THE FOREIGN MARRIAGE ACT,1969

Year : 1969

[ACT. NO. 33 OF 1969]
[31st August, 1969]

An Act to make provision relating to marriages of citizens of India outside India.

Be it enacted by Parliament in the Twentieth Year of the Republic of India as follows:

CHAPTER I
PRELIMINARY

Section -1 Short title

This Act may be called the Foreign Marriage Act, 1969.

Section -2 Definitions

In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires,-

(a) "Degrees of prohibited relationship" shall have the same meaning as in the Special Marriage Act, 1954 (43 of 1954);

(b) "District", in relation to a Marriage Officer, means the area within which the duties of his office are to be discharged;

(c) "Foreign country" means a country or place outside India, and includes a ship which is for the time being in the territorial waters of such a country or place ;

(d) "Marriage Officer" means a person appointed under section 3 to be a Marriage Officer ;

(e) "Official house", in relation to a Marriage Officer, means-

(i) The official house of residence of the officer;

(ii) The office in which the business of the officer is transacted;

(iii) A prescribed place ; and

(f) "Prescribed" means prescribed by rules made under this Act.

Section -3 Marriage Officers

For the purposes of this Act, the Central Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, appoint such of its diplomatic or consular officers as it may think fit to be Marriage Officers for any foreign country.

Explanation: In this section, "diplomatic officer" means an ambassador, envoy, minister, high commissioner, commissioner, charged affairs or other diplomatic representative or a counselor or secretary of an embassy, legation or high commission.