Un-married certificate

Obtaining Unmarried certificate while living abroad.

Some of the Overseas Pakistanis contact Embassies of Pakistan / Consulate General of Pakistan for obtaining unmarried certificate. In fact unmarried certificates are not issued by the Embassies or Consulate General of Pakistan. In Pakistan, every Province, District, Tehsil, Union Council and Marriage Registrar office has its own mechanism to issue such un-married certificates. There are several ways to get it from Pakistan, which are briefly explained for guidance as under:- 

1. Normally the un-married certificate is issued by the concerned Marriage Registrar Office (Nikah Registrar) having particulars of the person with his/her name and father name, CNIC/NICOP number and Passport number and clearly mention that the person is unmarried according to their official record. The certificate should be attested from the concerned Union Council and then from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Pakistan; and then it should be sent to the person living abroad who can get that certificate attested by the concerned Embassy or Consulate of Pakistan. 

2. The Secretary or Chairman of the concerned Union Council can also issue such unmarried certificate to a person with his or her particulars having father name, CNIC number and Passport number, saying that the person is un-married as per their official record. After obtaining the un-married certificate, it should be attested from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Pakistan and then from concerned Embassy or Consulate of Pakistan in the concerned country where the person is residing. 

3. Some of the small villages do not have any of the above mechanism or procedure and in such case, one of the parents of the applicant should write an Affidavit on stamp paper  regarding the unmarried status of the son/daughter. Then it should be attested from the Notary Public; and then from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Pakistan; and then from the concerned Embassy or Consulate of Pakistan where the person is residing. 

4. One of the options is that the parents of the person can get a Family Registration Certificate (FRC) from NADRA wherein the name of the person is recorded as un-married or can get a separate certificate from NADRA wherein it is written that as per NADRA record the person is un-married. However, this process may be difficult because sometimes NADRA refuse to issue such certificate. However, the options mentioned at serial No. 1, 2 and 3 are easy  to follow as compare to the process of NADRA. 

5. Finally the most important factor is that in the un-married certificate of the person, it should clearly mention the name of the person, father name , CNIC, and Passport number . It must  also be mentioned in the certificate that the person is un-married according to official record of the local Union Council or Marriage Registrar (which is called Nikah Registrar). 

6. If someone is divorced so he or she should get either the divorced certificate from NADRA if the marriage was registered in NADRA or Court Order if the marriage was dissolved though court or divorce certificate either from Union Council/Arbitration Council or from Nikah Registrar (Marriage Registrar). 

7. Attestation from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Pakistan is mandatory and must be done because without the attestation of Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Pakistan, the Embassy or Consulate will never attest it. 

8. Important to note: You can get such documents attested either from Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Islamabad or one of its Camp Offices, Karachi, Lahore, Peshawar, Quetta.

9. Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Pakistan has recently sourced out it's Consular Services to  TCS Courier Service which is more convenient and easier for the people who live in far flung areas. 

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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Q.    I born outside of Pakistan and want to marry in Pakistan, should I also present unmarried certificate?

A.    According to the Pakistani Law, you do not need to present unmarried certificate because a person is allowed to get married with four wives subject to the fulfillment of the condition prescribed in the Family Law of Pakistan and Islamic Law. However, you may need to get that certificate if you marry in Pakistan and taking back your wife to one of the EU countries because there you can register only one marriage legally. Thus you would need to get an unmarried certificate from the country where you born. 

 Q.   I have divorced in Pakistan and now want to get another marriage in Europe, how can I get unmarried certificate?

 

A.    If you got married in Pakistan and also registered your marriage in one of the EU Countries and your wife also lives with you in that foreign country, then you need to just get divorce certificate from that Country where you had registered your marriage and can re-marry with another women.

 

However, if you got married in Pakistan and your wife is in Pakistan and you are in one of the EU countries or another foreign Country, and you had registered yourself in that Foreign country as married in their official record. Then you need to get a divorce certificate from Pakistan showing proof of your divorce and that divorce must be attested by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Pakistan. Then by producing that divorce certificate, you may re-marry another woman and update the official record with the particulars of new wife.

Moreover, keep in mind that every country has its specific marriage and family laws and you must follow the law of that country where you reside.