Ikoyi registry in Lagos: All you need to know about Ikoyi registry requirements in 2019 and some other information that you will find useful.
Contents [hide]
- 1 First, what is a court wedding in Nigeria?
- 2 How to go about Court Marriage?
- 3 Days and Schedules in Ikoyi Marriage Registry
- 4 What are the Steps to follow when planning to Wed at Ikoyi Registry?
- 5 What other forms shall be presented?
- 6 Nigerian to non-Nigerian/ non-Nigerian to non-Nigerian
- 7 How Much Can you spend to Marry at Ikoyi Registry?
- 8 What is the fee for Court Wedding?
- 9 Other Miscellaneous expenses
- 10 The Cash for Chairs Rented
- 11 Celebration of the Marriage
- 12 Sample of Court marriage certificate in Nigeria
First, what is a court wedding in Nigeria?
The first step to carry in legalizing your wedding in Nigeria is to find a reliable registry to make the necessary inquiries. The court wedding has been recommended by the Federal Government of Nigeria with the intention to stand as a proof for a marriage contract between couples. Court marriage has been preserved under the marriage act chapter 218 of the law of the Federation of Nigeria in the year 1990.
How to go about Court Marriage?
You want to marry and your choice is court marriage. Now you are stranded because you don’t know how to go about it. You have landed yourself on a website that can take care of that.
I shall provide the necessary information you need to know when planning to have a registry marriage, especially in Lagos. Presently, it has been confirmed that there are two Federal governments marriage registries in Nigeria of which are: The Federal Marriage Registry Abuja and The Federal Marriage Registry Lagos.
They are classified under the ministry of interior. As a matter of fact, I will be discussing more the Ikoyi Marriage registry in Lagos as the focus to explain others.
You will be informed about the overview, detailed guide, and expectations that must be met before you can be allowed to register your marriage with them. It is popularly known that almost every day people marry each other and as such Ikoyi Registry is usually a go-to place for court marriages.
Marriage activities always take place every week. I have to tell you this as the first expectation. One other thing about the registry is that it is one of the people’s choice therefore, you must understand that there could be some congestion in terms of attendance to each marriage to be registered a week but relax your mind, every organization knows how to manage its affairs to make things easy for its clients.
These are majorly the activities that take place in the registry: obtainment of marriage certificate or license, marriage and family counseling, Marriage oats, and ceremonies that involve marriage.
Days and Schedules in Ikoyi Marriage Registry
If there is any virtue I like about organization, it is the word organization itself. It makes things go smooth. It makes things work as planned. At Ikoyi Marriage Registry, some days are set aside for different activities, for instance, Tuesdays are set aside for Oath Swearing, Wednesday through Friday are set aside for Marriage contracts.
In some specific settings, for instance, if you want your marriage to come on Monday or Saturday, it will attract some fee which you will know when you get there.
However, as far as I am concerned, the registry handles marriages for residents from Lagos, South-South, South-East, and South-West. Various types of marriages are carried out at Ikoyi registry such as Muslim marriages, Christian marriages, Nigerian and non-Nigerian Marriages, and None-Nigerian Marriages.
What are the Steps to follow when planning to Wed at Ikoyi Registry?
I am about to discuss the steps to follow while you plan to wed at Ikoyi registry, based on the type—i.e. either as a Nigerian to another Nigerian or others such as Muslim or Christian marriages and they are as explained below:
A Nigerian to another Nigerian Marriage Registry Guides in Ikoyi Registry
After the agreement to marry between the couple, the First Step is to obtain forms:
There is a form called the notice of marriage you will have to fill the form with your name, birth date and surnames in bold letters and then underline. One passport will be demanded from each partner, so you should attach it to the form you just filled. A specific fee is charged after the submission of the form.
After the submission, you can leave to return to the registry 21 days later with the entire forms given to you. Thereafter another form will be issued to you to fill they are “AFFIDAVIT TO APPLY FOR MARRIAGE CERTIFICATE”. The forms shall be submitted along with the birth certificate of the would-be couple. In the absence of the birth certificate, declaration of age certificate can be presented in place of the original birth certificate.
What other forms shall be presented?
It is not only the notice of marriage form that will be collected, but there are also other forms you must obtain and none of them is for free. I shall mention the fee to get these forms soon. However, you can learn various forms and how to fill them. The rules and regulations guiding them will not also be left untouched for a better understanding of the processes involved in court marriage in Nigeria. Other forms that shall be presented are:
Certificate of Bachelorhood and Spinsterhood
The couple has not married before will have to provide these two certificates, one from the male and another from the female. If one of them has married before, will have to swear an affidavit for the number of children previously had in the previous marriage; the purpose is for justice and transparency between the two parties. You will submit these forms too with a stipulated fee charged. Once the registrar has confirmed the submission of these forms, a date for the couple’s interview is set.
Second Step – “THE REQUIREMENTS”
Firstly, the registry will expect you to fix a date for the commencement of your wedding of which you must present. That is according to the law; therefore, for your wedding to take place and be confirmed, you have to carry out this step first.
In all marriages, two witnesses are enough to join a man and a woman together. The registry will require that you provide two witnesses each—one male and a female or sometimes, a Qur’an or Bible depending on the decision of the registry. The Qur’an or Bible stands as a witness or an oath against any of the couple that may not be sincere about his or her opinion; though it is a religious belief and since the couples are believers, they will have to abide by such rule as pertaining to their religious opinions.). The next is to present 2 rings, a Qur’an or a Bible depending on your faith.
The Third Step is to inform the Registry of your Attire
What kind of clothing are you going to wear on your wedding day in the registry? Is it native, or English? Both partners must provide an answer to this question and the truth is that the matter of the attire to wear that day is not taken lightly, in fact, dresses such as Jeans and Short sleeves and shorts are not allowed as attires for registry wedding.
Nigerian to non-Nigerian/ non-Nigerian to non-Nigerian
In the case of the wedding of the ones as mentioned in the subheading above, these are the steps to follow:
Step 1: The collection of forms: there is a form called “particular for a special marriage license”. It is designed to obtain detailed information and data about the couple. There will also be a written application for special marriage presented by either of the partners as the case may be. The presentation of Birth certificates or attestation of age of the two parties will be provided and it must have been obtained from the National Population Commission for Nigeria only. Requirements such as scanned copies of the data pages found on the couple’s international passport and stamped entry will be provided too.
A recent passport of the couple will be demanded and a certificate or letter of bachelorhood or spinsterhood from a reliable law court or an approved body must be presented too. However, if either of the parties has previously married, an affidavit of the previous marriage must be provided and should be obtained in Nigeria. The evidence of a single with child or children will also be presented before the commencement of the marriage and it must be collected from a reliable court of law in Nigeria along with the evidence of the payment fee.
How Much Can you spend to Marry at Ikoyi Registry?
There has been a rumor that Ikoyi registry is too expensive, don’t forget that in Nigeria, for a man to get married traditionally, will spend at least 100 thousand depending on the cultural demand, whereas, some traditional will make you spend up to a million just to get married. This should be an eye-opener that getting married at Ikoyi registry is very cheap. With just 50,000 thousand Naira, you are good to go.
What is the fee for Court Wedding?
I have made mention of some forms above, they are not for charity, you have to pay for them, and this is because the registry has made itself clear that there are no Santan or some saints that are ready to gift out Christmas gifts. To obtain the forms above, you will need to pay the amount of just 31,000 which will cover for the application form, the process, and affidavit. It was obtained at a lesser price previously but now being increased. It used to be 25,000 Naira.
Other Miscellaneous expenses
You will pay money for the bouquet: this is not compulsory, however, it is 500 Naira. This is demanded by some women that are not working with the registry. However, you must know that it is not compulsory but optional.
Drummers Money: You will pay at least 100 or 200 Naira to the drummers who will sing and drum for you and your spouse to dance. If you are capable, you can pay above the mentioned amounts for the drummers.
The Cash for Chairs Rented
You will also be required to pay money for the chairs that are rented for your wedding. This is normally done before you enter the registry. It is 200 Naira for you, the spouse and the relatives and friends that came with you. This means you will multiply 200 Naira by the number of guests that you have.
Taking of Oath: you will also have to take an oath before the marriage can be legalized for you. the process involved will be listed below:
- Swearing of an affidavit before the registrar or a recognized religion minster.
- The penalties that are involved in the breach of marriage will be explained in details to the couples.
- The affidavit will then be signed by the registrar as a sign of the oath being taken.
- Lastly, the minister will issue a certificate and the give the couple the license in the form of a form named form D so as to allow the couples to celebrate their union.
Celebration of the Marriage
A date is set aside for the marriage, and it will be chosen by the couple which must be done within the period of three months.
Sample of Court marriage certificate in Nigeria
Sometimes, we take things as none serious as a comedian on the stage but it does not speak well of the importance of what we actually want to achieve as a goal. Anyway, I am not a cleric who gives the sermon, all I am targeting right now is to show you the sample of what a court marriage certificate looks like. This is very important to inform you ahead of time as a guide to not mistaking another certificate for a court marriage certificate. Though, if you follow the right channel to perform a court marriage, there is every assurance that the real certificate will be presented to you but to avoid any doubt, I decided to make available the sample of the marriage certificate:
Note: if you are foreign nationals, you are expected to present any of the requirements as demanded above in an equivalent institution in their various countries. You will equally provide the original copies of the above requirements.
Just in case you need help with your Ikoyi registry marriage documentation, and in order to avoid being scammed at the Registry. Please send an email to admin@deedeesblog.com.
Related
