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Intermarriage

Moslem Marriage/Wedding Ceremony

in Indonesia

General Requirements

To be legally married in Indonesia

requires a religious ceremony.
According to Indonesian law, both
pa"ies must be on the same religion.
Each religion has di!erent
requirements, so the Indonesian
#ance needs to e in contact with their
religious body to #nd out what those
requirements are. A few that we
know:

If your #ance(e) is Moslem, the

ceremony should be held at the
Kantor Urusan Agama (KUA)
or the O$ce of Religious
A!airs.
These o$ces will issue a
Marriage Book (Buku Nikah ),
which is proof that you are
legally married.
Persons married through a
Muslim ceremony are issued a
Marriage Book and therefore do
not need to record their
marriage with the Civil Registry,
for Indonesian government
purposes.

Documents

The following are marital

requirement documents for a
Muslim Ceremony:

1. Copy of passpo"
2. Copy of Bi"h Ce"i#cate;
3. Indonesian authorities require
that all non-Indonesian citizens
obtain a Ce"i#cate of No
Impediment to Marriage
from their embassy prior to
conducting the marriage
ceremony in Indonesia. This
ce"i#cate serves as a sworn
a$davit witnessed by a
Consular O$cer at the
Embassy or Consular o$ce
stating that the foreign
bride/groom is legally free to
marry. The embassy may have a
pa"icular form that you must
complete, just contact the
consular o$ce and ask what
the procedure is. The
Indonesian #ance(e) must
obtain a similar document from
the government district o$ce,
or Kelurahan. Be advised that
these No Impediment
documents are only valid for 4
months
months.
4. Copy of Divorce Decree, if
applicable
5. Passpo" sized pictures of you
and your #ance with red or blue
background
6. Tax receipt or proof of tax
se-led (for foreigner who
works in Indonesia)
7. Copy of ITAS (Temporary
Residence Permit Card) or your
visa, if applicable
8. Citizenship le-er and
Endorsement Le-er by Police
(for those who live and reside in
Indonesia).

All foreign language documents

have to be translated into
Indonesian by an authorized
translator.

Note
Note: The Muslim traditional
marriage  Nikah Siri  IS NOT
ACCEPTED as A LEGAL
MARRIAGE by foreign
governments. For example, if
you follow nikah siri and then
try to get a visa to visit your
"spouse's" home country, you
will not be considered married,
and therefore you can not get a
visa on that basis.

Non-Moslem
Marriage/Wedding
Ceremony

An expatriate/Indonesian
couple will experience two type
of ceremonies. The religious
ceremony will be pe1ormed
#rst, followed by a civil
ceremony. The religious
ceremony will be 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 ce"i#cates

presented at the end of
ceremony, one from the
church/temple/other, and the
other which you will present to
the Civil Registry O$ce

General Requirements

A2er you hold the religious

ceremony, then you MUST
record the marriage with the
Civil Registry.  
The Civil Registry will then issue
a Marriage Ce"i#cate 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 a2er you have
submi-ed all the required
documents. Recording by Civil
Registry o$cials can
sometimes be arranged directly
at the religious ceremony for an
additional fee.

Documents

The following documents must

be completed:

1. Copy of passpo" (both

pa"ners)
2. Copy of bi"h ce"i#cate (both
pa"ners)
3. Copy of proof of legal
termination of any and all
previous marriage, i.e.,
Absolute Divorce Decree (If
applicable) or Death Ce"i#cate;
4. Copy of passpo"s of two
witnesses;
5. Six identical 4x6 cm
photographs of you together
with your spouse (with the
groom on the right side);
6. Le-er of No Impediment stating
that you are legally free to
marry from the foreign #ance's
Embassy in Jaka"a;
7. Indonesian Police Ce"i#cate
stating that you intend to get
married in Indonesia and have
not commi-ed any crimes.

Note: Countries outside

Indonesia generally don't
recognize the church
issued marriage ce"i#cate
as legal. The spouse visa and
Temporary Residence Permit
will be issued on the marriage
ce"i#cate issued by Civil
Registry or Catatan Sipil.

Additional details

In accordance with Law No. 1 of

1974 concerning marriages in
Indonesia A"icle 2 (1):

“a marriage is legitimate if it has

been pe1ormed according to
the laws of the respective
religious beliefs of the pa"ies
concerned. All couples who
marry in Indonesia must
declare a religion.
Agnosticism and Atheism are
not recognized.. The Civil
Registry O$ce (Kantor
Catatan Sipil) can record
marriages of persons of
Hindu, Buddhist, Christian-
Protestant and Christian-
Catholic faiths. Marriage
pa"ners must have the
same religion, otherwise
one pa"ner must make a
wri-en declaration of
change of
religion/conversion
religion/conversion."

The Religious Marriage under

Islam is pe1ormed by the
O$ce of Religious A!airs
(Kantor Urusan Agama), in a
ceremony at a mosque, in a
home, a restaurant, or any other
place chosen by the couple. A
Christian, Hindu or Buddhist
marriage is usually pe1ormed
in a church or temple.

Persons of non-Islamic faith are

required to #le with the Civil
Registry O$ce in the Regency
where they are staying #rst a
Notice of Intention to Marry as
well as a Le-er of “No
Impediment to Marriage" (Surat
Keterangan tentang tidak
adanya halangan terhadap
perkawinan) obtained from
their consular representatives.

Di!erent countries may have

di!erent requirements, so
please contact the Consular
Representative of your country
in their Jaka"a Embassy for
details well before the intended
date of marriage.

For the Notice of Intention

to Marry
Marry, you have to submit
some or all of the following
documents for both pa"ners to
the Civil Registry O$ce. (Please
show the original and submit
the copy- all documents should
not be older than three months
prior to the wedding):

Ce"i#cate of the religious

marriage,
Passpo" for foreign citizens,
Surat Tanda Melapor Diri
(STMD) from the Police for the
foreign spouse,
Photocopy of family card (Ka"u
Keluarga) and Indonesian ID
(Ka"u Tanda Penduduk) which
has been legalized by the Lurah
for Indonesian citizens,
Ce"i#ed bi"h ce"i#cate,
legalized and translated into
Bahasa Indonesia,
Ce"i#ed divorce decree
(absolute) or death ce"i#cates
regarding the termination of all
previous marriages,
Surat Keterangan Keimigrasian
(SKIM) from Immigration for the
foreign spouse

Kindly check the link

h-ps://jaka"apusat.imigrasi.go.id/layanan-
publik/surat-keterangan-
keimigrasian
Proof of payment of all taxes for
the foreigner
Ce"i#cate of the structure of
your family
Ce"i#cate of bi"h for all your
legal children
Ce"i#cate of religion (if the
spouse conve"s the religion
before marriage)
Ce"i#cate of your marital
status
Five 4 x 6 cm photos, both
pa"ners side by side, with a red
background,
Foreign citizens: 'Le-er 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
le-er of consent, signed across
the RP 6,000 meterai/tax
stamp.
2 witnesses, over the age of 21

Before the marriage, you and

your #ance(e) would be
strongly advised wish to #le
with the Civil Registry
a  prenuptial Prope"y
Agreement (Surat Pernyataan
Ha"a) which must be signed
before a local Notary Public.
This contract is necessary if the
Indonesian spouse wishes to
hold prope"y separately during
the marriage. In the absence
of such a document,
Indonesian  1974 Marriage
Law
Law   assumes joint
ownership of prope"y
prope"y. Two
witnesses over the age of 18 are
required. They must show the
originals and present
photocopies of their passpo"s
if they are foreign citizens or
KTP (identity cards) if they are
Indonesian citizens. Civil
Registry employees can act as
witnesses.

The Civil Registry o$ce has a

Mandatory Waiting Period of 10
working days from the date of
#ling. Islamic Marriage
Ce"i#cates (Buku Nikah) issued
by the O$ce of Religious
A!airs (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 ce"i#cate
issued by the Civil Registry and
an o$cially ce"i#ed translation
right away. All other Marriage
Ce"i#cates will be issued by
the Civil Registry usually on the
same or next day. A sworn
English translation of the
marriage ce"i#cate should be
obtained for use abroad. It may
be necessary for the marriage
ce"i#cate or translation to be
registered by your Consular
Agency. Or you may choose to
have the sworn translation of
the marriage ce"i#cate veri#ed
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.

*Le-er of No Impediment to
Marriage :

Bring the original of the

following documents for
both yourself and your
#ance(e) to the Consular
Agency. A ce"i#ed
document bears an original
raised press seal or ink
stamp from the o$cial
custodian of the original
document, such as the state
Depa"ment of Health
Services or Family Cou",
not a notary public seal. A
photocopy of a ce"i#cation
seal is not acceptable,
although the document may
be a photocopy, it must bear
an actual raised seal or ink
stamp.
Passpo" for foreign citizen
and the KTP (ID card) for
Indonesian citizen.
Ce"i#ed divorce decrees
(absolute/#nal) or death
ce"i#cates regarding
termination of all previous
marriages.

Based upon these

documents and an a$davit
prepared by the applicant,
the Consular Agency will
issue the foreign spouse a
Le-er of No Impediment,
usually within a few minutes.

Basically the le-er needs to

say something like:

We have reviewed the legal

documents and status of
_______ and can #nd 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).

Process of Legalization of
Documents

Legalization of all documents to be

used overseas is done with the
procedure as below:

Translated documents (ce"i#ed

translator) have to be validated by the
Ministry of Legal and Human Rights
Legalization Section
(h-ps://legalisasi.ahu.go.id/) à
Ministry of Foreign A!airs of the
Republic of Indonesia (legalization
section) à Embassy of the respective
country of the foreign
spouse/overseas residence

Legal Provisions for Mixed

Marriages under the 2011
Immigration Law

ITAS / Semi-Permanent
Residence Permit

With the passing of the  Immigration

Law  (Undang Undang 12 tahun 2006
tentang Kewarganegaraan), an
Indonesian spouse (husband or wife)
can sponsor a foreign spouse for
semi-permanent residence permit
(ITAS - one year stay). If you are newly
married, the foreign spouse will need
to get an ITAS to live in Indonesia.

Since the advent of the new marriage

law,  No 16 Tahun 2019 Tentang
Perubahan Atas Undang-Undang
Nomor 1 Tahun 1974 tentang
Perkawinan Semi-permanent
residence permit is possible for
legally married couples
couples, that is,
those who are married and registered
at the Kantor Urusan Agama or
Catatan Sipil o$ce as well as legally
registered in South Africa (DHA).
Those who are married abroad have
to make sure that their foreign
marriage has been registered at the
consular o$ce at the KBRI, KJRI or
KRI, or the Catatan Sipil o$ce in
Indonesia and that they have a Surat
Keterangan Perkawinan
Perkawinan.

The foreign spouse should obtain a

Visa Tinggal Terbatas (Temporary
Residence Visa) at the Indonesian
Consulate in their home country in
order to enter Indonesia. A2er
obtaining a Tanda Masuk (Entry
Permit), a foreign national who holds a
Temporary Residence Visa must apply
to the local immigration o$ce for an
Izin Tinggal Terbatas - ITAS
(Temporary Residence Permit). It is
also possible to enter Indonesia with a
Visa Kunjungan (Visit Visa) on arrival
and conve" this to an ITAS, although
the holder of a Visa Kunjungan must
be in possession of a ticket for a
return or onward 3ight in order to
obtain such a visa.

To receive the telex of ITAS (B317) for

foreigners who legally married to
Indonesian:

1. Request from the Indonesian

spouse
2. Proof of address in Indonesia
3. Copy of legalized unabridged
marriage ce"i#cate/buku nikah
4. Copy of marriage repo" at the
Civil Registry in Indonesia
5. Copy of ID – Indonesian spouse
6. Copy of family card (ka"u
keluarga) of Indonesian spouse

Once the telex is received, the South

African spouse must present it to the
Indonesian Consulate as well as the
following documents:

1. Valid passpo" (min. 18-

month validity for one-
year temporary residence
permit);
2. Filled application form;
3. One color ID-sized photo
4. Flight ticket (return)
5. Sponsor le-er from
spouse – includes the
proof of address in
Indonesia
6. Spouse's Indonesian ID
7. Bank statement with min.
balance in 3 months of
USD 1500
8. Legalized marriage
ce"i#cate and its legal
translation
9. Original unabridged
marriage ce"i#cate
10. VITAS TELEX

Alternatively, you can enter on a Visit

Visa (B211A) obtained from Indonesian
Consulate. Upon your arrival in
Indonesia, you may conve" it to an
ITAS. You can apply the conversion
online here h-ps://izintinggal-
online.imigrasi.go.id/Using_Guidance/jenisDokumen2.xhtml. 

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CONSULATE GENERAL OF THE REPUBLIC

OF INDONESIA
IN CAPE TOWN, THE REPUBLIC OF
SOUTH AFRICA

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 +27 21 761 7015
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