AVANI Bentota  

• Minimum residency period prior to marriage: 5 days
• Suggested stay in Sri Lanka: 10 days
• Minimum age : 18 years old

Documents Required

• UK/Irish passport (which expires more than 6 months after the date of your return home )
• Birth Certificate (Both short and long certificate are acceptable)
• Affidavit to confirm single status (even if previously married)

If Required

• If you have been divorced: Decree Absolute is required.
• If you have been widowed: The former marriage certificate and original death certificate
• If you have changed your name: Deed Poll certificate will be required. 
• If you have been divorced and have reverted to using your maiden name then this counts as a name change and proof will be required.
• If you have been adopted: Adoption papers need to be produced

Before you travel

The following documents should be certified by the Foreign & Commonwealth Office (for British nationals) or The Department of Foreign Affairs in Ireland.

• Affidavit and Divorce Certificate if applicable
• If widowed, the death certificate of your late spouse and your previous marriage certificate
• If you have changed your name, a deed poll (including divorcees who have reverted to their maiden names)
• For other nationals, the document should be certified by their respective Foreign Ministry.  Approx. cost for certification is £70 per document.

For further information regarding the Foreign & Commonwealth Office, please go to:

Phone: 03700 00 22 44 (Monday to Friday 12:00-16:00) Email: LegalisationEnquiries@fco.gov.uk

The Legalisation Office, Foreign and Commonwealth Office PO Box 6255, Milton Keynes, MK10 1XX

Before you travel, next step

Once you have had the required documentation certified by the Foreign & Commonwealth Office, the next step is to have them legalised by The Sri Lanka High Commission, London.

For further information, please contact the Sri Lanka High Commission: 020 72621841 Ext : 251 or contact them via email at : consular@srilankahighcommission.co.uk or mail@slhc-london.co.uk

Consular Division, High Commission of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, 13, Hyde Park Gardens, London W2 2LU, United Kingdom

Guests marrying at hotels in Sri Lanka will need to send photocopies of the documents listed to us at least 12 weeks before the date of travel.

In Resort

Once you have married in Sri Lanka, you may need your marriage certificate certified at the Foreign Ministry, Ministry of External Affairs in Colombo; only then will your marriage certificate be valid to submit to authorities outside of Sri Lanka.  This will be dependent on the hotel you stay at.

Translation of documents

All legal documents must be in English or legally translated into English. All translated documents must be from a legal translator with letterhead, stamp and seal from the translator's office or notarised by a Notary Public.  Occasionally the documentation will have to be sent to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office for their approval before being sent back to the notary to sign.

Tropical Sky Weddings and the information given above only apply to couples:

•        Born in the UK & have a valid UK passport (with some month’s validity on return home)

If couples do not fulfil these requirements they must advise us.  Couples should be referred to the embassy of the country of origin and the country where they wish to marry as they may require extra documentation to satisfy their own embassy requirements – Tropical Sky cannot advise on this and couples must investigate this on their own.

As Tropical Sky weddings have no jurisdiction over hotels/resorts/venues/legal requirements and their charges, we cannot be responsible for any increases or changes to these wedding arrangements.  We will, however, endeavour to advise you of changes as soon as we are made aware of them.  All prices and legal requirements correct as of January 2016.