The paperwork
In the Netherlands, to get married you must be over 18 years old (unless you are 16, female and pregnant with permission from your parents) and at least one of you must either be a Dutch national or you must both have residency. If neither of those options is applicable to you but you would still like to marry in the Netherlands you can contact the IND for a temporary visa, MVV. 

Before you begin the process of registering your marriage there is some documentation you should have. If you or your intended is not Dutch, an EU or EEA citizen, or in possession of a valid residency card you must first contact the foreign police (vreemdelingdienst) and request a declaration (M46) from them, so that they do not object to the marriage. There are several other documents you will need: a valid passport, your residence visa, attested birth certificates (if not from the Netherlands), proof that you are single, and witness forms.

The process
You will need to have two witnesses to the marriage but you can have a total of four if you choose. The witnesses will need to supply you with a copy of their passports. Once you’ve gathered all the documents you must go to the town hall of the place where you live (gemeente) and enter into ‘ondertrouw’ which translates roughly to ‘intent to marry’. There are no costs for entering into ondertrouw but there are fees depending on when and where you get married and charges for the marriage documents you receive once you are married. Once you declare your intent to marry to the city you can be married after two weeks, but no later than a year from the date of declaration. The city acts as your adviser on how to proceed, and when you enter into ondertrouw they will let you know all of your options for wedding locations and give you a book called a trouwgid (wedding guide) with information on everything from florists to honeymoon suites. If there is any documentation you don’t have yet or that isn’t properly attested they will let you know.

Once you are in ondertrouw you can choose the date you wish to be married. Remember the civil ceremony can be as big or as small as you want it; if you wish to combine it with your celebrations at the same location it’s possible. If you wish to have a small civil ceremony in the city hall and then organise your own religious ceremony or other celebration elsewhere it is totally up to you.

The civil ceremony is conducted by a city official and is very short, usually lasting no more than 15 minutes. Some time before the ‘big day’ you will meet with the person who will marry you so you can talk about what you would like him or her to say and even request that they speak in English. The cost of the civil ceremony varies and can be anything from EUR 40 to EUR 850 depending on the day, time and the location.

In the Netherlands you can also enter into a registered partnership, which has exactly the same legal consequences as marriage excluding parental rights. In a registered partnership the father must legally recognise the child at the city hall before he is entitled to parental rights. If you do choose to marry you can decide whether or not to change your name: this applies to husband as well as wife, but your original name must still be included on official documents.

Getting married in Amsterdam
Amsterdam is a singularly beautiful city bursting with romantic locations and grand reception rooms. So it’s no wonder that many people choose to marry there. There is a fair amount of paper work involved, but many say it is worth the trouble for the photo opportunities. Once you have performed the obligatory civil ceremony you are free to have a follow up ceremony in whichever religion, fashion or location you choose. Though the civil ceremony could be in just the location you’re looking for, one site from the government covers a wide variety of locations, from bagel shops to museums, all of which are able to host your wedding: www.loket.amsterdam.nl:80/loket/centralestad/product/55986.

You may have to lodge a request with your local municipality office for some locations, so call and check before you make concrete plans. Some residents do decide to have the civil ceremony in Amsterdam before returning to their home countries for a church or celebratory service. If you choose to do this make sure you request an international marriage certificate for a nominal fee; you may also need to have the document legalised or endorsed by the Dutch authorities if you want to use it in an official capacity.

October 2008

Reprinted with permission of Explorer Publishing from the Amsterdam Complete Residents' Guide.

 Photos of Amsterdam weddings by Tze Moi: Art & Photography