Certificate of No Impediment

All British Citizens who wish to get married in Poland need to obtain a document proving their legal capability to get married  which is called CERTIFICATE OF NO IMPEDIMENT (CNI) - (zaświadczenie o nieistnieniu przeszkód do zawarcia związku małżenskiego) issued by the British Authorities.

1. If you live in Poland for minimum of 21 days (uninterrupted stay in Poland for 21 consecutive days), please come to the British Embassy, Consular Section in Warsaw, which will be able to issue you with this document.

You need to present in person: 

• your valid British passport
  
• 2 completed but not (not) signed forms: Notice of Marriage form and Affidavit form 
  
• original divorce decree absolute (in case of divorced British nationals) 
  
• original death certificate (in case of a widow/er)
  
• fees to be paid in zloties : Notice of Marriage - fee no. 10 and Affidavit - fee no. 11(ii) payable in cash at the time of application.

The applicant will be requested to sign a Notice of Marriage form and swear the Affidavit in the presence of a consular officer. The Notice of Marriage will be then displayed for 21 full days on the Embassy notice board. After 21 days, the Certificate of No Impediment will be issued in Polish if no impediment has been shown.

2. If, however, you live in the UK, please contact your local Registry Office in the UK, which should be able to issue a Certificate of No Impediment. When translated into Polish by a Sworn Translator it should be accepted directly by the local registry Office in Poland.

3. If you live overseas (neither in Poland nor the UK), please contact the nearest British mission and apply there for CNI. Under such circumstances, you will be requested to complete Notice of Marriage and Affidavit procedures at this British mission but the final Certificate of No Impediment will be issued by the British Embassy in Warsaw.  

Fee 12 should be paid at the overseas mission, but fee 13 should be paid in British Embassy, Warsaw

Please note:

-      that it is advisable to contact a local registry office or/and church in Poland to obtain information about documentation required to get married in Poland.

-      that British Honorary Consuls are not authorised to issue Certificates of No Impediment nor provide advice. Only the Embassy in Warsaw can do it.

-      some overseas British missions follow local law regarding marriage procedures. They will advise you accordingly.

-      enquiries regarding marriage procedures in Poland addressed to the Embassy will not be answered if information required can be found above.

-      if requested, the Certificate of No Impediment, when issued can be posted by a courier secure post but only to the address in Poland.

26 May 2011