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A Guide to Get Married in Indonesia

Hello FlokqJune 9, 2020

Are you planning to get married in Indonesia soon? If you are, then congratulations! In Indonesia, you’ll have to prepare certain documents before your marriage so you better be prepared. Not only that, but you will also have to know the law and rules before registering your marriage to the government. You must be having quite a hard time preparing all the necessary documents for the wedding. Especially if some of you have no idea about marriages because this is your first time preparing for all this. You may have trouble remembering where you should go or who you should meet when you’re preparing for the wedding. Well don’t you worry, we can help you with all that. We have made a guide on how to get married in Indonesia. 

Bring the necessary documents

Before you get married, you need to bring the necessary documents so that the government can make it official. Some of the documents that you need to bring are N1, N2, N3, and N4 letters. N1 is the certificate of marriage that’s given by the district office to both marriage applicants to register the marriage. N2 is the certificate of origin to take care of both applicant’s origin letters such as their personal information. N3 is the letter of approval of both applicants from the district office. N4 is the letter of requirement from both applicants’ parents that are the same as the N2. All these documents are necessary to be prepared before you the marriage. You can get them by going to the RT and RW office to get the offer letter first. After getting the letter, then you can visit the district office and get the documents. 

Giving the documents to the officials

After you have taken care of the documents, you can take the requirements of the marriage registration office. You can go to the Kantor Urusan Agama or the KUA to register your marriage. You will need a fee of IDR 30.000 to pay for the administrative cost for the registration. After registering, you will get a letter of marriage notification. The bride or groom’s consent is also important to be taken care of immediately. Because one of the conditions when you want to give the documents to the KUA. Make sure to let your bride or groom sign the letters before going to the officials.

Bring evidence of immunization

Before getting married, you need to bring the evidence of TT I and TT II immunization from the PUSKESMAS. There are a lot of people who want to get married that have not yet been vaccinated. This may be a problem as if you haven’t had an immunization you can’t get married yet. Some of the applicants sometimes are too busy with the wedding preparation that they forgot to get a vaccination. So make sure you get a pre-marital vaccine as it is included in the marriage requirements of the KUA. The only vaccines to be required by the KUA is the TT immunization groups of I and II. Only then that the KUA will give you a cover letter to take the bride-to-be. The vaccination will usually cost around IDR 20.000 so you don’t have to worry. 

Getting the court permission

This is only for the applicants that did not get their parents who did not sign the N4 letter. Since the letter is required for you to get married, you can get the court’s permission instead. If your parents did not give you their blessing, you don’t have a choice but to go to court. This is because one of KUA’s conditions to get married is to provide the certificate of marriage. 

Get the required documents if you’re future spouse is a foreigner

Only do this if your spouse is a foreigner and not an Indonesian citizen. It may take some time because you need permission from both countries to get married. You will need documents such as both applicants’ ID card photocopy and the foreign applicants’ passport and birth certificate photocopy. Since there are lots of documents to be seen by the embassy, it might take a few months to complete. You can make the process faster by providing all of the necessary documents beforehand. 

A permit from your superiors

This is only necessary for those of you who are employed in the police force or the army in Indonesia. Officers of the TNI and POLRI require permission from their superior officers to get married. You can as your superiors to give you a permission letter so that you can take a leave from duty. You can later give the letter to the district office to finalize the marriage certificate. It is very important as it is also one of the requirements of the KUA. 

Include photographs

You should not forget to include photographs as it is one of the requirements as well. You need to provide 3 copies of 3 x 2 photographs with a blue background. Both applicants must give their photographs so it can be registered by the KUA. You should wear neat clothes such as wearing a dress shirt for the men and a blouse for the women. You also have to take a photograph of both you and your partner together. The photograph will be used as the main picture for your marriage book. 

Pick the place for the ceremony

Determining the location of where you will proceed with the wedding ceremony is crucial. Not only will it be the place you will get married, but you also need a permit from the KUA. The KUA will permit you only if you have given your required documents. You need to give the KUA the letter of application for the place of the ceremony. Then they will allow you to use the place if it is acceptable by their guidelines. This is important because the letter of approval of the wedding ceremony place will determine your marriage. You will also need a letter of approval if the wedding ceremony is held in a different domicile as yours. 

So this is the guide to get married in Indonesia. We hope that this list can help you with your wedding preparations and don’t forget to check out our other articles on our blog!