The no trace letter is now required, which means increased costs and more paperwork for UK couples
Due to Brexit
The changes in the procedure for the civil marriage of British citizens took place after Brexit, since England no longer belongs to the EU. Thus, as wedding planners explain to “K”, holders of a British passport should present the so-called Certificate of No Impediment ( CNI) with Apostille valid only 3 months before the date of marriage together with passports, birth certificates and the Affidavit from a lawyer in England with Apostille. Due to the fact that Cyprus is part of the Commonwealth, the British Government cannot issue the Certificate of No Impediment (CNI) and as an alternative, it can only issue the “No Trace Letter” from the General Register Office, which however has the following features: The request for issuance can only be made by phone – waiting time over 2 hours, it does not have 18 months validity as required by the Home Office, and it takes up to a month waiting time for the document to be received by the couple. Next, the Apostille process from the legalization office in England is needed. As the No Trace Letter cannot prove the individual's marital status in the last 18 months prior to the marriage, the Home Office requires couples to also provide the Single Status Declaration (Sworn affidavit) with Apostille, valid up to 3 months before the wedding, so that their marital status is certified. “K” contacted the competent Ministry of the Interior on the matter, however, so far there has been no response to our request for relevant information.
Cancellations have started
The changes were not received positively by those concerned, while in the last few days, reactions from a portion of Britons began to be recorded on social media. As “K” is informed, a number of them have already started to cancel their wedding for 2023 and are choosing to have a symbolic wedding. Maria Evripidis, CEO and founder of the platform bookyourweddingday.com, is also the recipient of the complaints, who has been receiving emails from her clients for the last few days, in which there is talk of an increase in inconvenience and expenses from this development. She speaks to “K” expressing her concern about how British tourists' interest in Cyprus, as a wedding destination, is now being affected. Already, as he reports, changes have started to be made for 2023. A number of Britons, who have booked their wedding and holidays in Cyprus for the next months of the year, are canceling the performance of the civil wedding and proceeding with the performance of a symbolic wedding. A symbolic marriage does not require documents, translations and notaries, but it is an informal ceremony, and a symbolic ceremony of exchanging vows, in which an informal marriage certificate is given, which is not a legal certificate. Consequently, with such a choice by the couples, on the one hand the number of tourist arrivals is not lost, but on the other hand the revenues of the town halls are clearly negatively affected. Ms. Euripides, at the same time, expressed the assessment that for 2024, weddings will be reduced, while on a long-term level, the consequences can be disastrous for this specific type of tourism in Cyprus, since it is possible that the public of wedding tourism will choose others destinations such as Portugal and Greece, which follow simpler procedures.
Revenue
In terms of revenue, wedding tourism is a significant part of tourism revenue on the island, with the UK being the most important market. As M. Euripides reports, wedding tourism from this particular market is estimated to bring in an average of around 100 million euros per year. The revenues of the municipalities from the performance of civil weddings are also important. Based on the data of the Deputy Ministry of Tourism, for 2022, the revenues for the most popular municipalities exceeded one million euros. Of course, this amount does not include the accommodation expenses of the couple and their guests, as well as their per capita expenditure in general. The aim of the Municipalities is to increase their income and to continuously shape the venues for holding wedding events, trying to gain the interest of foreign tourists who choose Cyprus either for the renewal of vows, cohabitation agreement, honeymoon, anniversary celebrations, Hens/stags, romantic trips etc. Depending on the additional services, the Municipalities can configure the basic fee set by the Union of Municipalities at €282 for foreign nationals. It is noted that the peak months for wedding tourism are the summer season, specifically the months of June, July, August, September and October.
The weddings of 2022
In detail, 9,248 civil marriages were performed in 2018, a number that decreased slightly in 2019 – a total of approximately 8,970 civil marriages were recorded. The wedding tourism sector took a big hit in 2020 due to the strict protocols of the coronavirus pandemic. In that particular year, the number of civil marriage ceremonies fell to 758. Since then the sector has been trying to recover. There were signs of improvement in 2021, with the number of civil marriages tripling compared to 2020. In 2022, their number quadrupled, reaching around 3 thousand marriages. However, it is clear that there is a long way to go before a full recovery in this type of tourism.
The most popular municipalities
The benefits for the Municipalities and for the local economy from the performance of civil weddings are multiple, as long as the couples do not come alone, they are followed by relatives and friends, who also combine their holidays on the island. Indicative data are listed below (numbers of marriages and revenues) for the four municipalities that have their honor in relation to the performance of civil marriages: Ayia Napa, Paphos, Peyia and Larnaca. In the case of the municipality of Ayia Napa, civil weddings started strongly in 2022, after a large flow of bookings was recorded from the beginning of the year. It is the first municipality in preference for wedding tourism in Cyprus. The revenue from performing civil weddings in 2022 is around €461,000 and the main nationalities of couples for the region are British, Israeli, German, Polish, Austrian and those coming from Russia and CIS. In the case of the municipality of Paphos, the figures speak of 572 marriages that took place in 2022. This is a number slightly lower than in 2021, a year in which, despite the restrictive measures of the pandemic, 589 civil marriages took place. The majority of marriages also in this case come from Britain, Germany and Israel. Also high on couples' preferences is the municipality of Peyia, which achieved its 2022 wedding tourism target – a total of 850 civil weddings took place last year, compared to 650 before the pandemic crisis. Within four months, around 560 civil weddings took place and by the end of the year, approximately €440,000 had flowed into the Municipality's coffers. The majority of couples come from Britain and Israel, and before the war in Ukraine, Russia was also a major market. Among the most popular municipalities for performing civil weddings is the municipality of Larnaca, which set a goal for this year to raise the number to 1,100 weddings. In 2022, 757 civil marriages were performed and €196,000 flowed into the Municipality's coffers, while the number for 2021 was slightly lower with 734 civil marriages for the municipality. The markets of Larnaca are Israel and Lebanon.