Valid Marriage sometimes not recognised in Ireland

[Brigid from Ireland]

Just a note to let everyone know that couples who are married need to be able to provide a valid marriage cert, and it must be valid under Irish law.

Some couples, particularly older ones, have no paperwork in respect of the marriage. This lack of paperwork causes major problems if one partner dies, as the widow finds difficulty in accessing occupational pension,social welfare pension and inheritance of property.

The easiest way around this is for such couples to marry again in Ireland, in a register office. In this manner there is no question regarding the validity of their marriage.

For couples from countries where it is possible for a man to have more than one wife, they should be aware that even if there is only one wife, she may find that because she married in a country where polygamy is possible, her marriage cert may not be recognised in Ireland. If this is the case, re-marriage in Ireland solves the polygamy issue.

I have seen these issues raised after one spouse dies, and nothing can be done at that stage to solve the problem, as it is impossible to solve the problem without the consent of both spouses. The deceased spouse cannot consent. This can mean that the widow loses hundreds of thousands because she cannot get the occupational pension.

[sierra]

v intersting we are married in pakistan if we came to ireland would consider to remaay as our certificate was issued from non eu state we have to send for translation and legalization by italian embassy in pakistan and its 2 months not done yet.
but if a maariage takes in eu only translation is req no legalization that makes a lot easier.

whats the process to get marry in ireland for non eu spouses of eu national and how thay can staify the registrar office why they want to remarried if they were already married in non eu country?

[Brigid from Ireland]

http://www.groireland.ie/getting_married.htm

The General Register Office has a website which lists the requirements for those who wish to marry, either in a civil or a religious ceremony. The current cost of marriage is €150.

In cases where a doubt exists as to whether a marriage performed abroad is recognised in Irish law, an application may be made to the Circuit Family Court for a ruling under Section 29 of the Family Law Act, 1995 as to whether the marriage is recognisable under Irish law.

It is important that you do this, because I am aware of children born in Ireland who were registered as being the child of unmarried parents, even though the parents married abroad, as the marriage of the parents could not be confirmed as being valid under Irish law. Both parents are listed on the birth cert, but their marital status was listed as 'single', which caused grave offence as the couple were married in their own religious faith, and it is considered a disgrace in their faith for a single woman to have a child. She was married, but the birth details for her child said differently.

I am also aware of cases where a widow was not permitted to inherit the house, or to receive the occupational pension her husband had paid into.The issue was only raised after his death, so they could not at that stage contract a valid marriage.