FOREIGN embassies in Ireland are awaiting clarification on the status of marriages at their premises.
The General Register Office (GRO) wrote to foreign embassies earlier this month, informing them that marriages at their premises were illegal unless performed by a registrar in a registered building open to the public.
Contacted by Metro Éireann last week, Lithuanian ambassador to Ireland Vidmantas Purlys said: “Co-operation with the Irish authorities has been very good and we had encouraging signs that there will be further explanation on the issue.”
Ambassador Purlys said that since July 2008, over 130 couples had been married at the embassy, and Lithuanians are contacting the mission in confusion.
“There are many Lithuanians asking questions, and wondering about the continuation of marriages in the embassy, but we’ve terminated ceremonies,” he said.
However, the diplomat said the situation of couples that were already married at the embassy is unclear.
“For those marriages already enacted, there is no clarity on that,” he said. “These marriages at this embassy were registered as legal with Irish institutions such as the GRO and so on, and there is nothing that created any problem up until now.”
Ambassador Purlys said that the “legal status of those marriages is not yet clarified as far as we’re concerned”, but underlined that the actions of Irish authorities were “fully legitimate”.
He said the embassy awaits further notification from authorities, with married couples facing potential ramifications on issues such as registration of births and social welfare entitlements. Up to 3,000 couples married at foreign embassies could be affected.
Dublin-based chef Arturas Kononovas is among them, having married at the Lithuanian embassy in November.
He told Metro Éireann he and his wife have not yet experienced any problems relating to registration of their marriage, but “more information” from Irish authorities would be welcome.
Kononovas said weddings at the Lithuanian embassy were particularly popular, as documentation went straight to Lithuania where the marriage was also registered.
“The documents will be completely finalised when we go back there,” he explained.
Meanwhile, a spokesperson for the Polish embassy in Dublin – where around 1,000 marriages were conducted – confirmed it is also awaiting further clarification on the issue.
Marriages conducted at foreign embassies are deemed legal in the country represented, it is understood.
