Marriage and civil partnership
Fees
If you are an Irish Citizen resident in Bulgaria and need a Certificate of Freedom to Marry ("Certificat de Coutume") find out how to begin your online application.
Making an application
Online questionnaire
To apply for a Certificate of Freedom to Marry, you must complete an online questionnaire about yourself and your upcoming marriage or civil partnership.
Statutory declaration
Based on this questionnaire, you’ll be presented with one or more statutory declarations to complete and a checklist of supporting documentation you'll need to submit with your application.
You need to:
- Print and sign your questionnaire.
- Print out a copy of each statutory declaration.
- Print out your checklist.
- Complete the declarations and have them witnessed.
- Post them to us with your supporting documentation, signed questionnaire and fee.
- Print off or save each form right after your online questionnaire, as you won't be able to retrieve them later.
When to apply
Submit your application a minimum of four months before the date of your marriage or civil partnership.
Your witnessed statutory declaration(s) cannot be dated more than six months before the date of your marriage.
Your application is not complete until we get hard copies of your questionnaire, statutory declaration(s), and all supporting documentation.
Supporting documents
Supporting Documents
Your checklist will tell you exactly what supporting documentation you'll need for your application, which may include:
- Your original long-form birth certificate
- Marriage and Death certificate of your previous spouse, if widowed
- Petition and final decree of your divorce, if divorced
- A photocopy of your current Irish passport
- Your original naturalisation certification, if naturalised
Translating your documents
You'll need to submit certified translations of any of these documents, if the originals are in a language other than English or Irish.
Getting replacement documents
We need original documents (except for the photocopy of your passport) to process your application.
Getting your documents back
We will return all your original documents to you after we inspect them.
Remember...
If you haven't included all the necessary documents, your application will be returned to you.
Witnessing your application
Witnesses
Your statutory declaration must be witnessed in the country in which you are ordinarily resident before you can submit it.
Who can be a witness?
Your witness must:
- Know you personally
- Know a third party personally who can identify you
- Be able to verify your identity through your official documents (e.g. a passport)
Applying in Ireland
Your witness can be:
- A notary public
- A Commissioner for Oaths
- A solicitor
Applying abroad
Your witness can be:
- A diplomatic or consular officer of Ireland
- A notary public
- A Commissioner for Oaths or someone authorised to administer oaths or declarations
Your witness needs to:
- Witness you completing and signing your Statutory Declaration(s)
- Complete and sign the relevant part of your Statutory Declaration(s)
Remember...
It’s against the law to make a Statutory Declaration that you know is false or misleading in any way.
Fees
Fees for making an application for Certificat de Coutume/Nulla Osta
Please ensure that the appropriate fee is included. If applying to the Embassy of Ireland in Sofia, the fee for issuing a certificate of freedom to marry is €60 per Irish applicant.
Late Fee
Applications submitted 28 days or less before the date of the intended marriage or civil partnership will incur an additional fee of €60 per Irish applicant.
Payment method
The Embassy accepts payments made in cash and by bank transfer. Payment by cheque, bank draft or credit card is not accepted. Here are our account details:
Bank Account Name: Department of Foreign Affairs
Bank Address: Bulgarian American Credit Bank, 2 Slavyanska St, Sofia
EURO Bank Account Number: BG48BGUS91601400836301
BGN account number: BG66BGUS91601000836301
SWIFT/ BIC: BGUSBGSF
IMPORTANT: When arranging bank transfer, please ensure that the name of the applicant is included in details of the transfer.
Apply now
We strongly encourage you to gather all the required documents prior to completing the online form – incomplete applications will not be accepted.
You can send your completed application to:
Embassy of Ireland
Platinum Business Centre
26 - 30 Bacho Kiro Street
Sofia 1000
Main Tel: +359 2 985 3425
Public Office
Monday to Friday, 09:00 - 16:30