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.
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
In South Africa, the Letter of No Impediment (LNI) is provided by your local Home Affairs where births, marriages and deaths are recorded.
Global Apostille helps you apply for and obtain your Letter of Non-Impediment quickly and efficiently. Instead of waiting several months, you can receive your certificate within 5 working days.
Furthermore, we assist with apostille authentication, so you can use your document legally overseas.
Get your Letter of Non-impediment apostille in as little as 3 to 5 working days.
Step one:
Send us a formal request via email at info@apostillelegalisation.co.za. Ensure your email includes:
Step two:
On receipt of your application documents for Letter of Non-impediment (LNI) , our team will assess your documents for compliance and send you a quotation for the service. Our payment terms are 50% on quotation approval and 50% on collection.
Step three:
We will proceed with the service upon receipt of the payment and will notify you of the receipt of the Letter of Non-impediment (LNI), ready for collection, within five (5) working days.
Collection/Delivery:
In-Person: Once processed, you can collect your Letter of Non-impediment (LNI) from our offices in Pretoria.
By Courier: If you’re located outside Pretoria or South Africa, we can arrange a reliable courier service to deliver the document on to your doorstep. Fees apply.
Five (5) working days
Verification & Submission of the documents to DHA: R2999.99
Email us or fill out the form below and our one of our friendly staff members will contact you to assist with your apositlle requirements.
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.
