Two foreigners can marry in Singapore if they have met the rules and requirements for marriage. Please visit the 'Our Marriage Journey' website for the rules and requirements.
If you or your spouse-to-be is not a Singapore Citizen or Permanent Resident and you intend to be married in Singapore, the law requires at least one of you to be present in Singapore for a minimum of 15 continuous days. These 15 days, which do not include the day of arrival in Singapore, can be fulfilled in a single visit made to Singapore at any time before the marriage application is submitted.
Once this requirement is fulfilled, you may proceed to submit your marriage application on the 'Our Marriage Journey' website (Civil Marriage). The marriage application must be submitted at least 21 days before your intended date of marriage.
Once you have submitted the application, a system-generated appointment date and time will be given for you to complete your Verification of Documents and Statutory Declaration (VD/SD) at the Registry of Marriages. This appointment is usually done 1 to 14 days before your solemnisation date, and both parties must be present with the relevant documents as stated in your Summary of Application.
Please note that current or former work permit holder who wishes to marry a Singapore citizen or Permanent Resident, should obtain approval from Ministry of Manpower (MOM) before proceeding to submit a marriage application. This is to ensure that the marriage application does not breach any work permit conditions.
If you have any enquiries regarding this matter, you may enquire directly with the Ministry of Manpower (MOM).
There is no provision in the Women's Charter (Chapter 353) that requires couples to re-register their overseas marriages, which includes "converting" or "endorsing" a foreign marriage certificate, in Singapore. In this regard, you are not required to re-register your overseas marriage with the Registry of Marriages (ROM) Singapore, in order for it to be recognised as a valid marriage. Re-registration of an overseas marriage is purely voluntary and administrative.
Generally, an overseas marriage will be recognised in Singapore if it was registered according to the law of the place in which the marriage was contracted. Hence, a marriage certificate which was issued by a competent authority of the relevant country, is a valid document and will be accepted as evidence of a marriage between the parties named in the certificate, unless there is reason to doubt the validity of the said marriage.
If there is any doubt on the legality of your overseas marriage, you may wish to seek legal advice from a lawyer.
Also, it is not necessary to re-register an overseas marriage with ROM for you to transact with Singapore’s Government agencies.
The Marriage Preparation Programme (MPP) is not compulsory but all Singapore Citizens who are marrying foreigners are encouraged to attend. It is attended before marriage and covers roles and expectations of the couple, communication, managing conflicts and in-law relationships within a cross-cultural context.
After attending MPP, there will be a follow-up programme, Marriage Support Programme (MSP) which is attended by couples after marriage. It covers managing finances and helps to enhance the couple’s understanding of cross-cultural issues. It also helps the foreign spouse better adjust and integrate into the community and link couples to available community resources.
Further, if you decide to apply for Long-Term Visit Pass (LTVP) for your spouse in the future, one of the requirements is the attendance of MSF’s marriage programmes.
