Georgia: Where Marriages Are as Easy as a Cup of Coffee

Let’s take two words:

Georgia: a land of joyful toasts, kind people, sunny weather, and incredible landscapes.

Marriage: a lifelong commitment full of uncertainties, a heavy process of infinite bureaucracy, and a difficult engagement to disengage from.

How can these apparently opposite words combine? Well, let’s try…

A marriage in Georgia is as easy as a cup of coffee!

Different conceptions

My partner and I were both living in Georgia for one year. We met after six months in the country and spent the other six together. We love to travel, and after some short travels in the region – Turkey and Armenia – we decided to go further.

To make things easier (we initially planned to travel to Iran, where in some places you cannot book a room together unless you are married) and with an eye to the future, we decided to give it a try and get married.

I never imagined I would marry – and for sure not at such a young age! However, while traveling I discovered that the conception of marriage in different countries greatly differs: in Italy, marriage is usually considered a big deal and if you marry at a young age people would think you are making a mistake because things might somehow go wrong; in Georgia, and in the whole ex-USSR, early marriages are still considered the normality.

With this in mind, and with the thought that we were just doing that to ease our present-day life and not as a life-long commitment, one morning in October I went to the notary.

Let’s see how to do it step-by-step…

There are no restrictions as to who can marry who in Georgia – unless you are part of the LGBTQI+ community. People of every nationality and creed can just go to the Justice House (the so-called “Mushroom Building'' in Tbilisi) and be married within the next 24/48 hours.

First: If you are a foreigner, you will need to translate your passport at one of the many notarial offices of the city. Expect to pay about 30 GEL (12 USD), and to wait one hour. You can spend that time exploring the surroundings, eat a yummy khachapuri, or stop at one of the many cafes in the city. When you have translated your passport, you are already halfway through the process.

Next step: find the testimonies!
They don’t necessarily need to be Georgians, but if they are not, you will need to translate their passports too. When we were doing that, one of my Italian friends was visiting Tbilisi, and he was extremely excited – and shocked – at the idea of being my testimony. However, if you don’t have any Georgian acquaintances, or any friends visiting you, you can just try to ask someone in the streets or during a night out. People in Georgia are very kind and open, and it will not be hard to find someone willing to help you get married. They might even organize a big party for you…

Next step: go to the Mushroom Building! Sorry, the Justice House.
It is located in the city center, right next to Dedaena Park, and it’s always very busy. It closes at 6 PM, so if you want to avoid a soul-consuming wait and the risk of afterthoughts, go there early in the morning.

In our case, that’s exactly what made us give up: after a 4-hour long wait in a public administration building, with countless coffee breaks, and increasingly piercing hunger, we just thought it was too much. Spending a few nights in Iran in different rooms was not that big of a deal compared to this torture! And about the possibility of easing the Schengen visa process in the future… Well, we would manage anyway!

That’s it! You will be officially married within 24 – or maximum 48 – hours from the moment you submit your application at the Justice House.

In case of doubts about this procedure, consult the official government webpage.