Getting married in Mongolia

Hi.

Wow!  A lot of participation on this thread, isn't there!  Jeesh.

I've never gotten married in this country, but I got married in Korea.  I'm sure that the procedures are similar.  If you are going to get married to a Mongolian national, then let her do the research.  It's really not that hard to get married, you don't even need a wedding.  A wedding is just a ceremony.  Getting married is a legal document, signed by you, your bride, and two witnesses.  It's that easy!  It's almost too easy.

Cheers,
And happy marriage!

P.S.
Does she have a sister for me?  (My Korean wife left me).

Ummm... getting married in Mongolia sometimes involves Mongolian men. I just got married, but with my marriage application in process (but now approved!) we just had a ceremony for the family. The civil ceremony in Darkhan is next. As far as the paperwork goes, it's a huge pain. I have the list of requirements translated in English if anyone is interested. It will be MUCH easier for the Mongolian national to complete the bulk of the requirements. The US embassy was less than helpful when I went to them for advice. They are only able to help with one document stating that I was not and had not been previously married. Gotta say... some Mongol resourcefulness will come in handy... knowing the right people for the right documentation and all.

Thank you LeonSunWuKong and wontoncruelty for your input

Aurélie

I didn't get married in Mongolia, but in order to get our US marriage recognized by the Mongolian government we did have to get a Mongolian marriage certificate.  This required our US marriage certificate (obviously), an official Mongolian translation of our US marriage certificate, and a couple visits to one of the government offices.  Most of the way through the process we were told we had to do it all over again since one of us was a foreign citizen, and apparently that is supposed to be handled by a different office.  So this is the only helpful tip I have on the subject: (assuming that the person reading this is a foreign citizen) when applying for the marriage certificate make sure they know it involves a foreign person so they tell you to go to the right place.  And yes, as wontoncruelty said it will be far easier to have your Mongolian fiancee lead through the process.  Just about every bureaucrat we ended up dealing with did not demonstrate any knowledge of English, and all the documents are written in and expected to be filled out in Mongolian.  Even if your Mongolian is pretty good, any little or innocent mistake or misunderstanding (whether yours or theirs) will likely create delays or a major headache, so best to have a native Mongolian with you to improve your chances of a smooth process.

Thank you nickbert for sharing

Aurélie

Here Here for Mongolian Husbands!!!

As for the too easy ... that all depends on who you know. We tried for months to get married in Mongolia, and they refused to give us permission, saying I had to go back to the US to get all sorts of medical tests done despite having lived in Mongolia for the previous 2 years. I know many expats who had gone through the entire process and not had problems...but that was not the case for us (and was ultimately why we came to the US and got married here).

If you do marry abroad, get your Marriage Certificate from the local Mongolian Embassy. It was a breeze! and so nice to be "officially" married in both our countries.

I got the blood tests done here in Mongolia, but we had some help from relatives who worked at the hospital... big help... in the end, it passed for the proper documentation! At some point I need to look into a marriage certificate that's valid in the US. It'll probably be just as annoying a process, with less "wiggle" room.

I fully suspect the answer you get depends on who you talk to.  A number of times dealing with bureaucrats in a few different departments I've suspected that they make up the rules on the fly if they don't know for sure (or make up new rules if they decide they don't like you for one reason or another).  In this case we were told I had to get blood testing (for infectious diseases) done for our Mongolian marriage certificate, but they said just get it done at any nearby clinic.  Which we did, and it was not only easy but also was FAR cheaper than similar testing in the USA. 

I suspect anyone who said the medical tests needed to be done in the US just made that part up, and in fact that would probably be the hard way since foreign documentation usually requires notarized translations and all that garbage.  When in doubt, find a different person in that department to talk to, or manage to dig up the actual rules yourself and bring them with you if the bureaucrat won't accept your documents.

The official written rules say that the tests need to come from your country of origin - so that is the "official" requirement. Unofficially, they will accept tests done here.

wontoncruelty wrote:

The official written rules say that the tests need to come from your country of origin - so that is the "official" requirement. Unofficially, they will accept tests done here.

Huh, I didn't expect that would actually be the official rule.  Though the fact that they frequently bend it or reinterpret it for their own convenience does not surprise me at all (at least this is one time that it results in a positive effect )

They also want your criminal records check to come from your country of origin, but you can get one from local police.

Hello everyone!

I need some advice on getting married in Mongolia on tourist visa. My significant other will be visiting in July for a month, and we would like to get married in Mongolia.

First question is, is it possible to get married in Mongolia on tourist visa? We know in UK, it is not allowed (we are planning that I move to UK after we get married which seems like the easiest way considering options such as fiance visa etc.,)

Secondly, what are the required documents to get married, for the foreigner? A certificate saying he is not married, criminal record and what else? (obviously identification documents)

I am also asking my family to look into it in Mongolia (I am abroad at the moment), but have no idea how it goes. If anyone can detail all the essentials, it would be great help!

Thanks!!

There's a website in Mongolian that has all the information you'll need. He doesn't have to have anything beyond the tourist visa. In addition to the criminal record and statement about previous marriages, he'll also need to have a health certificate that says he's had HIV screening and tests for other STDs. Getting a Mongolian marriage certificate will take a lot longer.

Thanks for your reply! Do you know how long it normally takes?

Took us about a month to get all the paperwork back once we submitted everything that was needed.

@wontoncruelty
  Hi..my fiancé and I are not Mongolian citizens...but he got a job and will start working there nxt month so we thought of having a civil wedding there...u said there's a website about all the info needed, may I know what the site is??? It surely will be helpful to us....
Thank u

The website is pertinent to Mongolian citizens marrying foreigners, so it probably won't be necessary for you and your fiance. A civil ceremony is easy if you have some Mongolian friends to help you navigate getting a venue. If you want a "traditional" ceremony, you'll want to hire a Moorin Huur player, maybe a singer, and someone to officiate. It really depends on what you want. I think the Wedding Palace in UB can coordinate all of that for you there, but if you want somewhere less expensive, it'll be like wedding planning anywhere else, you have to hunt for what you want.

Aahhh.....
But uhmm, by chance, do u have any idea about the requirements-- papers or whatever-- and how long does it usually take for non.mongolian citizens?
I'm really having a hard time searching on the net;(

That's what I'm saying, I'm not sure there's going to be any information for foreigners marrying foreigners in Mongolia. I guess there may be an issue for you if you tried to get a marriage certificate issued here.

I just got married in Mongolia.
The process is long and expensive.
because of bureaucracy I had to leave the same day I got my marriage certificate and to wait for an invitation for a new visa, with which I can apply for permament residence. Staying in Korea for 2 weeks and waiting costed me USD 2000, just because the bereucrats do not move their brains.
It's even more complicated for Japanese, Chinese and Koreans who have to fill a ton of documents.

If somebody needs any advice fresh from the oven, you can PM me.

Hi there. My mongolian fiance and i are planning to get married next summer. I would like to know some details about the process for civil and/ or church wedding if there is.  Im an expat on HG visa by the way. Other documents i have to prepare prior to our weding, and where/ hiw long and roughly how much is the ideal cost or wedding here. Thanks.

The cost of a wedding can vary. Depends on the size of your wedding, what kind of ceremony you want, and where you want it. Just like weddings everywhere around the world... You can have a civil ceremony (which will require paperwork from the governor's office of where you live) or you can have a ceremony just for family and register it later.

do you still have the list of requirements

I might somewhere, but it may be on my old laptop that a cousin has now. I'll look.

thanks, we are planning to get married in her home town Erdenet

Hi

I got married in Mongolia Oct 2002
Registered the marriage in Sweden after that

Divorced here in Sweden 3 years ago

Do I have to need to "divorce" in Mongolia too ?

/
Sven

I would imagine so, since there are legal issues around divorce here like alimony, custody of children and child support.

Hello wontoncruelty! Could you please contact me (ij.muise AT gmail) so that I can get those translated documents from you? My girlfriend and I want to get married in Mongolia. We are both from Canada and are just starting to look into it...

If you are both Canadian citizens then I don't think you need to jump through the same hoops. You can have a wedding ceremony here without the same legal documents.

I found the Mongolian part to be EASY. Getting all my paperwork from Germany took most of the time. It was not complicated to get the German documents, but it was a lot of paperwork. In order for the marriage to be valid in Germany, one must obtain a German marriage license first. It took us a year to get all the papers together and then the Mongolian part was a breeze.

Thanks for the info! We will keep that in mind.

@wontoncruelty: Could you send me the english version of the paperworks needed to get married in Mongolia? My Girlfriend is Mongolian. Please free to email me at [email protected].

Really Appreciate your help!!

I don't seem to have any of that info in a document anymore. I can't find it on my computer. I'll look for the Mongolian version online.

To get married is not that simple, at least not if you are in a hurry.  Even though my wife is a Mongolian lawyer it took quite some time to complete the required paperwork.
1 Current PASSPORT, with some empty pages plus some years left of validity.
2 ID, a UK or similar Driving Licence with a photo
3 Letter of employment
4 Proof of no marriage or a divorce is essential
5 Proof of no criminal record, it is suggested you need one from the local police in Mongolia too
6 Home address and proof of ownership, in your home city and abroad if applicable
7 BLOOD TEST, HIV TEST, HEPATITIS B and C
8 Passport photos, bring several or lots
Unless you have all your papers in order there will be a delay.
If you need advice please Email [moderated :no advert on the forum please]. We have been through it the system, often it is who you know in Mongolia that opens doors.

@ANWNewman hello, my partner and I are planning to get married in Mongolia this summer. My partner is a British citizen and I am Mongolian. However I grew up abroad and feel quite unfamiliar with the rules and regulations. Would you be able to give more information if there are new changes and what exactly we need and etc. As I cant find anything about marrying a foreigner in Mongolia. It all seems to be about mongolian to mongolian.

Currently we are obtaining CBC (criminal background check) and planning to get the tests done in Mongolia. However where do we go and who do we speak to? We are just so clueless. Any help and info means a lot! Thank you in advance.

Go to your district office if you live in UB, where you register a marriage and residence. They will have a list of what's required, the things that have already been mentioned here. It's not that difficult and certainly doesn't require the assistance of a legal professional. It's just a matter of collecting the paperwork.

Hi, anyone who went through a German/Mongolian marriage? My german bf and I are considering, and finding out about the required paperwork and especially how long it would take is pretty messy. Apparently the options are to submit whichever necessary documents in Germany and wait for them to give me a 'marriage visa', or for him to come here and for us to get registered here and then get it approved by germany???
Can anyone tell me anything more specific about this, especially regarding how long the process may take?
Thanks!

and wads of cash!