Getting Married in Cyprus: Single Status Declaration Guide

Because UK law does not allow one. Article 14 of the Consular Marriages and Marriages under Foreign Law (No. 2) Order 2014 lets a register office in England and Wales issue a certificate of no impediment only for a country that is not in Schedule 3 to the British Nationality Act 1981, and the Republic of Cyprus is on that list of Commonwealth countries. The FCDO’s information note confirms that no CNI can be issued for a marriage in a Commonwealth country, by UK register offices or by British High Commissions.

No UK office can certify that you are single either: the FCDO notes that the UK has no central register of marital status. So Cypriot marriage officers ask British visitors for other evidence, and each municipality publishes its own list. We checked the lists below on 24 September 2026.

Pafos Municipality’s 2026 guide lists a valid passport, a single status statutory declaration signed and stamped by a UK solicitor or notary public, and a copy of your birth certificate, and says every original document needs an apostille. Other municipalities set their own lists, so ask the one where you will marry.

UK citizens who live in Cyprus need two more documents, Pafos says: a no-trace letter from the General Register Office in the UK, and a non-impediment certificate from Cyprus’s Civil Registry and Migration Department issued within the last three months. You also provide photocopies of the passports of your two witnesses, who must be over 18 and attend the ceremony.

Yes, it is possible. The Cyprus High Commission in London explains that people who cannot produce an official certificate that they are not married, giving British citizens as the example, may be asked to swear before the Registrar of a District Court in Cyprus that they are single and have never married. Divorced applicants still bring the decree absolute, and widowed applicants the death certificate, and both swear that they have not remarried since.

That text is published as general information, while municipal lists such as Pafos’s name a UK statutory declaration. Ask your marriage officer in writing which one it wants before you pay a solicitor or the FCDO.

1. Book the date with the municipality’s civil marriage office. Pafos takes bookings by phone, fax or email; you do not need to be in Cyprus.
2. Ask the office for its current document list, including whether it wants a UK statutory declaration or a sworn declaration made in Cyprus.
3. Generate your tailored single status declaration (£14.99) and sign it before a UK solicitor or notary public; in Scotland, a notary public. Do not sign before the appointment.
4. Get it apostilled, together with your birth certificate and any deed poll, divorce decree or death certificate. A deed poll that has not been enrolled must first be certified by a UK solicitor or notary.
5. In Cyprus, apply together in person, on a weekday morning at least one working day before the wedding, with the original documents.
6. Marry at least 15 days after applying under the standard procedure, or sooner under the special procedure if the official agrees.

Timing matters because Pafos treats the declaration as valid for three months from issue, while a paper apostille can take up to 25 working days. Sign too early and it expires; sign too late and the apostille may not arrive in time.

About 20 days for a standard marriage, or a few days under the special procedure. The Cyprus High Commission explains that a marriage by notice takes place at least 15 clear days, and at most three months, after the notice. If it has not taken place within three months, the notice lapses. Pafos can hold an expedited wedding from the day after you apply, or within two weeks, if the official accepts there are valid reasons, at a higher fee.

For one person with a declaration witnessed by a solicitor and paper apostilles on the declaration and a birth certificate, the UK paperwork comes to £109.99 plus courier costs (£14.99 + £5 + 2 × £45). Pafos may charge more for ceremonies outside its official hours or away from the Municipal Gallery.

Yes. Pafos Municipality’s 2026 guide says all original documents from UK citizens must carry an apostille, so that covers the declaration, your birth certificate and any deed poll, divorce decree or death certificate. The apostille confirms the solicitor’s or notary’s signature, so the Legalisation Office can only add it after the declaration has been signed and witnessed.

GOV.UK apostilles documents issued by a court, a public registry, a government department or a registered doctor, and other documents once a UK notary or solicitor has certified them. A deed poll that has not been enrolled, such as one you printed and signed at home, is in the second group, so have a solicitor or notary certify it before you apply.

An e-Apostille is only for a PDF that a UK notary or solicitor has signed electronically. Birth, death, marriage and other General Register Office certificates cannot have one, so they need the paper service. Ask the authority abroad whether it accepts an e-Apostille before you choose it.

Possibly what your registrar can issue, and also where you find a witness and what your divorce paperwork is called. The FCDO says the 2014 Order does not allow a certificate of no impediment for a marriage in a Commonwealth country such as Cyprus, and that the Order applies to British High Commissions and local register offices in the UK. Its register-office route, in article 14, is for residents of England and Wales. Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own marriage law: mygov.scot says a Scottish registrar can issue a certificate of no impediment for a marriage elsewhere in the UK, but for a marriage outside the UK it says only to follow that country’s rules, and nidirect says Northern Ireland residents who need a document showing they are free to marry apply on form GRO 446. Ask your registrar what it can issue for Cyprus before you order anything else. The other differences are:

• Finding a solicitor or notary. GOV.UK’s legalisation guide points to the Faculty Office and the Law Society for England and Wales, the Law Society of Scotland, and the Law Society of Northern Ireland.
• Proof a marriage ended. England and Wales issue a final order or decree absolute. In Scotland you get a divorce certificate or “extract”, and in Northern Ireland a decree absolute or final conditional order.

Who witnesses the declaration. Pafos’s list names a UK solicitor or notary public. In Scotland, a statutory declaration is signed before a notary public or a Justice of the Peace, so use a notary public: Pafos does not list a Justice of the Peace. The Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service says most Scottish solicitors are also notaries public. In Northern Ireland, use a solicitor or notary public, as Pafos’s list says.

Yes, if it was lawful in Cyprus and would be allowed under UK law, GOV.UK says. The marriage is registered in Cyprus, not in the UK: no UK register office or British embassy will register it or issue a UK certificate, so keep the local certificate safe. GOV.UK suggests a translation if you will use it outside Cyprus. If you want a UK marriage certificate, you can have the legal ceremony in the UK and a commitment ceremony abroad.

In Cyprus the marriage officer issues the certificate straight after the ceremony, according to Pafos Municipality, and sends a certified copy to the embassy or consulate in Cyprus of the country where you live.

Taking your spouse’s surname afterwards? Ask each UK organisation what evidence it accepts for a marriage abroad; our guide to changing your name after an overseas marriage explains what to check.

Planning elsewhere? See our guides for Greece, Spain, Italy, Malta, or the freedom to marry declaration overview.