# Partner Visa Application. Is MArriage extract same as a marriage cert?



## Kaapui (Aug 22, 2013)

Hello all

I am currently in the process of applying for my temporary partner Visa and this forum has helped me quite a bit (Thanks collegegirl!)

I am on the PMV, came to sydney and married on 8th September

I got one query...

According to the handbook, it states I need to provide "a certified copy of the registry extract showing details of your marriage"

What is a marriage extract? Is this the same thing as the marriage cert that my celebrant (or pastor) gave to me with my signature, my wife's, his signature and our 2 witnesses? Can I use this as proof of my marriage?

Or do I need to request from the BMD, a registry extract (Which takes time and unfortunately costs money)?

Thanks for your help
Kelvin


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## CollegeGirl (Nov 10, 2012)

Hi Kelvin!  Welcome to the forum.

This is just a guess on my part, but based on what I've read in the Partner Migration Booklet (below) it looks to me like that certificate you got is just the "decorative" certificate and that you do actually need the extract from BDM.

This is what it says in the Partner Migration Booklet, page 35:



> When you lodge your application, you must provide:
> 
> if you and your partner are married, a certified copy of the registry extract showing details of your marriage;
> *Note:*
> The department does not consider the decorative marriage certificate to be acceptable evidence of marriage. You will need to contact the relevant registering authority in Australia or overseas to request a registry extract. A list of Australian Registries of Births, Deaths and Marriages is available from the Australian Government website Home | australia.gov.au.


So it seems *reasonably* clear from that excerpt that they're looking for the actual extract from BDM.

*Can someone who has applied successfully as a married couple confirm/deny?* This is an area I don't have experience with (yet).


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## Kaapui (Aug 22, 2013)

Hey

I called the BDM and got the answer I was looking for. Apparently, the marriage cert that I received on my wedding day is not sufficient as proof for my marriage. As confirmed by the department, I would need to further request a certified proof of my marriage from them (A marriage extract in their language speak). This is usually required for Visa, drivers license or other such applications

If you do it via post, it takes about 3 weeks and its 51 AUD. If you put in an urgent request, it takes 3 days but you need to pay 75 AUD. But if you do it in person at a registry, it only takes 30 minutes and you only need pay 44 AUD! 

Hopes this helps someone else!

Kelvin


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## CollegeGirl (Nov 10, 2012)

Great info, Kelvin.


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## CollegeGirl (Nov 10, 2012)

Okay, sorry to dredge up an old thread but I'm less than two weeks away from my wedding now and, thanks to a call I just made to BDM in NSW, I'm more confused about this than ever!

I called up and said that I'm getting married in a couple of weeks, and I need to supply the proper evidence for a visa. I said my understanding is that our celebrant will give us a decorative certificate, but that we actually need to obtain a "registry extract" from BDM for Immi and they won't just accept the certificate. 

The guy at BDM told me that that wasn't correct - that the extract is what we will get from our celebrant, and what we need is a certificate, that the certificate "overrides the extract" and is what is the most detailed and for legal purposes, and that that certificate can take up to five weeks. 

What's the real story here?? I'm so confused!


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## abby603 (Nov 9, 2012)

I think you're getting confused due to the wording used. What you need for the visa (and any other legal/financial process that needs proof of marriage) is a marriage certificate (without the "extract" part). I think that's just the wording they used on the booklet but what they mean is the "extract" from the registry that is pertinent to you (aka your certificate lol).

The BDM might also be getting confused by the wording you're using to ask, as to them an extract would be incomplete information (aka the decorative certificate that does not include registration number, etc etc) instead of the actual certificate that includes everything.

To give you an idea, more or less this is what the certificate looks like (same colours/grid kinda format):

https://www.commbank.com.au/content/dam/commbank/personal/images/2011/birth_certificate_sa.jpg

I am aware that the link is for a birth certificate, but it just looks quite similar (and I couldn't find a marriage certificate sample). The information it includes is:

-registration number
-date
-place
-groom's info (name, occupation, place of residence, conjugal status, place of birth, date of birth, age, parents' names)
-bride's info (same)
-celebrant
-witnesses
-registering authority
-endorsements

You do have to apply for the marriage certificate separately. Some celebrants do it for you (like mine did, we just paid her the extra ~$50 that it costs) or you do it yourself after the wedding has taken place. In our case, we just let our celebrant do it and a couple of weeks later the certificate arrived on the mail.


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## CollegeGirl (Nov 10, 2012)

Thanks Abby! Our celebrant offered us a "standard" certificate or a "decorative" certificate. We asked for the standard. Is this what we actually need, or is the certificate you're describing above a different "certificate?"


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## kangaroogirl (Aug 25, 2012)

Yes that's right, the one you get on the day from the celebrant is only decorative. It is not acceptable for the visa application. Some celebrants order the proper certificate for you and add in the fees, and they order it from BDM for you. If your celebrant didn't do that (you'd have paid extra) then you absolutely have to get the certificate from BDM.


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## kangaroogirl (Aug 25, 2012)

CollegeGirl said:


> Thanks Abby! Our celebrant offered us a "standard" certificate or a "decorative" certificate. We asked for the standard. Is this what we actually need, or is the certificate you're describing above a different "certificate?"


BDM also offers a commemorative certificate pack which includes the Standard one which looks like a birth certificate, plus a pretty picture one. That's separate again from the decorative one you actually sign on your wedding day. Who knows why! I have 3 now lol


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## vivek85 (Mar 8, 2014)

Hi Collegegirl,

I might be able to tell you what I have heard through friends at melbourne and agents in India.

In India marriage registration has to be done Government Registration Department. Also in Australia it is done through Government.

We call it Marriage Registration Certificate.

A decorative marriage certificate issued by the celebrant (church father) may not be a LEGAL document. It is just like my marriage invitation and a statuary declaration from the Hindu priest. I will be submitting a certificate from local state government registration department (_After bribing thousands to get the certificate in 3 days_)

When I say a LEGAL document, I mean any document with govt. authority seal with or without fancy hologram stickers.
.
Hope I am not confusing you further


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## kangaroogirl (Aug 25, 2012)

The one you submit is the boring looking one, like this


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## vivek85 (Mar 8, 2014)

Ohh this forum is so quick. You received tons of answer before I finished typing mine!! Just great


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## abby603 (Nov 9, 2012)

I would assume the "standard" certificate is the one from the registry, hard to know without really seeing what your celebrant offers exactly. You could always quickly ask him if that is the one provided by the registry (that will take a few weeks to arrive) or if you still need to apply for it. It should be a fairly straightforward answer.

Basically, it's the legal marriage certificate, no need to complicate it much saying it's for the visa etc (not like it does any harm, it's just that not many people are aware of the visa requirements etc and might think it's something else). You can ask if it's the one legally recognized by banks and any other entities for legal procedures. You will basically need it for every single thing in Australia that needs you to prove you are married (getting joint insurance, loans, etc etc)


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## kangaroogirl (Aug 25, 2012)

abby603 said:


> I would assume the "standard" certificate is the one from the registry, hard to know without really seeing what your celebrant offers exactly. You could always quickly ask him if that is the one provided by the registry (that will take a few weeks to arrive) or if you still need to apply for it. It should be a fairly straightforward answer.
> 
> Basically, it's the legal marriage certificate, no need to complicate it much saying it's for the visa etc (not like it does any harm, it's just that not many people are aware of the visa requirements etc and might think it's something else). You can ask if it's the one legally recognized by banks and any other entities for legal procedures. You will basically need it for every single thing in Australia that needs you to prove you are married (getting joint insurance, loans, etc etc)


I guess it depends on the terminology someone uses.

I think the best terminology would be the "official" certificate from births, deaths and marriages.

It's also the one required to change your name on bank accounts, drivers licence, basically everything.


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## CollegeGirl (Nov 10, 2012)

I've asked him if the certificate we'll get from him comes from BDM or is something else. We'll see what he says. THANK YOU guys for clarifying... it shouldn't be this confusing!


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## kangaroogirl (Aug 25, 2012)

CollegeGirl said:


> I've asked him if the certificate we'll get from him comes from BDM or is something else. We'll see what he says. THANK YOU guys for clarifying... it shouldn't be this confusing!


I know! It's really confusing. There's actually no point to the one they give you at the ceremony... Well, my mother said when she was married in 1969 that it was her official certificate that they signed, and only if you lost that did you need to get one from BDM. Apparently the signing a certificate at the ceremony these days is just symbolic (well you sign a form too which I guess is the legal bit), the certificate can't be used for anything. Either way if your celebrant orders it or you order it, the official one will come from BDM and you can select to collect it yourself (quicker) or receive by post.

If they asked you if you wanted the standard one or the special commemorative one, then I'm betting they are ordering it from BDM for you.

When are you getting married? Are you enjoying the planning?


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## Kaapui (Aug 22, 2013)

Hi College girl

First off, congrats on your upcoming marriage! 

And yeah, this forum is great! People are really helpful and quick to answer too. You may not know but you've answered to a lot of my queries and helped me a lot!

I concur with abby on all she said. Yupp, whatever cert your celebrant offers you is only for decorative purposes and cannot be used as an official document. There is no overwriting this decorative certificate as its only just, decorative. Not official at all. Just for your keepsake. As per what was mentioned earlier, you would need to apply separately for a marriage extract at a BDM office either by person or by mail. Or, ask your celebrant to do it for you.

My advise is that if you're in a rush for time, personally go down to a BDM office (I went to the one in NSW, parramatta) to apply for it personally. This is to me the best way as its the fastest and the cheapest. It can be done in a day. Moreover, you can check the details on the spot to see if there are any typo errors and get it changed immediately. I went down personally to get it done and found...3 typo mistakes! Imagine if I were to wait 5 weeks for the extract in the mail and then find the errors!

I immediately went back to the BDM to get it rectified. It took them 2 days. All in all, i had to go there personally 3 times to get a final correct copy. After all, you don't want any mistakes on it when using it to apply for a partner visa!

If you're going down personally, don't forget to bring down items needed for the 100 points check, ie passport, Credit card, private health insurance card etc.

Once you get your marriage extract, don't forget to make a copy and get it certified! 

And I can confirm that its a quick process to go from a PMS to a 820 partner visa. I'm now on it and awaiting for the 801!

All the best! 

Kelvin


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## Star Hunter (Jun 29, 2012)

The certificate that you get on your actual wedding day is basically just for your personal use - stick it in the wedding album etc - it's just like the birth cards they give you in hospital when you have a baby - they look official and cute and we all keep them for the baby book.....but they are useless for any official business. 

The certificate you get from BDM has all the little safeguards in place to protect against forgery, whereas the one from the day can be whipped up on the computer in 10 minutes. The "decorative" certificate that you can order from BDM is purely for decoration. It doesn't contain all the information the official one does and it's printed put on nice paper with fancy borders etc.

I just checked my "wedding day certificate" the unofficial one, and it had stuff on the back that basically said that while that certificate was proof that the marriage was solemnised according to the Marriage Act, it did not provide proof that the parties named on the certificate are who they said they are.

The official certificate has all of our birth details, and parents details listed on it, whereas the unofficial one just has the names of the two parties to the marriage and the witnesses signatures and the details of the celebrant. I'm guessing that's a big part of why the official one is needed. Because the celebrant also takes a copy of the birth certificates and family details and submits them to BDM who verify the identities of the bride and groom before they lodge the marriage.


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## CollegeGirl (Nov 10, 2012)

Okay, the celebrant is saying now that he's ordering the one from BDM for us. He's saying that's the one that is needed for "official government purposes." He says my fiance chose a commemorative design originally when he put down the deposit. Does anyone know for sure that it's okay for that one to be the "commemorative" kind? Or does it need to be the standard kind?

Seriously... with as much as I've learned about immigration in general I can't believe the marriage cert has proven so confusing for me! LOL


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## Mish (Jan 13, 2013)

I remember reading somewhere maybe the partner booklet that it can't be the commerative one.


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## kangaroogirl (Aug 25, 2012)

CollegeGirl said:


> Okay, the celebrant is saying now that he's ordering the one from BDM for us. He's saying that's the one that is needed for "official government purposes." He says my fiance chose a commemorative design originally when he put down the deposit. Does anyone know for sure that it's okay for that one to be the "commemorative" kind? Or does it need to be the standard kind?
> 
> Seriously... with as much as I've learned about immigration in general I can't believe the marriage cert has proven so confusing for me! LOL


If you order the commemorative pack (we did), you get two from BDM, the "official" one and the commemorative one. Then, you get the one from your celebrant on the day.

So long as the celebrant has ordered the certificate from the BDM you will get the official one. Ordering the commemorative one just means you get an extra one


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## kangaroogirl (Aug 25, 2012)

Mish said:


> I remember reading somewhere maybe the partner booklet that it can't be the commerative one.


You get both if you order the commemorative pack from BDM. They don't supply a commemorative one without the official one, it's part of a pack


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## CollegeGirl (Nov 10, 2012)

The info I found from NSW BDM seems to confirm that. Thank you SO MUCH, kangaroogirl! That is a load off my mind!  I'll get both in that pack, and then make sure we scan/upload the standard one.


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## kangaroogirl (Aug 25, 2012)

CollegeGirl said:


> The info I found from NSW BDM seems to confirm that. Thank you SO MUCH, kangaroogirl! That is a load off my mind!  I'll get both in that pack, and then make sure we scan/upload the standard one.


Yep! No worries  I'm honoured to help someone who helps so many others here!


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