If you are marrying a foreigner in the Czech Republic, the wedding ceremony must be interpreted by a certified, court-appointed interpreter. Without this marriage is invalid. This means an interpreter, appointed by the Minister of Justice of the Czech Republic, has to act as an interpreter.
According to Czech law, the groom, bride and witnesses must understand that the happy couple are actually getting married. If one of them does not speak Czech, then a certified interpreter must be present to interpret the entire ceremony.
As the law says: “The declaration of marriage is made in a public and solemn manner in the presence of two witnesses.”
The story goes in the wild 90s, a handsome Italian (?) married a beautiful Czech bride. After sobering-up he successfully claimed in court that he thought the ceremony was purely theatrical and had no legal effect. He didn’t speak a word Czech and there was no interpreter present. And that is how a new law was born.
You also need a certified translator for processing documents at the Czech registry office. All foreign documents required for the marriage must be translated into Czech. This means they must be translated by a certified translator who adds a declaration of true translation, a stamp and their signature.
If you need a certified interpreter, you can ask a specific interpreter or contact a translation agency directly. We are most often contacted by fiancés for translation and interpretation from/into English, French and German.
Choose an interpreter or agency that is experienced in wedding ceremonies. They can steer you though the process. You must remember that the local registrar has the final word and your translator can help ensure that all their requirements are met.
The translation agency will significantly shorten and simplify the whole translation process and ensure that there are no last-minute bureaucratic hurdles. When arranging the interpreter yourself, you need to prepare all the documents and keep your fingers crossed that the interpreter actually turns up and doesn’t fall ill. This is the great advantage of an agency which is able to solve such situations very quickly.
If you have any more questions, do not hesitate to contact us.
| Experience of our clients: ‘Marrying a foreigner in the Czech Republic is difficult’ – that’s how a friend discouraged me from getting married. But I did not give in and with a few months’ notice I started to prepare the wedding and the formalities connected with it. My husband-to-be was a citizen of the UK so I didn’t foresee any major problems. Disillusionment set in, however, as it tends to do, when faced with bureaucratic regulations. As we did not use a wedding agency and my fiancé does not speak Czech, I decided to approach a translation agency. The certified translation of the documents was quick and uncomplicated, Martina also gave me advice on how to proceed and arranged a certified interpreter for the wedding ceremony. |
