Hello everyone,
My partner (Japanese citizen) and I (German/Croatian citizen) are planning to get married in April/May 2027. We both live in Japan and are not Canadian residents.
We’ve been looking into options and found that getting married in Canada seems relatively straightforward for international couples, so we are considering Vancouver.
I’ve read a bit about marriage licences, marriage commissioners, and registration, but I’m still confused about how the process actually works in practice.
Could anyone who has gone through this (especially in British Columbia/Vancouver) help us understand the process?
Specifically, we’re unsure about:
Do we need to book a marriage commissioner ourselves, or is this arranged through the city/province?
Can we get married at a town hall, or do we need to arrange the location?
Do we get two witnesses by whoever we request to register our marriage / perform marriage ceremony?
After the ceremony, how do we receive the marriage certificate, and can it be sent internationally (e.g. to Japan)?
Any general tips for non-resident couples doing this in Vancouver?
We’ve read some information online, but we haven’t found a clear step-by-step experience from couples in a similar situation, so any advice or personal experience would be really appreciated.
Thank you very much.