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Hello Gents,

Colombia put me in a bind, requiring that my birth certificate be issued in the month that I was getting married-- October. I had a birth certificate already in my possession issued in March, but that one was not valid.

Go figure.

I got all of my documents notarized and a few of them needed to be apostilled. This took up time, but I was able to send all the necessary paperwork to my fiancee' in Colombia, and she then had to get it all notarized and submitted to the notary.

She tells me everything is perfect. The marriage is planned for October 28th at 3:15pm. However, she then tells me that she will send me this document, an edict, that will have to go the U.S. consulate (what, the one in San Francisco?) and after it gets sealed, I will then bring it with me to Colombia and submit it to the notary in order to be able to get married.

She just sent me the document Monday, 10/20/03. It probably won't get here in Seattle until Wednesday, Thursday.

I need not tell you that there is no way possible that I can get that done. Not enough time, neither do I have the money. This is just plain crazy.

I asked her why do they need to have this document? She says that it is a notice that I am getting married, an edict, and it needs to be advertised in my country, just in case, someone was to object to me marrying her.

This is ludicrous!! I saw nothing on the Colombia Embassy website indicating that this was a requirement for marrying a Colombian.

She said there may be a work around because she has a friend who works at the notary.
She also said that it may be that I can send that document to Colombia AFTER the marriage. However, there is no certainty about any of this.

In any case, I am upset and demoralized by this "surprise requirement" that I have not seen, read, or heard about from anyone.

Has anyone heard anything like this or has gone through anything similar? Words of wisdom will be most appreciated.

Thanks,

~Henry

... in response to Urgghh! Another Document For Marriage, posted by hwalker7 on Oct 21, 2003

What city are you getting married in? If its Cali, what notaria are you using?

... in response to Re: Urgghh! Another Document For Marriag..., posted by littlebhuddha on Oct 21, 2003


I'm planning on getting married in Santa Marta, CO. Don't know what notaria we will be using.

Thanks,

~Henry

... in response to Urgghh! Another Document For Marriage, posted by hwalker7 on Oct 21, 2003

I agreee with Iswrote, have your bride investigate other notaries or look into paying extra.  Sounds like ya'll encountered a hardass that probably has a hangup about a gringo marrying a Calena.  Here's the official list provided by the city:

http://www.cali.gov.co/notarias.htm

CaliGringo.com

... in response to Urgghh! Another Document For Marriage, posted by hwalker7 on Oct 21, 2003

I don't know what document you are talking about. The only thing you need to get married is your passport, birh certificate and divorce decrees to get married in Cali. You don't even need the marriage visa if you have enough cash.

... in response to Re: Urgghh! Another Document For Marriag..., posted by Calipro on Oct 21, 2003

Don't purposely look like an idiot Calipro.  You know very well that there are many diverse documents required by the various notaries.  Just because many notaries are willing to forego the documents for the right amount of money doesn't mean hwalker isn't expressing a legitimate concern as some notaries are inflexible and fixing it by throwing money at it won't work.

hwalker, as I stated before, trying to approach the notary with the idea of paying extra to have the notary get the extra documentation for you might be your best approach if you can't come up with one of your own or can't find a more receptive notary.  Don't blatantly look like you are trying to bribe the notary, but rather suggest you would be willing to pay more, perhaps considerably more, if they might help you get the documentation for you.

... in response to Re: Re: Urgghh! Another Document For Mar..., posted by lswote on Oct 21, 2003

I didn't bribe the notory the lawyer did. I paid her $800 and she married us the same day. The only thing I had was my passport, birth certificate and divorce decrees. No marriage visa. She even filled out my wife's paper work for the embassy. If you want the lawyer's number I can look it up.

... in response to Urgghh! Another Document For Marriage, posted by hwalker7 on Oct 21, 2003

Well if the workaround is a feasible one, I would pursue it if I was you.  Though your particular situation is not one I have heard of, the general problem of the requirements for getting married being misunderstood or changing is very common.  Money often takes care of the problem.  Say for instance if you were to offer 200.000 or 300.000 pesos so that the notary can send the paperwork for you.  Of course what would most likely happen if they accept the offer is that they would just kept the money and not send the paperwork and in effect it was really a bribe, but frankly you don't care, you just want results.  Different notaries do thing differently, so looking into getting a different notary might be a possibility.  Some notaries can just be paid off and don't require anything or require less so it definitely might be worth your investigation.

... in response to Re: Urgghh! Another Document For Marriag..., posted by lswote on Oct 21, 2003


Hey Iswrote,

I spoke with both my lawyer and a Colombian lawyer at the Colombian Consulate in San Francisco. Both deny knowing anything about an "edict" requirement coming out of Colombia. My lawyer does admit the Philippines has that requirement or perhaps if it is a religious marriage. It is named a "Banns for Marriage" and is posted for a time-frame before the marriage giving chance for anyone to object to it.

Again, to his knowledge and and echoed by the Colombian lawyer in San Francisco there is no such requirement in Colombia.

The Colombian lawyer reiterated that all that you need is your birth certificate, marriage visa, and passporte to get married in Colombia.

So, this is shaping up to be somewhat of a hassle of ridiculous proportions.

I will seriously consider your advice.

Thanks for the input.

~Henry