Documentation required for citizens of Canada

Are you booking your wedding with a travel agent outside Santorini? Be careful! This year, we had many frustrated clients at the last minute because they were booking their wedding in a package holiday along with their flights and accommodation but they couldn’t secure the time of the wedding! They were told that they could do that only when they would arrive in Santorini and this can be stressful.

I recommend booking flights and even your accommodations with them and choose a local wedding planner that can guarantee your date and time and that you can ask hundreds of questions about the most special day of your life and will get a correct answer!

I am a wedding planner living and working in Santorini for the last 26 years. Your day can be perfect! Trust the professionals!

Please follow the below strict rules for a perfect and hassle-free wedding:

-You are solely responsible to read and follow the instructions and timelines as given below. Failure to follow all the below Greek government’s legal requirements will result to not be able to have a legal wedding but you can always switch to a Symbolic wedding.

– Copy of your Canadian passport for both the bride and the groom. If you have your own witnesses, a copy of their passport is also required.

– You have to be 18 years and older to get married.

– Birth certificates for both the bride and the groom. The document has to be the long form that also mentions the parent’s names. Also, it has to be typed end not handwritten. In case a typed version of this document is not an option, you must type the information that is handwritten on your birth certificate, in a simple paper and send it along with the original birth certificate so the registrant can use it as a guide if he/she has trouble reading it.

– Notice of Search Marriage from the Ministry of Consumer and Business Services for both the bride and groom, not older than 3 months of the date of your wedding. This document is also required for both the bride and the groom.

– Divorce or Death certificates if any.

– Adoption certificates if any.

-Change of name certificate if any

– Notary public for the bride and the groom (one each), saying that you are free to marry.

– All the above documents can be obtained by the Ministry of Consumer and Business Services from the Office of the Registrar General and you can contact them at Telephone (416) 325-8305Toll Free 1-800-461-2156Fax (807) 343-7411

– All the above documents need to be authenticated by the Ministry of Consumer and Business Services and you can find how at https://www.ontario.ca/page/authenticate-document-use-outside-canada

– All the above documents, need to be translated via the Greek Embassy of your area OR via our agency. No other source is acceptable.

Important notes:

1. Your single status documents cannot be dated older than 3 months from your wedding date.

2. I need all the documents 1 month before the wedding date, in my hands.

3. Do NOT post me the documents before I see them all via email and approve them for postal, as in case you will be missing something, we will waste valuable time.

4. You have to be in Santorini 2 (two) business days after your wedding to register for your wedding. If that is not possible, you must obtain a document that will give my agency the authority to register your wedding on your behalf and you have to contact me to send you via email a sample of that document.

5. You must follow the instructions listed on this website and my instructions only. Do not listen to any other sources no matter what these sources are, as I am here and they are out of the country and they are not updated daily by our local authorities. Each part of Greece has different legal requirements. The information inside my pages, are only for Santorini.

6. All documents that will submit us will be held forever by our Piece of Justice so, please request new certified copies to send us if you need the old ones you have.

7. Please remember… these requirements are from the Greek government and not by me, therefore they might change so you have to contact me 3 months before the wedding to ask me if there is any change.

8. Your documents need Greek translations that are accepted only if they have been done by the Greek Embassy of your area OR via our agency. Not all nationalities require translation to their legal documents, therefore these fees are not included in my packages in case you decide to have this service via my agency.

-The documents related to your capacity to get married, can not be dated older than 3 months from the day of your wedding date.

-If you are a cruise ship traveler, you need to provide us a power of attorney that has to be prepared by the Greek Embassy of your area. This document gives us the right to register the wedding with the registry of Santorini, on your behalf. Please email me to send you the exact sample on which you must use to prepare yours.

-You must follow the instructions listed on this website and my instructions only. Do not listen to any other sources no matter what these sources are, as I am here and they are out of the country and they are not updated daily by our local authorities. Each part of Greece has different legal requirements. The information inside my pages, are only for Santorini.

-PLEASE NOTE THAT ALL YOUR DOCUMENTS WILL REMAIN AT THE LOCAL REGISTRY OFFICE.

-If you have any questions or if you find any issues in the process of getting your wedding documents, please don’t hesitate to ask me at annasantorini@gmail.com as with my experience and your cooperation, we will find a solution.