How to Marry a foreigner in India - Religious Conversion? Special Marriage Act?

In this vlog I explain the intricacies of getting married to a foreigner in India. The process is quite complicated and I would recommend getting legal help to make the ride a little smoother. Since the personal laws in India are religion based, it can become quite an annoying process to marry across religions. The Special Marriage Act 1955 is supposed to help with this but the process is very convoluted.
We got married in Oct 2019 in Visakhapatnam but we had to run around a lot sorting out all the issues with the Indian bureaucracy. But if we could do it, so could you . That is, if you are in a similar situation :)
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Namaste friends 🙏 My name is Johanna and I'm an Indian wife, living and travelling in India for almost 4 years now. I'm originally from Finland, but currently we are settled in northern Kerala. I'm not a traveller, but vlogging and discovering India - 21/29 states.

[@lynda.grace.14]

Well done, Johanna and Vinod. This will be most helpful to people who are considering an international and interfaith marriage in India. It is always better to have knowledge of what you will face than to be surprised with some requirement that will (of course) screw up your timeline and cost more money. People who wish to get married in India now know that it's a long process with lots of complications, documents, travel costs, living expenses as well as fees to lawyers. You both looked very beautiful on your wedding pictures. Bless you for lighting a candle under Vinod about his wedding style choices! But Johanna, you look more and more beautiful every day as your pregnancy advances. Your instagram photos of your "kidnapping" were stunning and exceptionally radiant. Please, don't let any comments/shaming about your weight gain get you down. People often forget to consider the sensitivities of others when they say the things they do--even doctors. And that is exacerbated by cultural conditioning. My Canadian friend who had her baby in Japan was constantly harassed by the medical professionals because Japanese doctors want babies to be 7 pounds (3.175 kg) or less and Japanese women are encouraged to diet during pregnancies. Whereas in other cultures women regularly deliver happy and healthy babies over 8 pounds (3.6 kg). You do you!

[@JohannaNorth]

Thank you so much again for your comment, Lynda!

[@sairamji115]

@@JohannaNorth yuup Johanna not too woory abot weight gain during , eat healthy as much as you can , how much healthier you eat , healthier wilk be a child

[@krism3876]

@@JohannaNorth Not an expert; but for some, after delivery the skin contracts too much showing wrinkles and layers of skin (stomach); Don’t know if the wrinkles increase if one is more fatty and becomes slim again after delivery- anyway child and mother need to be healthy - beauty of skin is not of that priority for a mom

[@JohannaNorth]

@PANKAJ JOSHI You clearly didn't listen to what I was talking about. There are two options to get married in India. Either by religious marriage acts or Special marriage act. We were denied the right to marry by Special marriage act in Jaipur/Delhi, which meant that our only option to get married in our necessary schedule would've been for me to convert to Hinduism, which Arya Samaj does allow. I'm not a Christian so that has nothing to do with this. Anyways, we were denied the option of conversion in Jaipur too, and since we couldn't get married there in the presence of my husband's family, we chose to not go to a Delhi Arya Samaj either for conversion and a Hindu wedding, because we don't have any family or friends there. We went to Visakhapatnam where my husband worked and we lived for 3yrs and they allowed us to get married by Special marriage act there. Point being, if a district doesn't allow you to get married by Special marriage act, the only option to get married is either conversion or filing an appeal in the court, but we didn't have time or energy for a lengthy court case even if our rights were being violated. I suggest you read about the Hindu organisation Arya Samaj which does allow conversion.

[@krism3876]

@@JohannaNorth For using Special Marriage Act, Andhra, Tamil Nadu or Kerala better-

[@rameshnarayanan2757]

Johanna and Vinod has overcome lots of hurdles with commitmment and love. I wish them all the best.

[@giovannaquilici2194]

Getting married in India is a very chaotic issue!! Good for you who managed to do it and to cope to all these difficult questions....

[@TejaswiniRathi]

I randomly found your account 2-3 days back...but in last 2-3 days I watched all your videos...loved your videos and your voice...congrts on your pregnancy ❤️

[@JohannaNorth]

Thank you so much 🥰 this really warms my heart!

[@pieratesofcarribean]

Hi Joanna!!! I really apologize for such an horrible experience. Marriage is something that should be something much more smooth and easy in every manner. So that couples can start their new life together as soon as possible but because issues of the past things are like this much complicated. Criminal certificate is just NOC from Police Station wherever you are residing at either in India or in Finland. But yes slowly system is improvising, Digitalizing itself. Congratulations on your marriage and may God bless you both. As soon as you start to adapt Indian lifestyle you will get used to this system. But right now first thing you should do is to get AADHAAR Card which is Unique Identication ID number in India and Pan Card for tax purposes. This two Ids work everywhere in India.

[@JohannaNorth]

Thank you so much for the support 😊 I've spent 4 years already in India and I can say that I will never get used to these kinds of things that purposely make living difficult for normal people. Not just for a foreigner but Indian people too! These things really bother me which is why I want to work on improving them. Criminal record isn't actually anything that is required as per the special marriage act. Also, making up this kind of random requirement suddenly just screws up the whole schedule when under visa rules I'm only allowed to be in the country 90 days continuously before marriage. Even before application 30 days + 30 day notice period. It would take me at least two more weeks to get some random unnecessary documents from Finland, and I wouldn't be able to marry in that 90-day period.. 😔

[@VinayKumar-db4qz]

I think the system just wants to give a glimpse of what it is like after marriage.

[@JohannaNorth]

I don't know if that makes me laugh or cry 😬

[@knightofgodserventofholymo7500]

You should not tell this to any girl..only men can understand such jokes

[@JohannaNorth]

@PANKAJ JOSHI You clearly didn't listen to what I was talking about. There are two options to get married in India. Either by religious marriage acts or Special marriage act. We were denied the right to marry by Special marriage act in Jaipur/Delhi, which meant that our only option to get married in our necessary schedule would've been for me to convert to Hinduism, which Arya Samaj does allow. I'm not a Christian so that has nothing to do with this. Anyways, we were denied the option of conversion in Jaipur too, and since we couldn't get married there in the presence of my husband's family, we chose to not go to a Delhi Arya Samaj either for conversion and a Hindu wedding, because we don't have any family or friends there. We went to Visakhapatnam where my husband worked and we lived for 3yrs and they allowed us to get married by Special marriage act there. Point being, if a district doesn't allow you to get married by Special marriage act, the only option to get married is either conversion or filing an appeal in the court, but we didn't have time or energy for a lengthy court case even if our rights were being violated. I suggest you read about the Hindu organisation Arya Samaj which does allow conversion.

[@anushkadev2355]

My brother just got married to a polish girl and you guys remind me of them ❤️❤️

[@JohannaNorth]

Aww thank you 😊🙏

[@anushkadev2355]

@@JohannaNorth we love you stay safe ❤️❤️

[@gauravchaturvedi6080]

@@JohannaNorth my mother is Russian ma'am she was a protestant but now a Hindu🤗🤗🙏🙏 I took all the good things from both cultures.....huge respect to u😎🙏🙏

[@F-22RAPTORr]

@@gauravchaturvedi6080 you father is not at all deserved to live in this 21st century.

[@selvandraramasamy6636]

@@F-22RAPTORr y?

[@RDnAC]

You can always go to Finland in the future and have another design wedding so you can wear a beautiful gown or whatever and your family and friends there can go and you can write your own vows and do it in some beautiful natural spot so it will feel magical. You can have someone you respect that’s cool do the ceremony and they don’t have to be ordained because you’re already legally married anyway. You’re baby can be part of the ceremony. 💝

[@JohannaNorth]

That was the initial plan for two separate celebrations with our families, but now it doesn't even really feel that important anymore after a year of marriage already and a baby on the way 😔 it was really important for me to do it with family when the wedding really took place, especially because my father had passed away just 4 months earlier. We still wouldn't get to go to Finland or have our families together in a long time and to me it's somehow odd thinking about a wedding party after being married for such a long time already 😁 but we'll see how we think about it in the future!

[@RDnAC]

I get you Johanna. Sometimes people also do renewal of vows on an anniversary too if you guys felt like you wanted to do that some day.

[@Mrtribru69]

Hey Johanna. Nice video with information about special marriage acts and all those terrible paperworks. I think what they meant about "criminal records" is, a certificate of clearance from the police department from the Finnish government that you have no criminal records there. I am an Indian man living in Belgium past many years. I also had to get such a certificate from India....police clearance of any criminal records, then....my birth cetificate, my domicile certificate in India etc. All these certificates had to be Notarised in India, then attested by the Home ministry in India, then all these certificates to be legalised at the Belgian embassy in Mumbai...to prove that all my certificates from India were legal. So, it was lot of paperwork as well...before moving to Belgium. Even in this Schengen country, for any document, I need a "Domicile" or a permenant adress and of course my ID card. I just do not understand why religion is important in these Marriage acts. I have family members from Kerala Hindus, who got married to Muslim boys or girls, or Christian girl or boys without any issues or fuss or any mobs objecting to it. They avoided any religious ceremonies during the wedding....nor any conversions. But I do not know about the paperworks they had to do to register their marriages legally. By the way, your husband looks so South Indian! Lol..you both look lovely and great on those pictures. Cheers

[@JohannaNorth]

At least in Finland the domicile/permanent address is considered the same as your primary residential address, which we did also provide in our marriage application here in the form of gas bills/C-form (in Finland they just check it in the citizens' database). But for some reason this is considered a different thing than a domicile in India. It's not reasonable to expect a person to have an address of 7 years to provide for marriage procedures. And whatever this criminal record/certificate of clearance is, it's not stated anywhere as a necessary document for Special Marriage Act application. If it had been, I'd have no issue against it being asked. But randomly requesting something I need to get from the other side of the world in a very limited timeframe is completely unreasonable and stalls the marriage procedures for several weeks :/ I'm very happy if there are couples who have no issues getting married in this way! Like I said, it was also very smooth for us in Visakhapatnam. But Jaipur made it impossible. I can imagine it being easier in a tolerant state like Kerala :)

[@Mrtribru69]

@@JohannaNorth . Thanks for your answer. Yes, I guess at Jaipur they just made it seem difficult seeing you are an European ( they all think any "white" foreigner or foreign returned Indians...have lot of dollars , having money trees in our garden). They expected you to churn out some money under tables to get things done! Unfortunately that is what happens in places like India or elsewhere in developing countries. Of course, there are many inter caste , inter religious couples in Kerala....at least in my family or neighbourhood there were no issues at all, nor people around us...except initial disagreements ( some years back). One of my cousin's son got married last month to a Christian Orthodox girl...no religious ceremonies, no issues at all. All happy.

[@raviroshan2976]

@@Mrtribru69 brother you better not try to be over smart by saying jaipur people think she have to much money if she have the court dont want her money they only say they cant marriages under special marriage act i think u dont know about the rule now vinod can marry another girl but if u marriage under hindu marrige act the men cant marry another girl till they dont get divorced so it is good to marriage under this ok bloody kerala communist fucking terroist we all know how much terroist come out from kerala every yearand how keralities sell their daughter to the sheikh of dubai for 3 year for money and change their religion to work on the middle east countries

[@mech3694]

Great video Johanna..🤩👍👍🙏, ur relationship with Vinod indeed shows ur true love towards him!! 😊👍👍🤩🤩,God bless u both,amazing couple..👏👏 Thanks for making the video! I was wondering to watch this video at the beginning or not,then saw the whole video, its ain't applicable to me😂😂😉😉😂😂😂, cos I wanna be single and lead a spiritual life..😁😁🙏🙏🙏

[@JohannaNorth]

Hahaha that's what Vinod thought before he met me 😉 he doesn't really consider himself to be a relationship person, but rather an independent free spirit but you know things can change 😂 anyways, I think even for Indian nationals it's good to have greater understanding how the legal system "works" in different situations 😒

[@mech3694]

@@JohannaNorth yeah, indian rules even I find it weird, cos at the end of the day we are all humans ,just from diff places,and about the notice period and publishing the details aren't correct, hope the system changes in a good way in upcoming days.🙏🙏🙏

[@dashsunil]

Beautiful people. God bless you and the baby 🥰

[@JohannaNorth]

Thank you so much 🥰

[@shubhasrimishra8898]

Such a complicated process. Kudos to you both for overcoming this and getting married, finally. Stay happy. May God bless you.

[@JohannaNorth]

Yes, thank you!! :)

[@oshadeena3079]

You both are one of the most beautiful couples that I have ever seen. Johanna you look amazing in the photos of the wedding day. Stay blessd❤️

[@JohannaNorth]

That is so sweet of you! Thank you so much 🥰

[@firstsecond98]

Just seeing Johanna itself makes my heart delight for no reason. She is really pleasant person .😘😘😘😘😘😘😘😘😘😘😘

[@bhoogewerf2823]

In my opinion a civil marriage should not require details of faith. It is just a legal record of the marriage. I've had friends who got 'married' in front of the Registrar (civil marriage) in Bombay. A couple of months later they had their nuptials (both are Catholic) followed by a reception for family and close friends. Vinod is a man of principle and seems very respectful. I agree with him that religion is a personal choice and not a thing of convenience. Stay safe. Stay blessed.

[@mellow_cake2020]

Is there a difference between a civil marriage and a special marriage? And if one of the party is a foreign citizen Can they proceed with civil marriage please?

[@gursimreetbhatia5925]

Your vlogs are amazing!👏👏❤️ Love watching your content😃🤗🙌

[@JohannaNorth]

Thank you so much 🥰

[@udayansingh159]

You are fantastic and so real....love watching your videos. They are as honest as they come. Bless you

[@ms-lr5vn]

Omg.. girl this was some adventure. I intend to have a very very small wedding at the local registrar general office when the time comes. If not then i just call my local pastor and do it at home. As an event planner who has done hundreds of weddings i wouldnt have it any other way

[@JohannaNorth]

That sounds like a wonderful plan! We originally wanted to get the court proceedings done in Jaipur with vinod's family, so we could afterwards have a nice lunch and then let my mother-in-law perform some rituals for us. Just a very small, intimate thing. Maybe take them with us for a holiday later on to celebrate in a bit more special way. And we wanted to travel to Finland this year and have my family and a few friends there for a small outdoors celebration. Obviously none of it happened and now it really doesn't even feel that meaningful with a baby on the way and after a year of marriage.

[@ms-lr5vn]

@@JohannaNorth 🌹🌹🌹🌹

[@KuldeepSingh-yy7qq]

After all the hurdles Finally got married . congratulations ❤️❤️

[@JohannaNorth]

Thank you 😊🙏

[@dorotaross2015]

Thank you for making this extremely important video for for the ones who are considering marrying in India. Beautiful dress you have on Johanna ❣️

[@madhupkumar9677]

at last happy ending. Joyful narration.

[@diva6592]

I’m so sorry Johanna to have to tell you this and I totally understand why this happened. I’m a British national and a Catholic and I married a keralite hindu. We had a Hindu wedding at the temple thinking it was ok to register but we was misinformed on the procedure after the wedding. Basically to register at the registry office all we needed was proof of wedding ie venue confirmation, photos, and other ID. They placed a notice for 30 days for anyone to make an objection and registered the date of the actual marriage date. You can still have the ceremony if you like at a temple with Vinod’s parent present when they next visit. I don’t know what form you filled in as there is no personal details except names and age. No address or tel numbers so I don’t know what happened.

[@IMAlive86]

Hii so is that you are converting in hindu? My fiancé is polish please help me with some info

[@IMAlive86]

Hii so is that you are converting in hindu? My fiancé is polish please help me with some info

[@rishic6701]

Its a great video and a guiding factor to be aware of the pitfalls for a foreigner marrying in India. I will be forwarding this video to my friends who would have committed this mistake. And congratulations and Happy Anniversary in advance.😃👍

[@JohannaNorth]

Glad it was informative! And hope it'll be of great help to your friend :)

[@deepkrish2005]

My husband and I got married 15 years ago in India and we had to go through an obstacle course of Indian bureaucracy. My husband was an American citizen of Indian origin. I can kind of relate to your situation.

[@JohannaNorth]

I can only imagine how the bureaucracy would've been back then! One would hope the situation would improve as years go by.. :)

[@patrikbilic9322]

Hey did you need to do court in both countries America as well as india or just in india?

[@deepkrish2005]

@@patrikbilic9322 We just did India.

[@balakuntalamsridhar5789]

My wife and I married under Special Marriages Act some 47 years ago in Bengaluru though both of us were born in Hindu families. We are socially Hindus but not by faith. Parents on both sides were supportive and our mothers together with my professor and mentor, Dr. H. Narasimhaiah signed as witnesses. My point is, if two consulting adults of sound mind decide to marry it is no one else's business. It is a pathetic way of adults poking their noses into someone else's life and bureaucrats finding it an opportunity to justify their existence and lining their pockets.

[@thinkgreat6235]

Must've been really difficult to get through it all but seeing you happily celebrating your one year wedding anniversary makes worth it! Happy Anniversary to both of you Johanna and Vinod! And I really wish to see you both getting married again in presence of your families some day♥️

[@JohannaNorth]

Thank you so much Mayuri 🥰 we'll see if we want to celebrate in the future, once we've recovered from all the bureaucratic hell 😂

[@surjochoudhury3960]

Make a collab video with Anniina Vivian...it will be great to see u together..coz u r both from the same country finland...and both are living in kerela...with an indian husband ❤️

[@jjjishjanardhanan9508]

True fact

[@Vidiotfilms]

Wow... thanks for being honest and talk of real stuff about india..may be these govts and people can understand from a foreigner

[@PI650]

I just realized that I am stuck at 1st step only😂😂😂. Informative video👍👍

[@JohannaNorth]

For tips on that you can check the vlog about our love story lol 😂😂🙏

[@PI650]

@@JohannaNorth 😂😂

[@SGSS974]

Nothing Will be an obstacle,if there is true love .

[@JohannaNorth]

Hopefully so, we're at least determined to prove that :)

[@firstsecond98]

@@JohannaNorth no need to prove . Just feel it . That's enough 😘

[@abcnews7720]

@@JohannaNorth where's Johanna from.

[@aviator9985]

God Bless you two. Congratulations and lots of good Luck and prosperity to you two on the occasion of your wedding. Mrs. Johanna and Vinod, I personally feel that the best memories are the beginning of a Marriage Ceremony. Johanna, you looked so Beautiful and adorable in your beautiful wedding reception dress and matching purse and shoes. Vinod Ji!, all I have to say is you could arrange a proper Indian Wedding ceremony with your and her family at Jaipur. My sincere best wishes and blessings to both of you. Take care!

[@JohannaNorth]

Thank you so much :) We'll have to see about celebrations in the future. Now we're more focused on this pregnancy and celebrating it! :)

[@sillysilky02]

Thank you for this information. We'll definitely drop the idea of getting married in India and look for alternatives.

[@pauline6005]

Wow that was a lot to go through. But i bet your finally glad you did. I found a UK government link fir myself and if me and mg boyfriend choose to marry. We need to register in both country's. Did you not need to register. In Finland as well ?

[@JohannaNorth]

We're still in the process of getting registered in Finland. We meant to travel to Finland in June and do it then, but unfortunately Covid... :/ I've been trying to find out from the embassy how I could do it from here, but the Finnish Embassy in Delhi doesn't offer good service at all... If we were able to do it in Finland, it would be a piece of cake, but who knows when I'll be able to travel next. Really good that the UK govt offers more info on this!

[@pauline6005]

@@JohannaNorth oh it doesnt go in depth. Im sure its not as plain sailing as the government website are putting it lol

[@JohannaNorth]

​@PANKAJ JOSHI You clearly didn't listen to what I was talking about. There are two options to get married in India. Either by religious marriage acts or Special marriage act. We were denied the right to marry by Special marriage act in Jaipur/Delhi, which meant that our only option to get married in our necessary schedule would've been for me to convert to Hinduism, which Arya Samaj does allow. I'm not a Christian so that has nothing to do with this. Anyways, we were denied the option of conversion in Jaipur too, and since we couldn't get married there in the presence of my husband's family, we chose to not go to a Delhi Arya Samaj either for conversion and a Hindu wedding, because we don't have any family or friends there. We went to Visakhapatnam where my husband worked and we lived for 3yrs and they allowed us to get married by Special marriage act there. Point being, if a district doesn't allow you to get married by Special marriage act, the only option to get married is either conversion or filing an appeal in the court, but we didn't have time or energy for a lengthy court case even if our rights were being violated. I suggest you read about the Hindu organisation Arya Samaj which does allow conversion.

[@neelanjanachatterjee4857]

@@JohannaNorth I am clueless about why you were denied the special marriage act choice. Both of are hindu but not religious. So,we went that route. After submitting you are allowed to marry a month later and it stays valid for another two months.

[@SolomonSunder]

@@JohannaNorth While conversion for the purpose of marriage is not allowed, at least you sort of had the option. For Christians, both have to be Indians. Else the only option is the Special Marriage Act. I ended up paying 17K Rupees in Mumbai as bribe to get married after the Marriage Officer threatened me that he has the right to reject the application (which is true) and then I would have no choice but to go through the court appeals and wait around 3 years for the process to finish. With respect to domicile, they were not entirely wrong there. The Marriage Officer is required to send a notice to the local police and they are supposed to send a verification that you have been living there for 30 days. Every state is allowed to diverge a bit from the procedures and hence in some states you just write on a stamp paper "I truthfully say I lived here for 30 days". However, they could have used your proof of residency, but then I suppose you'd not have any document which shows Jaipur as your domicile for 30 days. Domicile in India plays a different role and is tied to your town or state depending on the law in question. In this case, it decides which Marriage Office is supposed to deal with your case. In case of University, it could decide whether you are considered a local resident for the reserved local seats etc.

[@mathewhrm-cubeinnovators2146]

Well, even if you are Hindu, marriage needs to be registered in Sub Registrar office. Its not like you can walk in a temple, marry and then go. I am not sure, how its done in Haryana or Jaipur. In Kerala, its a law that Hindus must have a CIVIL MARRIAGE apart from religious marriage. But not as complicated as Special Marriage Act. In Kerala, for you example, if you both were Hindus, you will marry in a temple, you will sign in a register book there and the temple will give you a receipt of Marriage. With that receipt, you must file an application at local sub registrar office. The 30 day notice won't be there AFAIK, but needs address proof of both sides and then an affidavit. Then you both will sign in register book. For Christians, the church will issue a Marriage certificate but to get a state certificate, you need to register that marriage with sub registar office For Muslims, the same process as like Church, where the local Mosque committee (Mahallu) will issue a certificate which can be used to register the process.

[@matchbox1275]

All the more reason for UCC!

[@abhishektanwar8070]

Everywhere in India it is law.It's not like in jaipur you will go to a temple and your marriage will be recognized.You have to go to sub registrar office and do the paper work.

[@Nairrrrrrr]

Kerala is a great state. Unlike the North Indian States.

[@matchbox1275]

@@Nairrrrrrr Ignorance is bliss. I'm from one of the Southern State, but I can't stand the Chauvinistic narrow minded fools from either Hindi states or people like you. Both sides show stoopid superiority thinking they are perfect and others are good for nothing. The fact that you generalised whole Northern states as some kind of monolithic entity only shows the ignorance. Namaskaram, cheta!

[@jyothiprakashanilnivas7415]

@@Nairrrrrrr I can tell you hundreds of negative things abt Kerala. But we don't waste our time arguing people like you.

[@Rahul0203]

Johanna notice period is important to know any antecedent 's of either of the couple ,in case of previous marriage hidden from the knowledge of either one in the couple plus criminal records .

[@falhenchachal9817]

Our bureaucracy tends to interpret the law in their convenience. This result in cumbersome and delay. We need to simplify our laws.

[@JohannaNorth]

100% agree!

[@jameynallaparaju8681]

Wow what a journey to get married. Im glad we got married in Australia 😀

[@JohannaNorth]

Wish we had had the option of getting married abroad too! 😁

[@assuntakoay2035]

Natural as always so far ! Yay for U Maintain yr lovely self

[@JohannaNorth]

Thank you 😊🙏

[@coolair2159]

Hi Johanna,congratulation both of you.Your video is amazing and lovely couple.Finland& India..❤👍

[@bhaveshthakor5910]

All well there is end's well... I'm so happy for both you madam.. one thing I love to say that u r so courageous...I salute you...🙏🙏🇮🇳🇫🇮💕

[@JohannaNorth]

Thank you so much, you're so kind 🥰

[@subhashnisarta4031]

Thanks so much for your information about merrage with foreigners So know little bit about this procedure, but before I want to getting together and discuss one another then go ahead for further details and procedures So overall thanks for good guideline.

[@dorotaross2015]

You looked beautiful on your wedding day...absolutely stunning!

[@probalroychowdhury9272]

Yaa that's what I was thinking court marriage is the best option... actually the domicile law is hard to understand from a foreigners point of view... India is not a homogeneous country... It has several cultures, religions and languages... the bureaucrats are trained in such a way that they try to understand your needs appropriating you to a certain culture knowing your residential background... the way you can talk to a Bengali person you can't do so with a Tamil person or with a Naga person because everyone's understanding is different...

[@JohannaNorth]

Marriage laws aren't a regional, state level system though but governed by the centre. So it doesn't make any sense at all to apply domicile law to marriages since the law is the same to each and everyone. Domicile laws are meant for very different purposes, in which I have nothing against the need for a domicile. Though also those who do not have a domicile for specific reasons, like govt employees etc should be excused from the necessity

[@aAD5235]

Vinod is a gem of a person. I have to agree

[@JohannaNorth]

Yes I feel like I won in lottery :)

[@aAD5235]

@@JohannaNorth the way i felt when u said when he put his foot down against religious conversion made me respect him more

[@tejendersingh4078]

Can u give the information of that lawyer please I need his help too 🙏🙏

[@sreehariasv736]

Nice video. God bless you and your family👍👍

[@JohannaNorth]

Thank you so much 😊🙏

[@muniraalibhai6785]

Very informative! However, what if it's same faith but Indian national with a foreign national( no OCI) marriage in India...how does that work? If they do the religious ceremony, the girl still needs rights to live in India with her spouse so how will the marriage be registered in the eyes of the law for her to be granted the spouse/resident visa ( whatever it's referred to) if you have any idea, pls share...would help many in that situation.

[@jishnudas9247]

Its helps a lot... please share more about the process...a playlist about the procedure for international marriage in India and visa process

[@samali108]

Maybe it would have been easier to get married in Finland. A number of my friends got married in the United States and had no trouble when they went back to India.

[@JohannaNorth]

Unfortunately travelling to Finland to get married wasn't an option for us :/

[@alokmishra4513]

Johanna you are really very brave girl. Keep it up.

[@JohannaNorth]

Thank you 🤗

[@paulson2008]

Can you please share the contact info of the visakapatanam lawyer ?

[@mayawalker8605]

Hello Joanna, very sorry to hear that you guys had a hard time getting married in India. I'm in a inter-faith, inter-national marraige. We got married in Kerala a few months before you did. It went pretty smooth once we figured out what our options were when it came to place of marraige. And thankfully we were able to figure this out in the first two months of deciding to get married. Thanks to Google and my father who personally went to the offices and got required information. I lived in a different city where I didn't have enough proof of domicile to get married unless I was willing to pay agents to get it done. Which sounded very shady. For the benefit of anybody else who might need this info in the future, I'm going to explain what I learned - As per Indian laws, you have to prove domicile to register your marriage under the special marraige act. Proving domicile means the same as it would when you are applying for any other legal document in India - be it passport, driving license etc. You can only apply in the district in which you have some proof of domicile - whether it's a registered rental agreement or passport or Aadhar or driving license. If you want to have an easy process, try getting as many proof of address/domicile as you can. If you have one, it's easy to change the address on the others. For special marraige act, you can register in any district where either the bride or the groom has established residence - if you are working in a place different from your hometown, and have atleast one Id proof for each address (passport in your parent's address and Aadhar in the city where you work and live currently), then it's two possible locations for you to choose from. Upto 4 if you are marrying another Indian with a different set of two addresses. My husband was not asked to submit form C to prove he's been in the country/state for 30 days. His passport and visa already has that information and that's what we submitted. If you/your spouse is a foreigner with established domicile/residence in India, it's not really going to give you any right to register your marriage in that particular city under the special marraige act. That act is for Indian citizens, Indian citizen has the right to marry anyone (but within heterosexual norms still) including a foreigner. The act doesn't give right to a foreigner to get married to anyone (whether Indian citizen or not). So if someone in a inter-national relationship wants to get married under the special marraige act (always recommended if you are of different faiths unless you are willing to go through religious conversion and produce a certificate to that effect), you only option is the district where your partner has established residence/domicile and has valid proof, ideally passport and/Aadhar. The foreign spouse is required to submit an NOC from their country/embassy stating that they are free to marry (basically that as per records, they are not currently married to anyone else). I'm not sure if this was mistook to be criminal records? Very bizarre indeed! The purpose of this rule was to ensure that girls in India were not sold off in slavery or prostitution to an already married man, as proof that this will be a legit marraige. Special marraige act is an arcane piece of legislation created at a time when the number of people marrying out of their religion, forget about nationality was quite rare. One could argue that the rules were created to protect the girl from a bad marraige or from being cheated ( by the guy typically who might have other wife's in his hometown). The law assumes such unfortunate instances could be prevented by making it necessary to inform both the family/community of both parties, who may report to the officer if they don't meet the requirements of getting married - being of sound mind, being currently unmarried/divorced etc. That's what the 30 days is for. Definitely the law has its problems, it's quite paternalistic and will benefit from some updation. Although I'm not sure if our society is actually ready for it. Whether it will eventually create more problems than it would solve? All worth deliberating upon definitely! As for the public notice, this happened in Kerala last year - www.womensweb.in/2020/07/athira-menon-kerala-govt-stops-publishing-details-inter-faith-couples-july20wk5sr/ Privacy is a basic right and the State needs to more proactively ensure that it's not violated. Edited - I meant domicile literally but as pointed out by Joanna, she was talking about a different beast. Apparently there's something called a domicile certificate in India that is not technically required for a marriage under any act/law in India.

[@JohannaNorth]

Thank you so much for sharing your own experience and information, Maya! :) I think it'll be helpful for many if they see your comment too! By my experience I find a few small things a bit inaccurate though. Domicile isn't something that is required for Special Marriage Act, nor other documentation either. Of course it doesn't really matter for most people as they would have domicile, but there are also many like my husband, who is an Indian citizen, but doesn't have a domicile, because he hasn't lived anywhere for the required number of years to establish domicile (5 or 7, I can't remember exactly). He still has all his cards, passports etc and we did marry in Visakhapatnam without a domicile proof, because thankfully there are marriage offices and courts who do not demand it. I think you might be confusing domicile with residency? Vinod does have actually two, the permanent address with his parents in Jaipur and one of whatever the place he lives in for work and for these he has lots and lots of proof. Only has he ever been required to have domicile is to get married in Jaipur... My single marital affidavit from Finland clearly stated that by any Finnish laws I'm allowed to marry my partner in India. Finland doesn't offer any specific NOC, which is technically needed as attachment in the application directions. but I had confirmed at both my local magistrate and Finnish embassy in Delhi that they don't give one. The marriage officer in Jaipur had clearly mentioned that I need some kind of criminal record document from the Finnish police, which again is not a requirement for the Special Marriage Act and was not even asked for in Visakhapatnam. I don't necessarily object the 30-day notice period from the point of view of having to wait. That's no issue, other than being on a tourist visa if the marriage officers create issues... But it is a clear violation of privacy and even puts many couples in danger. I think this should be a priority against justifications like more conservative people might not accept it or it's to protect from polygamy. There are other ways to check on living spouses. :)

[@Tamaramartinezsantiago]

i am an American, i maried in India and no one discriminated in anyway, you don't need to convert, I am Christian all the way and my husband at that time was a Hindu. Yes you need to apply is true. Both my husband and I wanted to dress nice in our legal wedding and we had a beautiful reception. I married in Mumbai Maharashtra and USA acknoledge the marriage. I stayed only one month with my husband in India.

[@JohannaNorth]

Well in that case you're very lucky, Tamara. Very glad it worked out nicely for you! That's how it should be to everyone. Our experience was not pleasant and I'm still a bit angry for the fact that we weren't allowed to marry in Jaipur at the presence of my husband's family. And many other couples face a lot of bureaucratic challenges like these when they try to get married. And I didn't say that anyone needs to convert for marriage. But it would've definitely been the easier option.

[@sufiyantauheed691]

@@JohannaNorth religion is not like dress to change everyday. You have to believe on religion then you can adopt any religion. Without believing, there is no meaning to having religion.

[@codejunkes4607]

My girlfriend is from Muslim Family, I am an Ex-Hindu Atheist, we will opt for Special marriage act, 😰 lets see what happens!

[@JohannaNorth]

I think there are also lots of regional and case by case differences with the marriage officers using the special marriage act! I hope everything goes well for you guys, but in India it's of course always good to be prepared for bureaucratic challenges! All the best for your future marriage and I'm happy you two are following your own hearts, not society's expectations 🥰

[@codejunkes4607]

@@JohannaNorth ❤️❤️ hope so, thanks 😊😊

[@sufiyantauheed691]

@@codejunkes4607 how come a muslim girl marry with an atheist??

[@yogeshdagar6700]

I still stuck with step one, Johanna pls make a seperate detailed video for it 😁

[@gauravtaori498]

It looks straight forward

[@zerocostmarketingyoutubers6256]

Super explained

[@Digizella]

Btw, it would help if you guys used a better microphone or a portable one. It is not easy to hear you at times 🤷‍♀️...

[@silvia4859]

Hello I would like to have more information from the lawyer who helped you. Thanks

[@anjansarkar9254]

Marriage in India is not easy. Laws are strict because they want to know you that how hard it will be to divorce your indian Husband or Wife.

[@ihuman8893]

Please tell, what made you leave Finland which is one of the most developed nation and come to India. Are you really enjoying it here.

[@jamesbhambal9546]

Hey Johanna, Thank you for posting this video and sharing your experience. I’m sure it will be very helpful for people in similar situations. I believe patience was crucial in your and Vinod's process, which led to your successful marriage. I have just two questions for you: 1. Do you think hiring a lawyer for getting married eases the process? 2. Since you got married under the Special Marriage Act, did the registrar require at least one family member as a witness? I'm currently in the process of getting married to a Filipino citizen under the Christian Marriage Act since we are both Christian. However, there isn't much information available about this process. If the authorities say we cannot get married under the Christian Marriage Act, we will have to marry under the Special Marriage Act, which reportedly requires at least one family member as a witness. Do you have any information about this?

[@JohannaNorth]

Hi! I very much do recommend getting a lawyer to help with the legal process, especially as they know everyone on the bureaucracy side in their district and know how to get things done with them. I have no info on a family member being required as a witness on SMA. All our witnesses were Vinod's friends.

[@jamesbhambal9546]

That sounds good, I'll speak to the lawyer. Thank you so much for your reply.

[@priyankam4094]

Hi Johanna! Love your videos. ❤️ If I may ask, what does Vinod do? What part of the government does he work for?

[@Jnaiha]

He is a govt employee. Watch her how we met vedio.

[@JohannaNorth]

Thank you Priyanka ☺️🙏 I don't share details about Vinod's work, it's his private thing 🙂

[@priyankam4094]

Ah That’s totally alright! :)

[@discuswell6238]

@@JohannaNorth than 100 % he is a central government employee

[@adithyanvalloor8047]

I'm waiting to marry my Brazilian gf... 🇮🇳❤🇧🇷

[@Harsh-nv1xt]

Even your name is in portoguese 😂😂

[@sudarshan3965]

This paper work in bureaucracy baffles us too. 😭

[@JohannaNorth]

I think it's indian bureaucracy giving Vinod grey hair, not me 😂🤔

[@senbagamuthurahul-2746]

The form is still a decades old and not updated so based on the 60s that's why these all conditions.. Hope they update it

[@JohannaNorth]

Yes many laws are so old and completely outdated! There's even a llaw from the 1800s 😂😂

[@csowm5je]

Anniina vivian is from Finland and got married and living in Kerala. Once saw her video about their marriage and vaguely remember that a law was enacted or a process was changed because of their application or something.

[@JohannaNorth]

Yes I know Anniina and have seen that video too. It's not a case of the law being changed or anything because of their case. The special marriage act is an old national level law and has allowed marriages with also foreigners (and been used for the purpose) for many decades now 😊 I think that in their case there had been some rather regressive minded person to object the marriage during their notice period, due to Anniina being a Finnish national. The marriage officer might have sided with the objection (not following the actual law) and thus they had to appeal and take the case to the court. Obviously the court had to follow the law and grant them permission to marry, thankfully! But no law was changed because of this, just some regressive people set straight 😊🙏

[@murali5247]

Each country has its own rules and worse still each government official has his own interpretation of the law. When y brother wanted to marry a German lady, he faced similar problems in malaysia . One official wanted the German lady to produce a no objection letter from German authorities. The German embassy said why should we object or don’t object? We don’t issue such silly certificates. Lucky another official in another state in Malaysia said there’s no such requirements and they got married.

[@vaibhavsrivastava1116]

I would also be going thru this rigorous process to get married to My Australian fiance very soon. Just awaiting lifting flight restrictions.

[@venky3003]

All the best for both of you🤎

[@legalhunt8445]

Very informative vlog☺️

[@withtheflow...wtf...4667]

My first thought as a selfish indian 'how lucky you are'...after seeing all these videos. 'how luckky he is' .be happy...be healthy...and safe...wishes...u r giving such a happiness to us...for that a big Thank you. By the way, we also from nearby payyanur. ..just 5kms '

[@JohannaNorth]

Aww thank you so much 😊🙏 that is so sweet! And ah, this Payaanur area is just a wonderful place to live in!

[@withtheflow...wtf...4667]

@@JohannaNorth 👍

[@mylifetimevalue8576]

Phewwwww !! Legal Marriage is really once in a lifetime event in India 😉

[@JohannaNorth]

Hahaha! Definitely 😂 no way I'm gonna go trying a divorce after all this! That would be even more of a bureaucratic hell anyways 😂😂

[@mylifetimevalue8576]

You have opened🔑 the Indian gates to a special marriage heaven💍Congratulations🎯

[@mylifetimevalue8576]

Happy First Wedding Anniversary 🌹🌹🌹💐

[@AniruddhaDe-m7w]

Thanks a lot for sharing the information and all the best. I had a doubt. It says one of the parties need to be present in the district for 30 days, so that does mean she needs to be present in India too or I staying in the district is enough.

[@rkh7360]

A domicile is required to confirm which state he is from.

[@beenapremkumar4690]

Happy wedding anniversary in advance johanna and vinod

[@JohannaNorth]

Thank you 😊🙏

[@anubhavkumar8350]

Bhagwan bless your "child"...!!!

[@JohannaNorth]

Thank you ☺️🙏

[@madandu]

I hope this is an exception and that is not so difficult. Some do misguide people to make quick bucks, business.

[@deepakc8888]

please share the details of the lawyer in Visakhapatnam so we can take their help too for our marriage registration.

[@Travellerinformation0]

Great couple 😇

[@helsingor8]

It's probably best to get a marriage license in the foreign country and avoid the Indian marriage offices altogether. The foreign certificates are recognized in India

[@odiamarketupdate2081]

It's also can be done in Jaipur by same as Visakhapatnam

[@europelifestyle]

Can please let me know what documents required for special marriage act?

[@IMAlive86]

My fiancé is polish, we are planning to get married here in Goa, India. I have few questions 1. Is the single status certificate and no objection certificate from embassy is mandatory for her to marry here? 2. The lawyer here has told me to marry her in goa we just need single status affidavits here in india, thats it. 3. Is it possible to marry here with legal procedures of india and then just register marriage certificate with apostille in poland?

[@JohannaNorth]

Congrats! 1. Single status certificate yes, i didnt need any noc 2. Many other documents are necessary and one of you needs to stay 30 days in the location of the magistrate 3. Yes!

[@IMAlive86]

@@JohannaNorth thanks for the reply! 1. We are told that only single status affidavit is enough for her to marry here, the marriage would be registered here and we will get the marriage certificate. 2. My fiancé is now here in india with me and they say she don’t need to take this single status certificate from polish embassy for marrying here. We are left with bit of confusion as embassy is not that responsive!

[@deeptalks1427]

@@JohannaNorth Kindly guide me if your partner need to stay in India for 30 days, I was thinking to submit the documents myself and when actual date of solemnising the marriage occur, I invite my partner to India, Kindly guide

[@zacelger4155]

plzz upload your wedding video I am really eager to see it ♥️♥️😚

[@Assh1760]

Even. I married with russian girl. And now we have one cute boy and one cute girl. Congrats u bro.

[@samm8654]

Hi, what's the procedure

[@arjunlavwanshi1035]

The process is complex but the documents required are not unnecessary.In order to prove one's nationality proof is required.Also criminal background should be checked else we could provide our citizenship to any criminal in another country

[@jennyboro7087]

u both are the most cute couple ...stay blessed

[@jayaprakashsrinivasan7236]

Can you please give me the lawyer deatils vizaq so we are also international couple

[@MrAmanchibber]

Yeah what u said is still a normal process .its worse in European countries..so in short you were trying to get married on tourist visa which itself is wrong but u were still allowed to do in india..Can this happen in another country?

[@abhijathjavali1647]

HAPPY MARRIAGE ANNIVERSARY BOTH

[@JohannaNorth]

Thank you ☺️🙏

[@naveen6870]

Please can you tell me what are the documents required for forign nationality my girlfriend is german citizen and we planning to get married in india under special marriage act please help us get through this thank you 🙏🏽

[@deeptalks1427]

Did you figure out the answer brother

[@jishnudas9247]

Can a foreigner reach India with all proper documents and get married in temple after 3-4 days socially and then apply for special marriage act 1954 and wait 30 days requirement for special marriage and then get certificate after 30-45 days if she have longer visa... Is there any requirement from temple that she cannot marry, because temple ask for court certificate or some documents from SP office...is there any legal rule that a foreigner cannot marry immediately in temple on reaching India...

[@Sydneyandbeyond]

I agree with u..and I hate the bureaucracy in india..too much paperwork..Not just marriage, this is in most of the cases and believe it or not after so much, they still get it wrong..so many errors on the official papers. All's well that ends well..Happy anniversary and beautiful life ahead to both of you!

[@OKHermit]

Can you please share the lawyer info? I am stuck helpless in same situation 🙏

[@jcg154]

Well done

[@HSJ1030]

Your criminal record is needed for the safety of me and my fellow citizens. Every country ask for it.

[@indarsamlal4558]

Glad u love other Cultures ,god bless

[@meeraajmera1695]

Hahah! Its a nightmare to get married in EU. Did you consider getting married in Finland? There is no clarity, no visibility and tons of bureaucracy, a plethora of belittling, and learning the language test before you can even get married...

[@jai4096]

Even if you are Hindu you need to fill the form and pay money to the agents outside marriage registrar to get marriage certificates or to do register marriage. Rest of the procedure of news paper publishing and letter are all part of this tedious process for everyone. I feel the religion aspect in all official forms in India right from Birth certificate to School leaving certificate should be stopped. I have to write a religion even if i don't want to believe in it. So the day a child is born you will be asked what religion the child is to get the childs birth certificate why can't they just leave it blank and let the person decide when they are adult. Congrats for your anniversary.

[@JohannaNorth]

Thank you so much! Wow, I didn't know this about the birth certificates and obviously it's quite a current question for us now. I don't want to put any religion on our baby's birth certificate because we won't be raising her/him to any religion 😳 And yes, also Hindus need to register their marriage and so on, but they don't need to apply for a permission beforehand and go through this kind of scrutiny. There's no 30-day notice period or letting just anyone go and object their marriage to the marriage officers.

[@mdsathyan]

Good naration 👍. Does this marriage qualify you for citizenship (as indian citizen). Or Do you still need to be in extended visitor visa.... What will be the legal status of the upcoming kid (citizen ship) Curious to know,pls clarify if you the answers.....

[@JohannaNorth]

The child would be Indian citizen by birth. I wouldn't get a citizenship but an OCI card after two years of residence. For a citizenship I think I'd have to have 8 years of continuous residence

[@mdsathyan]

Thanks for the prompt update.