kazakh citizen was gathering the documents. There are four main documents that you need. Some of them are easy to get, but some are more complicated.

The first document is your passport, which should be valid for at least six months. The passport should also be translated and notarized.

Second, you need a copy of your work visa or any kind of visa that you hold. For example, once you arrive and live in Kazakhstan, you need to register your address with the government. If you've bought property, you need to register it with the government. You'll also need a document showing the place where you are registered.

The third document is the most difficult one, especially for Indian nationals. It’s the certificate showing that you are not married in Kazakhstan. Typically, in countries like the US or the UK, you can apply for a certificate from government agencies proving you are not married in your home country. However, in India, we do not have the option to obtain such a certificate. When I visited India and went to the registration office asking for a document saying I was not married, they laughed and said they had never heard of such a document. It’s like asking a university to give me a certificate that I don’t have a degree.

So, I returned to Kazakhstan and discussed it with the registration office here. They said that it would be okay if I got a document from the embassy stating that I am not married. So, I went to Almaty, spoke with the consulate, and asked for a non-married certificate. However, they informed me that they stopped issuing these documents to Indian citizens a few years ago.

I went back to the registration office and explained to them, in broken Russian, that for Indians, we don't have such a document saying that we are not married. I mentioned that the consulate stopped issuing these documents, and they said that I could get an affidavit from India. This affidavit should be signed by my parents stating that I am not married. In Kerala, we have a document called "Mudra Patra," where you write that you are not married and your parents also sign, confirming that it's true. You also need to bring a copy of your parents’ passports.

Once you have all these documents, you bring them to the registration office, and everything must be translated. If you have any documents from India, make sure they are apostilled before translating and notarizing them. After submitting the documents, it’s a fairly simple process. The documents will go to a place called "ZAGS," which is the office where marriages and births are registered. You can just go there, submit all the documents, and they will verify if everything is correct. Then, they will give you a form to fill out. The form has two sides, one for the bride and one for the groom, and you need to fill out both sides.

The tricky part is that the document is in Russian, so my wife filled out her side, and I asked her if she could fill out mine too since I couldn’t understand it. The officer told us it wasn’t possible and that I had to fill out the form myself or hire an official translator. I couldn’t bring any of my friends; I had to get an authorized translator with a certification to stand by me and translate.

We were confused sitting there with all the documents, and I couldn’t understand Russian to fill it out properly. My wife then took a pen, filled out the form on my behalf, and I copied what she wrote in my form, letter by letter. It was like a baby learning how to write Russian, but in the end, everything worked out. The officer didn’t say anything, and we submitted the form.

Next, you have to wait for 30 days. Talking about the cost, you have to pay a government fee, which changes all the time. Currently, it's around 2500 tenge, which is less than ten dollars. You’ll receive a piece of paper containing the account number, account name, and government code. You take this paper to the bank, pay the fee, and bring the receipt to the registration office.

After submitting all these documents, you wait for 30 days. At the end of the 30 days, you’ll get an SMS from the government saying that your marriage certificate is ready to be picked up. My wife and I went there, and the whole process took less than five minutes. The officer went through all the documents one final time. Since I’m a foreigner, they called a senior officer to check everything. They paid special attention to the non-marriage certificate and all the documents.

Everything was fine, and they asked us to sign the final documents. Then, they gave us a blue book containing the marriage certificate, and we left the office.