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Bermuda Marriages for residents and visitors

Men and women, not same-sex couples

By Keith Archibald Forbes (see About Us) exclusively for Bermuda Online

To refer to this webfile, please use "bermuda-online.org/marriages" as your Subject.

Couples - men and women, never same sex - are warmly welcomed when they come to Bermuda to get married or honeymoon, but please note the following carefully. Bermuda - despite being classed as "British" - does not have UK laws on marriage or divorce, it has local laws. Persons getting married in Bermuda, residents or non-residents, do so under the Marriage Act 1944 or, if on a Bermuda-registered cruise ship, under the (Bermuda) Maritime Marriage Act 1999, plus the Marriage Amendment Act 2002 which now requires a certificate of marriage to be issued by the Registrar - see below - for all island marriages, whether civil, religious or church.  Bermuda does not have UK-style (England & Wales) civil annulment laws.

Note that American, British, Canadian and other nationalities' consular officers are NOT permitted to perform marriages. Nor are they performed on the premises of an American or other consulate. The validity of marriages abroad is not dependent upon the presence of an American or other diplomatic or consular officer, but upon adherence to the laws of Bermuda (not the laws of the United Kingdom). If required, American and other consular officers may authenticate Bermuda marriage documents, for a fee. In general, marriages which are legally performed and valid in Bermuda are also legally valid in the United States and other countries. In the USA, inquiries regarding the validity of a marriage in Bermuda should be directed to the attorney general of the state in the United States where the parties to the marriage live.

Advance information on travel documents required from non-locals for visits or marriages

All adults and children - irrespective of nationality - need individual official passports from your country of birth or domicile to enter Bermuda. To avoid discrimination against persons from the United Kingdom and Europe who must carry valid passports, this applies as much to persons in the USA and Canada as it does to those from the United Kingdom and (newly extended) EC countries of Europe. The majority of visitors arrive by air. But travel documents for all must be shown to Bermuda Immigration on arrival.

• Bermuda is a foreign country for travel purposes, not part of USA, not part of United Kingdom, not part of Canada. If you do not carry a valid passport issued by your country of birth or domicile, you have no proof from your government that you exist. Do NOT attempt to enter Bermuda without a valid passport. It is the only way of confirming your identity. Birth certificates, state or provincial documents do not do so. They can easily be faked and there are no official state representatives in Bermuda. Your own country recommends that whenever you travel abroad, you go with a USA passport, for good reason. Your federal government will look after you, as a passport holder, in the event of any trouble in Bermuda, but your state will not. You may regret it hugely if you do not have a valid passport, as handbags and purses are often stolen in Bermuda from visitors. You will find it a much longer procedure to get assistance from your embassy or consulate, or might be refused entry entirely if you do not have a passport. Since September 11, security for travelers will soon be demanding valid passports if they don't already, for all adults and children of any age. Bermudians are required to carry valid passports to enter the USA or re-enter Bermuda, so are citizens of the United Kingdom. Americans are expected to do the same when entering Bermuda. If your travel agent tells you otherwise, change your travel agent. 
• Green Card or equivalent, if a legal registered alien in Britain, Canada or USA.
• A US re-entry permit if entering Bermuda from the USA and not a US citizen. (Check with the US Department of State).
• New US visa rules for passengers not American, British, Canadian or designated other nationalities when entering Bermuda from USA or leaving via USA. See Bermuda's Links with USA. Student visas to the USA for genuine students will take a minimum of 2 months to process.
• If it applies to you, a valid visa. Citizens of Australia, Britain, Canada, European Union, New Zealand and USA do not require one as visitors. But from January 2003 Jamaican nationals do. Citizens of other countries may and should consult a British Embassy or Consul. Plus, if - like all nationals of Caribbean islands far to the south of Bermuda - they travel to and from Bermuda via Britain or Canada or the USA, they must obtain and bring the appropriate in transit documentation or visas required by the Immigration authorities of these countries for both portions of the journey.
• An original marriage certificate or certified copy as further proof of identity for a married woman with travel documents still in her maiden name.
• A valid airline or cruise ship onward ticket for travel beyond Bermuda or return ticket back to place of residence, within 30 days. If your documentation is insufficient or unsatisfactory, you may be denied travel or Bermuda entry. If minor children travel with someone who is not a parent, there must be a letter from a custodial parent authorizing the trip. Only if you are going to and from Bermuda by yacht do the travel documents exclude a return ticket by air or cruise ship. Check Bermuda Harbor Radio for details.
• On the Bermuda Immigration Questionnaire, always show the full physical name, address, postal code and telephone number of where you will be staying, whether a hotel or a private home. You could be refused admittance if you do not. If your visit is for vacation purposes only, say so. If you're a non-Bermudian traveling salesman intending to solicit any kind of business as a representative of a company or organization not based in Bermuda, you must be issued, prior to your arrival, with a permit by the Bermuda Immigration authorities. Bermuda Employment and Work Permit Procedure describes the formalities and procedure required. Do not try to seek employment if you are a non-Bermudian on vacation.  Be aware that the Bermuda Government has a stop list of undesirables and fugitives wanted by other countries and does not hesitate to invoke it if given cause.
• The normal maximum length of stay for visitors by air, cruise ship or yacht is 21 days - three weeks (unlike in countries such as the USA, Canada and United Kingdom which can be six months). Visitors who are not Bermudian by birth or status or do not have Permanent Resident Status or do not have a valid Work Permit to satisfy Bermuda Immigration will not be eligible for any extension beyond three weeks, not even for staying with close relatives "to look after a sick patent or sibling." The only exception is if you can prove all the following from your documentation: you are yourself a local real estate owner; have the means to support yourself without local employment; have proof of employer/employee or, as a local homeowner have individual major medical insurance coverage in Bermuda - essential. In which case, longer stays - up to 6 months - are possible by application directly and solely to the Immigration authorities of the Bermuda Government. Do not risk over-staying and its repercussions. 

Visiting individuals or male-female couples who intend to get married in Bermuda but not work here can come through Immigration as visitors  but must have sufficient funds and a bona fide host or place to stay. Applications for marriage have been rejected from visitors without all these. 

The great majority of weddings for visitors - those who are not residents - are civil weddings. Generally, only residents, or persons marrying residents, qualify for a church wedding. Most engaged couples over 18 years old in the USA, Canada and United Kingdom who have not been married before want a church wedding in the town or city where the bride lives, with family and friends present and with the bride in a full white wedding dress and groom in either a suit or dress kilt - if a Scot - or dress military uniform.  So, for practical purposes, most who get married in Bermuda, do so because they have been married before. For details of where to stay for people who wish to wed or honeymoon in Bermuda, see our Accommodation files. 

The Marriage Amendment Act 2002 (However, unlike in previous years, divorced non-Bermudian parents of Bermudian children - those born with a Bermudian parent - can now retain their right to work in Bermuda, by applying for an Extension of Spouse's Employment Rights Certificate (ESERC), at a 2002 cost of $67).

March 10, 2007. New laws are on the way to crack down on people entering into sham marriages to cheat Immigration. Labour and Immigration Minister Derrick Burgess told the House of Assembly that phony matrimonial unions were a worldwide problem. He said: "On a daily basis, we pore through news clippings from countries including but not limited to: the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, the Caribbean and Europe." He said since an amendment to the Marriage Act, which requires couples to apply to the Registry General for a marriage licence and to publish their banns in the newspapers, it is thought there's been a reduction in sham marriages. "However more must be done. Later this year we will be tabling amendments to both the Marriage Act 1944 and the Bermuda Immigration and Protection Act 1956 to make it an offence for persons to enter into a sham marriage or to arrange such a marriage for personal gain. In addition, we intend to make it difficult for a non-Bermudian to derive any benefit from the Bermuda Immigration and Protection Act if we determine that they are in a sham marriage."

Applications and general eligibility for marriages

For visitors or residents, Bermuda is a lovely place in which to get married, whether you opt for a civil wedding in the Registrar's Office or, if a local, a wedding before a minister in church complete with all the frills.  The Registrar General of the Bermuda Government handles all requests for birth, marriage and death certificates and any replacements needed of them. The address is Government Administration Building, 30 Parliament Street, Hamilton HM 12, Bermuda. Telephone (441) 297-7709. Contact it  directly - not via this website - for any questions and the fees payable in Bermuda or United States dollars. 

Non residents can also get applications from the Bermuda Government's Department of Tourism offices in New York, Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, Toronto and London. Names and residential addresses of both applicants must always be shown in full. Persons must arrange, before they arrive to get married, to have their "Notice of Intended Marriage" published three times in the local newspapers, including at least once in the Official Gazette (also the daily local newspaper) in the manner shown below. This is done with appropriate prior written notice to the Bermuda Government's Registrar General. 

When returning the application (by airmail outside Bermuda) also send the application fee  - now well in excess of $200 - in Bermuda or US dollars - as a money order, cashier's check or bank draft payable to Accountant General. Airmail to Bermuda often takes from 8-12 days from Canada, United Kingdom and USA. Minors (in Bermuda, 16 to not yet 21 years old, not  just 18 as in the USA) must have notarized written consent of both parents or the surviving parent or legal guardian. A space is provided on the form for this purpose.  A marriage will not be performed if either or both parties are under 16 years at the time of the ceremony.

Only British subjects resident in England or Scotland or Northern Ireland who marry a British subject resident in Bermuda, and for whom banns are called in their normal place of worship in the United Kingdom, can also have their banns called in the church in Bermuda where the marriage takes place. Ask directly at the church for details. Some local churches will require considerable notice from both parties for weddings.

No blood tests or health certificates are required in Bermuda. But official copies - never anything else - of final divorce decrees, plus any prior divorce degrees, from the relevant office of a particular state, province or county must accompany the "Notice of Intended Marriage" form for all divorced persons getting married in Bermuda. This notice is published by the Registry staff in two of the local newspapers of record in Bermuda, including the Official Gazette. 

Despite being a foreign country for citizens of all other countries, Bermuda marriages are recognized in the USA and elsewhere. Appropriate checks are made from Bermuda with federal and state or provincial authorities in the USA and elsewhere to determine if proposed marriages are bigamous and/or are being undertaken out of the USA to try to conceal marriage disclosures from Social Security or tax authorities.

There are two types of such official public notices. They are one or other of the following:

• The Marriage Act 1944. Notice of Intended Marriage
• The Maritime Marriage Act 1999. Notice of Intended Marriage. Section 6-3, if getting married at sea in a Bermuda-registered cruise ship with a license to perform a marriage. In this connection, the list includes the Captain, licensed in Bermuda as a Marriage Officer.

This is what they both say, in this fictitious example:

More than 60 percent of all notices of marriage in Bermuda show couples living together in North America or Europe at specific addresses before the ceremony.

A period of 14 days must elapse from the date of receipt of the notice by the Registry before the Registry General may issue the license to marry. Parties to the intended marriage are not required to be resident during this time. The license to marry may be issued on or after the 15th day provided no formal objection has been raised to the intended marriage. The license to marry must be issued within three months of the receipt of the notice by the Registrar General and remains valid for three months from the date of issue. Once the couple has the marriage license, the ceremony can be performed. A separate cost is required for a civil ceremony which includes the use of the Marriage Room, the marriage license and certificate. If an additional copy of the certificate is required it will cost US $18). Civil ceremonies are performed in the Marriage Room of the Registry by appointment only, Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Saturdays between 10:00 a.m. and 12 noon.

Historically, Bermuda was once known as the honeymoon capital. About 20,000 honeymooners arrived in 2006. In that year, there were 1,029 marriages in Bermuda, 587 between non-residents, 376 for residents and 66 between a resident and non-resident. About 920 marriages were performed by ministers of religions and 173 (16 percent) carried out at the Office of the Registrar General. In February and March, an annual Wedding and Honeymoon Guide is published, produced by the Bermuda Government's Department of Tourism in conjunction with Bridal Guide magazine, with more than 400,000 circulation. In addition, a "Bermuda for Two" guide can help those seeking a romantic getaway.

Differences between North American and Bermuda application procedures

• For weddings in the USA, where most of those getting married in Bermuda come from, there is a requirement for various legal reasons to show social security numbers of both consenting parties. This is not a requirement in Bermuda. But  the "Notice of Intended Marriage" is made completely public, anyone is at liberty to refer to it or pass it on.
• Blood tests are required by some US states but are not required in Bermuda.

Marriage fees

Maritime Marriage Act 1999

(Getting married, as a Bermudian or non-national, on a Bermuda-registered cruise ship). All prices are in US$ or BDA$. For full explanation of fees and which apply in specific cases, go directly to the Registrar General's Office shown in the first paragraph. All fees from overseas should be by certified check (cheque) or draft, never a personal check. 

Marriage Act 1944

For all other marriages in Bermuda of Bermudians and non-nationals.

Marriages must be performed in one of these places

• The office of the Registrar General by appointment between 10.00 am and 4.00 pm Monday to Friday or Saturday from 10.00 am to 12.00 noon only. Two witnesses are required for Registry marriages which take place in an attractively decorated Marriage Room with comfortable seating for up to a dozen guests (more may be accommodated if standing). This is where persons who are not resident should expect to be married, the only place the Registrar will do so.
• Or in a church or place other than the Registry General always with the prior consent of that office. It should be noted that visitors who do not marry a Bermudian or someone ordinarily resident in Bermuda will not be allowed to get married in a local church. However, there may be special circumstances where, in the Church of England in Bermuda, this can change. It will depend on whether the local church of England still complies with - or has rescinded as the Church of England in the United Kingdom has done - the rule that the church will not provide a wedding to "anyone who has a former partner, still living."  Check directly with the church, if relevant. The church which broke from Rome because of the wish of King Henry VIII to be free of his first wife has officially barred second weddings in church for divorcees since the 17th century.
• In religious marriages when at least one of the couple is a local resident, a service can be arranged by special request with the minister or religious official concerned at the church or a synagogue or temple, never at a hotel. If a hotel marriage is desired, ask the hotel directly if it is possible and under what circumstances. Qualified resident clergy are sometimes licensed for more ceremonies than just one. Some will not marry persons one or both of whom have been divorced under any laws of any country. 
• Catholics not normally resident in Bermuda and who have not been married before cannot be married in Catholic churches in Bermuda except under exceptional circumstances, for example, people who have special family ties in Bermuda or who have lived in Bermuda previously. Questions on this subject must be addressed by airmail directly to the Bishop of Hamilton in Bermuda, P. O Box HM 1191, Hamilton HM EX, Bermuda. Locally, Catholics are required to give 12 months notice. If you have been married before and do not have a decree of annulment for that marriage, you cannot use a Catholic Church at all. 
• No aircraft in Bermuda or any accommodation properties are allowed under Bermuda laws to marry you in Bermuda. If you want a non-religious Bermuda wedding, you must get married in the Registrar's office. The exception to this is a captain of a Bermuda-registered cruise ship or similar who has gone through the "Appointment of a Marriage Officer" process mentioned earlier.
• Under the provisions of the Marriage Act 1944 the Minister of Labor, Home Affairs & Public Safety of the Bermuda Government can license a particular visiting minister or someone else certified in their jurisdiction as a qualified and competent religious minister or pastor or rabbi - for one Bermuda marriage ceremony. This means that if you can afford it and give plenty of notice yourself and also ensure that the clergy person or pastor of rabbi do the same via the same Bermuda Government office, you can bring in someone qualified from where either one or both of you live, to perform the wedding ceremony. In such circumstances, weddings can be in places other than local religious centers, if you can find a minister to do so (not easy if you are not local, you may need to consult a wedding planner). In all individual cases where a visiting priest or rabbi performs a marriage, a public notice of an "Appointment of a Marriage Officer" appears in a numbered Bermuda Government announcement in the Bermuda Official Gazette. It shows that the Minister of Labour, Home Affairs & Public Safety licenses the priest or rabbi of the publicly specified church or temple or synagogue or congregation to perform a marriage ceremony in Bermuda on the specified day. But understand that you may be asked to pay the transportation, accommodation, food and other costs and expenses of the religious person you arrange to bring in for the ceremony, or the relevant expenses of any local minister or equivalent.
• In Bermuda, appointments of Justices of the Peace do not include authority to perform weddings, so they are not licensed to do so unless they are also a local minister or priest of a recognized church and licensed to perform weddings. Persons licensed by the Bermuda Government to conduct marriages are ministers of a particular religion with the sole exception of the Registrar of Marriages. 

Bridal Page and wedding gifts

It publishes in Bermuda on the last Tuesday of each month in the daily newspaper The Royal Gazette and the first Friday of each month in the weekly (Friday) Mid Ocean News. Currently, those advertising their services in the City of Hamilton or Town of St. George in these publications include:

It is suggested that gifts from the bride and groom for guests who attend a wedding should be handled by the hotel or guest house where the bride and groom are staying, or of none of the above headings apply - by consulting and dealing directly with one of the businesses to which we link in our website Best Buys in Bermuda.

Or, another idea to beat the wedding-present blues is to give the blissed-out couple a case of wine of their choice from one of the liquor stores. A neat and novel way to ensure the giver is toasted. There is not yet a bridal registry for wines such as the Wine Wedding List Company in the UK.

How marriages are celebrated

Bermudians, locals or visitors, celebrate marriages in various ways. One way is to see lines of private cars all with horns blaring, en route to the wedding. When they come into sight, most cars are of a single make. The cars carrying members of the wedding party have ribbons adorning their bonnets. The ribbons were British customs adopted in Bermuda. But many Bermudians and locals prefer horses and carriages - traditional Bermuda Surreys with the "fringes on top." A smartly-dressed carriage driver in a gleaming pith helmet, steers through the streets to the church a radiant, smiling, beautiful bride, with her immaculately attired father seated next to her.

When she smiles and waves to appreciative onlookers, the whole world wishes her well. Females watching the cavalcade get misty-eyed. After the wedding ceremony, the bride and her husband leave the church in the same way, clip-clopping to their changed lives ahead. Some nuptials - for locals only, who can persuade their church ministers to be there - are conducted on the pink sand of Bermuda's beaches.

Following behind them in more carriages to the wedding reception are the bride's parents, then the groom's parents in another, the bridesmaids and matron of honor in a third, and so on. Most local resort and small hotels have one in their gardens, as do the Bermuda Perfumery and Par-la-Ville Gardens in Hamilton Parish and the City of Hamilton respectively. 

Bermuda wedding cakes are usually culinary works of art. There are two, one for the bride and one for the groom. The bride's cake is usually a tiered rich dark fruit cake, laced with plenty of alcohol, iced with marzipan and silver leaf and topped with a small cedar tree to be planted by bride and groom as a sign of fertility. The groom's cake is a single layer pound cake again iced with marzipan, but with gold leaf. Especially when British expatriates are getting married, the wedding party and guests sing "For they are jolly good fellows."

Popular beauty spots and attractions make perfect backdrops for wedding photographs, for example, the Bermuda Botanical Gardens or Palm Grove Gardens in Devonshire Parish. Bermuda "Moongates" of particular appeal to newly-weds -  are  national symbols and features of parks, hotels and many private properties. Although Moongates did not originate in Bermuda - the custom was imported from the Orient by Bermudian captains of sailing ships in the latter part of the 1800s - they have become a Bermudian tradition for newly weds to step through together. The Lladro Bridal Couple figurine, imported, shown above is gorgeous. It illustrates the local tradition of honeymooners walking through a moongate to be granted their wish for peace and happiness. 

Another nice place - not country house elegant but certainly attractive and not as expensive - for a wedding reception is the Bermuda branch of Windreach Recreational Village in Warwick Parish.

For weather forecasts on your wedding day, you have a choice of two services. Try Bermuda Weather. Or e-mail info@bermudaweather.bm. Or phone (441) 295-9882 or fax (441) 295-6317. It has very good statistics on a day by day basis since 1988. For more general details, or for mariners, check the Bermuda Weather Service page. It is a Bermuda Government service, provided by the Ministry of Transport Department of Air Operations. 

Bermuda Wedding Cakes

Not much in vague now, but once a traditional Bermuda Wedding Cake was decorated in silver for the bride and gold for the groom. 

Honeymoon heaven

In a recent issue of "Modern Bride" magazine, it was noted that travel agents in the USA rate Bermuda as the seventh-best place in the world to tie the knot and for a honeymoon. Bermuda also emerged as number 5 in the top ten best places for romance. Bermuda was not rated in places with the coolest beach sites, best beaches, best bargains or hottest wedding party spots.

Marriage anniversaries

Birthstones, month & flowers of loved ones

Traditional Anniversary gifts

Marriage break-ups

Bermuda has one of the highest rates in the world of divorces. Details and records should be obtained directly from the Registrar General referred to above.

Marriage and/or engagement music

If not a local, but needing music, be aware you will not be allowed to import a musician, you must use someone local. They can be be expensive. If instruments need to be rented locally, try the Music Box, shown in Beautiful Bermuda in Music. Or, as a less expensive alternative, bring an Ipod or similar, with special pre-recorded violin or other instrumental or choir or duet or trio or orchestral music of the type you and your spouse jointly really like, to make the occasion as romantic as possible, especially if you have friends from home who are musicians. You do not need any technical knowledge to buy an inexpensive Ipod or equivalent and load it with your favorite wedding or other music. All you need are audio CDs of the music. For anyone on a budget, it may not be practical to employ a DJ in Bermuda to do what you can do so easily and inexpensively at home.

Some recommended music, by outstanding artistes:

Marriage rate

Bermuda has the highest rate per capita in the world, but not surprising as it is the fourth most densely populated place in the world. See Population.

Marriage Savers

It works through churches and synagogues in the USA and soon, beyond. It was founded by Mike McManus. For the vast majority of persons who get married in Bermuda but are from North America, this 4-year old organization has participants in more than 133 cities in 37 states of the USA. Persons interested in mentoring or saving their marriages should get in touch.

Marriage vows renewals

It is a matter of debate whether marriage vows renewals, when requested, should be as solemn as the original vows and at the same venue, before one's family and friends and with the same minister or at least in the same church pr place of worship; or not in that onshore location at all for mainland couples but in a romantic offshore location like Bermuda, more privately. There is no legislation or regulation in Bermuda affecting marriage vows renewals.  But it should be noted that unlike in the USA and other foreign countries where Justices of the Peace can perform both marriages and marriage renewals, in Bermuda they cannot. In general, the best policy, if you are a visitor by air is to ask where you are staying for advice and assistance. Or your ship's purser if you are a cruise ship visitor.

Overall, it may be possible, if you give adequate notice to the priest or pastor or rabbi concerned, to have this done in Bermuda, as it deals with those who are legally already married. If you are Episcopalian or Anglican,  refer to the Book Of Occasional Services, copyrighted by the Church Pension Fund. There are three forms of this service. If you are of any other religion, there may be similar services. They put a nice religious tone to a solemn contract for life. If you come to Bermuda on a cruise ship, ask the line if it is licensed to provide anniversaries of marriage or renewal of marriage vows.

Marrying a Bermudian

See Bermuda Laws.

Tip - if visitors, get married and then visit Bermuda

If you come to Bermuda on a cruise ship, ask the line if it is licensed by from where it sails or Bermuda to provide wedding ceremonies. Select the line that offers this service, in local or international waters. To date, 265 maritime marriages have taken place on ships that are not necessarily in Bermuda waters but are on cruise ships on the Bermuda Register of Ships - in other words, are registered in Bermuda. They include the cruise ships Grand Princess and Golden Princess, registered in May 2000 to conduct Bermuda marriages. They are owned by P&O, British, the oldest shipping line in the world. Its other ships are registered in the United Kingdom.

Bermuda is gorgeous as a place in which to get married but be aware that because of its remoteness, very small size, with almost everything imported, only 62,400 permanent population and other lack of economies of scale through no fault of its own and significant Bermuda Government import duties averaging 30 percent of wholesale value, it is very expensive by USA standards. See Cost of Living Guide. This is why so many Bermudians infinitely prefer to do their furniture, hardware, appliances, computer and wedding shopping in the USA. 

NB. Any visitor bringing in a wedding or any other gift valued or assessed at more than US$ 30 is liable to pay the Bermuda Government 30 percent in import duties on assessed or actual (based on receipts) value. Wedding guests arriving from other parts of the world are allowed to bring in, duty free, a maximum of 1 liter of alcohol per adult. Guests not sure of Bermuda's very tight restrictions re drugs, narcotics, other illegal imports and limitations in what they can legally import duty-free should read Illegal Imports.