Getting Married in Bali: Legal Information and Advice

Questioner

Good afternoon, Can you help me with the following question: I have a girlfriend in Indonesia Bali and only want to get married in church in Bali. So no registration in the Netherlands. Also don't want to have problems with the inheritance of my children. As far as I have been able to read you have to get married in the Netherlands before the civil registry to be legally valid. See below. According to Dutch law, you are only married if your marriage is concluded before a civil registrar (BS). You are free to decide whether or not you want to marry in church afterwards. A different order is not possible. In Indonesia, this is different. A marriage cannot be registered with the civil registrar (in Indonesian: Catatan Sipil) or KUA, if no religious marriage has been concluded beforehand. (Art. 2 of the Indonesian Marriage Act of 1974). Am I running the risk that she will make use of my assets, which I certainly do not want? Please comment on this.

Lawyer

I advise you to first inquire whether one of the partners can convert the religious marriage into an - Indonesian - civil marriage without the consent of the other. If that is indeed the case, this marriage can possibly be legalized in the Netherlands. I also recommend that you investigate what maintenance obligations may arise from a marriage in Indonesia.