For visitors or residents, Bermuda is a lovely place in which to get married, whether you opt for a civil wedding in the Registrar's Office or a beach wedding before a minister or white wedding in church complete with all the frills. The Registrar General of the Bermuda Government handles all requests for birth, marriage and death certificates, to patent a product or copyright material. The address is Government Administration Building, 30 Parliament Street, Hamilton HM 12, Bermuda. Telephone (441) 297-7709. Contact it directly - not via this website - for any questions and fees payable in Bermuda or United States dollars.

Advance information on travel documents required from non-locals for visits or marriages
All adults and children - irrespective of nationality - need individual official passports from your country of birth or domicile to enter Bermuda. To avoid discrimination against persons from the United Kingdom and Europe who must carry valid passports, this applies as much to persons in the USA and Canada as it does to those from the United Kingdom and (newly extended) EC countries of Europe. The majority of visitors arrive by air. But travel documents for all must be shown to Bermuda Immigration on arrival.

Bermuda is a foreign country for travel purposes, not part of USA, not part of United Kingdom, not part of Canada. If you do not carry a valid passport issued by your country of birth or domicile, you have no proof from your government that you exist. Do NOT attempt to enter Bermuda without a valid passport. It is the only way of confirming your identity. Birth certificates, state or provincial documents do not do so. They can easily be faked and there are no official state representatives in Bermuda. Your own country recommends that whenever you travel abroad, you go with a USA passport, for good reason. Your federal government will look after you, as a passport holder, in the event of any trouble in Bermuda, but your state will not. You may regret it hugely if you do not have a valid passport, as handbags and purses are often stolen in Bermuda from visitors. You will find it a much longer procedure to get assistance from your embassy or consulate, or might be refused entry entirely if you do not have a passport. Since September 11, security for travelers will soon be demanding valid passports if they don't already, for all adults and children of any age. Bermudians are required to carry valid passports to enter the USA or re-enter Bermuda, so are citizens of the United Kingdom. Americans are expected to do the same when entering Bermuda. If your travel agent tells you otherwise, change your travel agent.

Green Card or equivalent, if a legal registered alien in Britain, Canada or USA.
A US re-entry permit if entering Bermuda from the USA and not a US citizen. (Check with the US Department of State).
New US visa rules for passengers not American, British, Canadian or designated other nationalities when entering Bermuda from USA or leaving via USA. See Bermuda's Links with USA. Student visas to the USA for genuine students will take a minimum of 2 months to process.

If it applies to you, a valid visa. Citizens of Australia, Britain, Canada, European Union, New Zealand and USA do not require one as visitors. But from January 2003 Jamaican nationals do. Citizens of other countries may and should consult a British Embassy or Consul. Plus, if - like all nationals of Caribbean islands far to the south of Bermuda - they travel to and from Bermuda via Britain or Canada or the USA, they must obtain and bring the appropriate in transit documentation or visas required by the Immigration authorities of these countries for both portions of the journey.
An original marriage certificate or certified copy as further proof of identity for a married woman with travel documents still in her maiden name.

A valid airline or cruise ship onward ticket for travel beyond Bermuda or return ticket back to place of residence, within 30 days. If your documentation is insufficient or unsatisfactory, you may be denied travel or Bermuda entry. If minor children travel with someone who is not a parent, there must be a letter from a custodial parent authorizing the trip. Only if you are going to and from Bermuda by yacht do the travel documents exclude a return ticket by air or cruise ship. Check Bermuda Harbor Radio for details.

On the Bermuda Immigration Questionnaire, always show the full physical name, address, postal code and telephone number of where you will be staying, whether a hotel or a private home. You could be refused admittance if you do not. If your visit is for vacation purposes only, say so. If you're a non-Bermudian traveling salesman intending to solicit any kind of business as a representative of a company or organization not based in Bermuda, you must be issued, prior to your arrival, with a permit by the Bermuda Immigration authorities. Bermuda Employment and Work Permit Procedure describes the formalities and procedure required. Do not try to seek employment if you are a non-Bermudian on vacation. Be aware that the Bermuda Government has a stop list of undesirables and fugitives wanted by other countries and does not hesitate to invoke it if given cause.

The normal maximum length of stay for visitors by air, cruise ship or yacht is 21 days - three weeks (unlike in countries such as the USA, Canada and United Kingdom which can be six months). Visitors who are not Bermudian by birth or status or do not have Permanent Resident Status or do not have a valid Work Permit to satisfy Bermuda Immigration will not be eligible for any extension beyond three weeks, not even for staying with close relatives "to look after a sick patent or sibling." The only exception is if you can prove all the following from your documentation: you are yourself a local real estate owner; have the means to support yourself without local employment; have proof of employer/employee or, as a local homeowner have individual major medical insurance coverage in Bermuda - essential.

In which case, longer stays - up to 6 months - are possible by application directly and solely to the Immigration authorities of the Bermuda Government. Do not risk over-staying and its repercussions.
Visiting individuals or male-female couples who intend to get married in Bermuda but not work here can come through Immigration as visitors but must have sufficient funds and a bona fide host or place to stay. Applications for marriage have been rejected from visitors without all these.

The great majority of weddings for visitors - those who are not residents - are civil weddings. Generally, only residents, or persons marrying residents, qualify for a church wedding. Most engaged couples over 18 years old in the USA, Canada and United Kingdom who have not been married before want a church wedding in the town or city where the bride lives, with family and friends present and with the bride in a full white wedding dress and groom in either a suit or dress kilt - if a Scot - or dress military uniform. So, for practical purposes, most who get married in Bermuda, do so because they have been married before. For details of where to stay for people who wish to wed or honeymoon in Bermuda, see our Accommodation files.

The Marriage Amendment Act 2002 (However, unlike in previous years, divorced non-Bermudian parents of Bermudian children - those born with a Bermudian parent - can now retain their right to work in Bermuda, by applying for an Extension of Spouse's Employment Rights Certificate (ESERC), at a 2002 cost of $67).

Applications and general eligibility
Non residents can get applications from the Bermuda Government's Department of Tourism offices in New York, Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, Toronto and London. Names and residential addresses of both applicants must always be shown in full. Persons must arrange, before they arrive to get married, to have their "Notice of Intended Marriage" published three times in the local newspapers, including at least once in the Official Gazette (also the daily local newspaper) in the manner shown below. This is done with appropriate prior written notice to the Bermuda Government's Registrar General.

When returning the application (by airmail outside Bermuda) also send the application fee - in round figures about $200 but always confirm the current cost - in Bermuda or US dollars - as a money order, cashier's check or bank draft payable to Accountant General. Airmail to Bermuda often takes from 8-12 days from Canada, United Kingdom and USA. Minors (in Bermuda, 16 to not yet 21 years old, not just 18 as in the USA) must have notarized written consent of both parents or the surviving parent or legal guardian. A space is provided on the form for this purpose. A marriage will not be performed if either or both parties are under 16 years at the time of the ceremony.

Only British subjects resident in England or Scotland or Northern Ireland who marry a British subject resident in Bermuda, and for whom banns are called in their normal place of worship in the United Kingdom, can also have their banns called in the church in Bermuda where the marriage takes place. Ask directly at the church for details. Some local churches will require considerable notice from both parties for weddings.

No blood tests or health certificates are required in Bermuda. But official copies - never anything else - of final divorce decrees, plus any prior divorce degrees, from the relevant office of a particular state, province or county must accompany the "Notice of Intended Marriage" form for all divorced persons getting married in Bermuda. This notice is published by the Registry staff in two of the local newspapers of record in Bermuda, including the Official Gazette.

Despite being a foreign country for citizens of all other countries, Bermuda marriages are recognized in the USA and elsewhere. Appropriate checks are made from Bermuda with federal and state or provincial authorities in the USA and elsewhere to determine if proposed marriages are bigamous and/or are being undertaken out of the USA to try to conceal marriage disclosures from Social Security or tax authorities.

There are two types of such official public notices. They are one or other of the following:

The Marriage Act 1944. Notice of Intended Marriage
The Maritime Marriage Act 1999. Notice of Intended Marriage. Section 6-3, if getting married at sea in a Bermuda-registered cruise ship with a license to perform a marriage. In this connection, the list includes the Captain, licensed in Bermuda as a Marriage Officer.
This is what they both say, in this fictitious example:

"The persons named and described hereunder have given notice to me of their intended marriage, namely Pamela Chatelaine Chattanooga of 438 River Drive, New York, New York 10025, USA (single) and Harold Bertram Chapin of 438 River Drive, New York, New York 10025 (divorced). Dated this 18th day of August, 2001. Marlene Christopher, Registrar General."

More than 60 percent of all notices of marriage in Bermuda show couples living together in North America or Europe at specific addresses before the ceremony.

A period of 14 days must elapse from the date of receipt of the notice by the Registry before the Registry General may issue the license to marry. Parties to the intended marriage are not required to be resident during this time. The license to marry may be issued on or after the 15th day provided no formal objection has been raised to the intended marriage. The license to marry must be issued within three months of the receipt of the notice by the Registrar General and remains valid for three months from the date of issue. Once the couple has the marriage license, the ceremony can be performed. A separate cost is required for a civil ceremony which includes the use of the Marriage Room, the marriage license and certificate. If an additional copy of the certificate is required it will cost US $18). Civil ceremonies are performed in the Marriage Room of the Registry by appointment only, Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Saturdays between 10:00 a.m. and 12 noon.

Historically, Bermuda was once known as the honeymoon capital. About 20,000 honeymooners arrived in 2003. In that year, there were 1,029 marriages in Bermuda, 587 between non-residents, 376 for residents and 66 between a resident and non-resident. About 920 marriages were performed by ministers of religions and 173 (16 percent) carried out at the Office of the Registrar General. In February and March, an annual Wedding and Honeymoon Guide is published, produced by the Bermuda Government's Department of Tourism in conjunction with Bridal Guide magazine, with more than 400,000 circulation. In addition, a "Bermuda for Two" guide can help those seeking a romantic getaway.

Difference between North American and Bermuda lists
For weddings in the USA, where most of those getting married in Bermuda come from, there is a requirement for various legal reasons to show social security numbers of both consenting parties. This is not a requirement in Bermuda. But the "Notice of Intended Marriage" is made completely public, anyone is at liberty to refer to it or pass it on.