Getting married in Slovakia

I don't thinks its complicated although I didn't get married here but half my neighbours in Piestany are foreign men married to Slovak women. BUT I can tell you divorce in Slovakia is easy no waiting period but please please please protect your assets as the Slovak inheritance and divorce laws are tricky and unfortunately many marry foreigners to secure not only themselves but their families also.  Maybe not what you wanted to hear but with 60% of marriages here ending in divorce I'd say "protect yourself and know what you are getting into"

I can tell you about myself (US - foreigner to Svk) marrying my girlfriend (A Svk resident)

Are the procedures complicated?

The paperwork will be intense.

Try to obtain this before you even COME to Slovakia

Birth Certificate with an Apostille from the government agency that issues it. If your birth certificate does not explicitly state your parents names, birth places and birth dates then you will also need an affidavit in Slovakian stating all of that and that is true to the best of your knowledge and have it notarized. You can substitute that affidavit if you have a copy of your parents marriage certificate.

Then you get the birth certificate translated into Slovakian. (Also your parents marriage cert if you opted for that from the step above)

From your embassy or government you will also need an official document that you can marry legally and are not married already. For the US that can only be done, again, with an affidavit but this one must be signed by your consulate (I had to travel to Bratislava just to get this done) and then the signature of the consul must be verified at the foreign affairs office of the Slovak Republic. Oh ,and they only do that 3 days of the week. 


How long does it take to carry out all the formalities?

You will cut down greatly on the time you spent doing all of this if you obtain your documents before coming to Slovakia. Once you are here you will have all the extra work of coordinating the ordering of documents and making sure they get mailed properly Be prepared to baby step packages past the border and to an address you will be living at long enough to account for many unforeseen delays. Be prepared for extra days for getting your documents translated.

You will spend time traveling to submit your paperwork with your spouse in the marriage office geographically appropriate for the city your spouse resides or was born in. You wait 2 weeks for them to process it. During this time try to line up an official translator to be at your wedding if you are not a fluent Slovakian speaker. Be prepared for the delays of bureaucracy that will simply lie to you and put off your date till later on their own whims. (I was promised a date and found out today some guy went out of town so now I must wait an extra week.)

The delays add up quickly and will put you to the test if you're like me... on a limited 90 day stay for every 180 days. Then there is twice as much paperwork and another long process for living with your new spouse if you wish to reside with them in Slovakia.

If anything never make the mistake of doing research and thinking "Maybe they don't really need that." If you see a legitimate website on the topic and it says you need something else, you will. Period.

How can exactly I protect my self from these tricky things?
Your advice will be highly appreciated if you can tell what exactly I should do to avoid these troubles.

hi there, is there a simple process to discover whether a slovakian national is married already?, I have been in contact via the internet for the last two years, but have my suspicions that a woman who wishes to meet me is already married. Any tips gladly recieved