Letter of Non-impediment Swift Service – 2025
The Certificate of Non-impediment to Marriage, commonly known as a Letter of Non-impediment in South Africa, is an important document in legal matters relating to the marital status of South African citizens who wish to marry overseas. If you are a citizen of South Africa and are planning to tie the knot abroad, you will need to present a Letter of Non-impediment (LNI) to an overseas authority to prove that you are single and not already married.
A Letter of Non-impediment (LNI) is a certificate stating that there are no objections to a proposed marriage or civil partnership. The importance of this document in the marriage process is to establish whether there are any legal obstacles preventing you from getting married. Many countries, such as the Netherlands or Germany, require this document in order to get married on their territory.
In South Africa, the Letter of No Impediment (LNI) is provided by your local Home Affairs where births, marriages and deaths are recorded. It can only be issued to South African Citizens and the certificate is valid and can be used for six months from the date of issuing
Global Apostille can assist you to apply for and obtain a Certificate of Non-impediment within 5 working days so that it can be legally used abroad.
Our Certificate of Non-impediment service includes:
- Checking your application documents for the Certificate of Non-impediment to ensure they have been properly completed as required.
- Submission of application documents to the Department of Home Affairs.
- Fast-track your application & receipt of your Letter of No Impediment (LNI).
Turnaround time:
- Five (5) working days
Fee:
- Verification & Submission of the documents to DHA: R 2999.99
Frequently Asked Questions about Letter of Non-Impediment (LNI)
To obtain a Letter of Non-Impediment (LNI), you must apply to a High Commission or Consulate if you are overseas, or to your local Home Affairs.
The length of the process to approve and receive the letter of Non-Impediment to Marriage is dependent on the volume of applications that the DHA is receiving. For that reason, the application for the letter of impediment may take up to 6 months to be approved. With our fast track service can assist you within 5 working days.
A South African Letter of Non-Impediment to Marriage expire 6 months after the date of issue.
If a foreign national is marrying a South African citizen, they must present a Letter of non-impediment.
The letter of Non-impediment is important because it is a government official document that indicates that a thorough search has been conducted on your personal credentials and that no record of marriage can be found on your name. Without this certification, people would be able to marry people in different countries without each country knowing about the marriage.
If you intend to use it overseas, it’s a legal requirement. Letter of Non-impediment (LNI) must be authenticated and verified by a legal authority to prove their authenticity abroad.
Any country that is a member of the Hague Convention will accept an apostille certificate from South Africa without further legalisation. Find a list here.
In South Africa, Apostilles certificates are provided by the South African High Courts and the Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO) located in Pretoria.
We offer one of the fastest turnaround times in the industry so that you can get your Letter of Non-impediment (LNI) quickly and without any stress. We are able to accommodate most requirements, so if you cannot find the answers to your questions from our Q&A below, simply contact us and we will provide you with feedback. We respond to all emails within 30 minutes.
Global-Apostille offer fast, efficient and seamless service to meet your expectation. Client confidentiality as paramount and endeavour to provide a first class service to our clients. To find out more about our fast and reliable document legalisation service.
Contact us at:
Tel
+27 12 348 3134
Cell
+27 81 347 6060
info@apostillelegalisation.co.za
