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Thousands of marriages in foreign embassies declared illegal in Ireland

By
DONAL THORNTON,
IrishCentral.com Staff Writer

Published Wednesday, March 10, 2010, 8:19 AM
Updated Wednesday, March 10, 2010, 8:48 AM

 

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Thousands of foreign couples that married in their respective national embassies in Ireland have had their marriages declared illegal by the Irish government.

The move by the Irish government has sparked diplomatic rows with non-EU and EU member states.

Spain is the current holder of the EU presidency and has been asked to resolve the issue with the Irish government.

Ireland's General Register Office has informed all foreign embassies that marriages performed in consulates will only be recognized if they conform to Irish law.

According to Irish law, a marriage must be performed by an authorized registrar and must take place in a licensed building which is open to the public. The law was introduced in November 2007 and all marriages that have taken place in an embassy since then are declared invalid.

The Polish embassy has performed over five hundred marriages and the Lithuanian embassy has performed more than one hundred. It is estimated that over 3,000 couples will be affected by the government’s decision to declare consulate marriages illegal.

“The problem is no one warned us that it was illegal to marry people at the embassy," says Natalia Baceviciene from the Lithuanian embassy.

The Irish government’s decision also has tax and inheritance repercussions, as
couples cannot register their child's name under the names of the married parents.

"Our son Kamil is two weeks old and we can only register his birth as single parents since the Irish Government does not recognize our marriage," said Polish mother Adam Goraj.

The EU and Department of Foreign Affairs are meeting to resolve the issue.

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6 Comments

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Posted by murphy666 on Mar 12, 2010, 11:10 AM EST
I didn't think that Polacks ever married.
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Posted by irishathens on Mar 11, 2010, 11:28 AM EST
Jar...the reason they're getting married in their various embassies is an astute way to ensure all children of that marriage wil be entitled to nationality and therefore passports of that country.
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Posted by jacersisityourself on Mar 10, 2010, 04:46 PM EST
I agree irishathens... isn’t every embassy regarded as part of that emabassy’s country? At least I thought so. However, the law passed in Ireland in 2007 was enacted to stop sham marriages between Irish citizens and foreigners (mostly Africans and East Europeans) seeking a means to live here, obtain Irish citizenship and avail of generous Irish welfare benefits. (Some Irish women shamelessly accepted payment from a future spouse to enact marriage and have babies by them). IAP is guessing rightly. If any embassy in the world sees itself part of its country, then it is not a place open to the public, which the law of 2007 states is necessary for legal marriage in Ireland. I hope it is resolved quickly for the genuine marriage people. Now the question – why get married on ‘foreign soil’ behind doors closed to the public when there are plenty of places in Ireland to do so openly? Is there some underhand intention in going behind closed doors for marriage in Ireland and if so, what would that be?
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Posted by IrishAndProud on Mar 10, 2010, 03:03 PM EST
I don't know the specifics but it could be that folks were using these marriages (whether wittingly or not) as a stepping stone to full Irish citizenship, complete with fully-recognised marital benefits under Irish law...and the Irish authorities simply are closing a loophole which was being abused. Heaven knows they have a MAJOR illegal alien problem (which they cannot afford now, especially) and pehaps they're trying to crack down, a bit.
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Posted by kickstar on Mar 10, 2010, 02:58 PM EST
If Ireland says it's not Legal, That's it. Who would be arguing about this if the US or UK came up with it?? But because it's Ireland....Then lets challenge it they can't be right ...They are dumb..etc etc.
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Posted by irishathens on Mar 10, 2010, 12:03 PM EST
I cannot understand this. An Embassy is not considered Irish territory. These couples married in their own country and relevant papers are given to them. These marriages are perfectly legal. What is maybe not legal is the change in immigration status.
 


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