Marriage to a foreign citizen

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If two people want to enter into marriage before a Swedish authority, an  inquiry will be made into whether or not there are impediments to marriage  under Swedish law. If neither of them are Swedish citizens or are  resident in Sweden, it must furthermore be ascertained that each of the  individuals has the right to marry under the law of the respective state
where he or she are either citizens or are resident.

However, the inquiry in  such cases may also be made applying only Swedish law, if both parties so  request and there are special reasons for doing so. There is a risk in some
cases that the marriage will be considered invalid in the other country.

One reason for this may be the fact that the inquiry into impediments to  marriage has been carried out in accordance with Swedish law and under  the law of the other country there are further impediments to marriage.

Another reason may be that banns are required under the law of the  other country. There may also be additional reasons, for example, that  the other country only accepts a particular form of wedding ceremony,  either church or civil ceremony.

The couple should therefore, before the marriage ceremony, fi nd out the  applicable legal rules concerning the marriage. Contact should be made  in the fi rst instance with the foreign citizen’s own embassy. The Swedish  Tax Agency can also provide some information.

The information that is provided below concerning the legal effects  of marriage and also the relationship between parents and children and  inheritance refers to Swedish provisions. It may be appropriate for those  who intend to marry a foreign citizen to obtain information from a lawyer  or other legal adviser concerning the consequences of marriage.

Source: Ministry of Justice