Moslem Marriage/Wedding Ceremony
General Requirements
If your fiance(e) is Moslem, the ceremony should be held at the Kantor Urusan Agama (“KUA”) or the Office of Religious Affairs.
These offices will issue a Marriage Book (“Buku Nikah”), which is evidence that you have legally married.
Persons wedded in a Moslem ceremony and issued a Marriage Book need not record their marriage with the Civil Registry.
Documents
The following are marital requirement documents if you having Moslem Ceremony:
Copy of passport;
Copy of Birth Certificate;
Letter of No Impediment, a sworn affidavit witnessed by a Consular Officer at the Embassy or Consulate General stating that the foreign bride/groom is legally free to marry. Your Indonesian fiance(e) must obtain a similar document from the government district office, or Kelurahan.
Copy of Divorce Decree (if applicable).
Passport sized pictures of you and your fiance with red or blue background.
Tax receipt or proof of tax settled (for foreigner who works in Indonesia).
Copy of KITAS (Temporary Residence Permit Card) or your visa, if applicable.
Citizenship letter and Endorsement Letter by Police (for those who live and reside in Indonesia).
All Documents written in foreign languages have to be translated into Indonesian by authorized translator.
Non-Moslem Wedding Marriage/Wedding Ceremony
An expatriate/Indonesian couple will experience two type of ceremonies. The religious part will first be performed followed by a civil ceremony. The religious part will conducted by a representative of the couple’s own religious belief (i.e., a Priest for Catholics, a Minister for Protestants, or a Celebrant for Hindu and Buddhist followers).
There will be two certificates presented at the end of ceremony, one from the church/temple/other, and the other from the Civil Registry Office.
General Requirements
If both you and your fiance(e) are Christian, Buddhist or Hindu, you must hold the church (or temple) ceremony first, then record the marriage with the Civil Registry.
The Civil Registry will in turn issue a Marriage Certificate which is evidence that you are legally married. A non-Moslem wedding which is not recorded by the Civil Registry is not considered legal.
There is normally a ten-day waiting period in order to register your marriage with the Civil Registry upon submission of all supporting documents. Recording by Civil Registry officials can sometimes be arranged directly at the religious ceremony for an additional fee.
Required Documents for a Non-Moslem Wedding
The following documents must be completed:
Copy of passport (both partners);
Copy of birth certificate (both partners);
Copy of proof of legal termination of any and all previous marriage i.e. Absolute Divorce Decree (If applicable) or Death Certificate;
Copy of passports of two witnesses;
Six identical 4x6 cm photographs of you together with your spouse (with the groom on the right side);
Letter of No Impediment stating that you are legally free to marry from Embassy in Jakarta;
Indonesian Police Certificate stating that your intend to get married in Indonesia and no-crime committed before.
Our thanks to Asep A. Wijaya of Wijaya&Co for this information
www.wijayaco.comNote: Countries outside Indonesia generally don't recognize the church issued marriage certificate as legal. It's fine inside Indonesia, but if you're planning on getting residency (or even a tourist visa) for your wife, you'll need the Catatan Sipil issued marriage certificate. As it's 80% in English, you shouldn't need to have much translated on it for future use.
Additional details
In accordance with Law No. 1 of 1974 concerning marriages in Indonesia Article 2 (1):
“a marriage is legitimate if it has been performed according to the laws of the respective religious beliefs of the parties concerned. All couples who marry in Indonesia must declare a religion. Agnosticism and Atheism are not recognized. The Civil Registry Office (Kantor Catatan Sipil) can record marriages of persons of Hindu, Buddhist, Christian-Protestant and Christian-Catholic faiths. Marriage partners must have the same religion, otherwise one partner must make a written declaration of change of religion.”
The Religious Marriage under Islam is performed by the Office of Religious Affairs (Kantor Urusan Agama), in a ceremony at a mosque, in a home, a restaurant, or any other place chosen by the couple and is legal immediately after the ceremony. A Christian, Hindu or Buddhist marriage is usually performed first in a church or temple ceremony.
Persons of non-Islamic faith are required to file with the Civil Registry Office in the Regency where they are staying first a Notice of Intention to Marry as well as a Letter of “No Impediment to Marriage” (Surat Keterangan tentang tidak adanya halangan terhadap perkawinan) obtained from their consular representatives.
For the issue of the Letter of No Impediment to Marriage by your Consular Representative you may need to present for yourself and your fiance(e) your:
certificate of birth,
certificate of your local council stating your nationality, legal address and marital status
Passport(s) valid for more than 6 months for foreign citizens, or KTP (Identity card) for Indonesian citizens, and
Certified Divorce Decrees (absolute/final) and/or Death Certificates regarding the termination of all previous marriages.
Surat kesehatan (letter of good health) issued by the foreign embassy/consulate stating that the expat spouse is in good health and able to marry.
Different countries may have different requirements, so contact the Consular Representative of your country in their Jakarta Embassy for details well before the intended date of marriage.
For the Notice of Intention to Marry you have to submit some or all of the following documents for both partners to the Civil Registry Office. (Show the original and give them a photocopy - all documents should not be older than three months prior to the wedding):
Certificate of the religious marriage,
Passport for foreign citizens,
Surat Tanda Melapor Diri (STMD) from the Police for the foreign spouse,
Photocopy of KK/KTP which has been legalized by the Lurah for Indonesian citizens,
Certified birth certificate, legalized and translated into Bahasa Indonesia,
Certified divorce decree (absolute) or death certificates regarding the termination of all previous marriages,
SKK from Immigration for the foreign spouse,
Proof that all taxes for the foreigner were paid,
Certificate of the structure of your family
Certificate of birth for all your legal children
Certificate of religion
Certificate of your marital status
Five 4 x 6 cm photos, both partners side by side, with a red background,
Foreign citizens: 'Letter of No Impediment to Marriage*' issued by your Consular Representative,
For Indonesian citizens: never married: a Surat Keterangan Belum Kawin from RT, Kepala Desa or Lurah (district chief)
Men aged 18-21 and women aged 16-21 require a parental letter of consent, signed across the RP 6,000 meterai/tax stamp.
2 witnesses, over the age of 21
Before the marriage, you and your fiance(e) would be strongly advised wish to file with the Civil Registry a prenuptial Property Agreement (Surat Pernyataan Harta) which must be signed before a local Notary Public. This contract is necessary if the Indonesian spouse wishes to hold property separately during the marriage. In the absence of such a document, Indonesian marriage law assumes joint ownership of property. Two witnesses over the age of 18 are required. They must show the originals and present photocopies of their passports if they are foreign citizens or KTP (identity cards) if they are Indonesian citizens. Civil Registry employees can act as witnesses.
The Civil Registry office has a Mandatory Waiting Period of 10 working days from the date of filing. This waiting period may be waived for tourists presenting a guest registration form (Form A). Islamic Marriage Certificates (Buku Nikah) issued by the Office of Religious Affairs (Kantor Urusan Agama) are legally valid in Indonesia and do not require registration with any other agency if you are going to live in Indonesia.
However, if you might move somewhere else in the future, get a marriage certificate issued by the Civil Registry and an officially certified translation right away (see below). All other Marriage Certificates will be issued by the Civil Registry usually on the same or next day. A sworn English translation of the marriage certificate should be obtained for use abroad. It may be necessary for the marriage certificate or translation to be registered by your Consular Agency. Or you may choose to have the sworn translation of the marriage certificate verified or a special translation made by the Consular Agency of your home country or the Consular Agency of your country of residence might prove useful.
*Letter of No Impediment to Marriage :
Bring the original of the following documents for both yourself and your fiance(e) to the Consular Agency. A certified document bears an original raised press seal or ink stamp from the official custodian of the original document, such as the state Department of Health Services or Family Court, not a notary public seal. A photocopy of a certification seal is not acceptable, although the document may be a photocopy, it must bear an actual raised seal or ink stamp.
Passport for foreign citizen and the KTP (ID card) for Indonesian citizen.
Certified divorce decrees (absolute/final) or death certificates regarding termination of all previous marriages.
Based upon these documents and an affidavit prepared by the applicant, the Consular Agency will issue a Letter of No Impediment, usually within a few minutes.
Basically the letter needs to say something like:
We have reviewed the legal documents and status of _______ and can find no legal reason that would prevent his/her from marrying again. She/He is legally single and has never married (or) is legally divorced (whichever is appropriate).
Basically the Indonesian authorities need an official letter from the foreign spouse's government that says that he/she is not currently legally married .. therefore he can marry the Indonesian fiance.
Process of legalization of documents
Legalization of all documents is done by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Kementerian Luar Negeri), Directorate for Consular Affairs - Legalization Section, Jl. Taman Pejambon 6, Jakarta Pusat
Then these documents have to be translated into Bahasa Indonesia by a certificate translator.
The translations have to be validated by the Ministry of Justice (Kementerian Hukum dan HAM), Legalization Section, Jl. Rasuna Said 3, Kuningan, Jakarta Selatan and also by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
When you finish all the paperwork detailed above, take it to your government's embassy in Jakarta where they can validate any necessary documents. In your home country, you can present these wide array of official documents to the local government to get a legal wedding certificate in your home country.
After reading through the extensive bureaucracy involved for foreigners marrying Indonesians ... you can see why a lot of them opt to marry overseas instead!