Requirements to Register Marriage at the Religious Affairs Office for Muslims (Mualaf)

PERTANYAAN

I have converted to Muslim (mualaf) since 2013 and have a certificate of conversion, but have not updated my electronic ID Card and Family Card. Do I need to update my electronic ID Card data first as a condition of registering for marriage?

INTISARI JAWABAN

One of the first procedures that couples who wish to get married in Islam must go through the Office of Religious Affairs (in Bahasa Indonesia Kantor Urusan Agama/ "KUA") is registration of marriage will.

To be able to register for marriage will, there are numbers of marriage registration requirements that must be met by the prospective bride and groom, including photocopies of their identity card and family card. These documents will form the basis for the Head of the Sub-district KUA/wedding officiant to conduct an examination of marriage documents in the presence of the prospective husband, prospective wife, and guardian to ascertain whether or not there are any impediments to marriage.

So, if the ID Card and Family Card data are still non-Muslim, can a convert register a marriage will?

Please read the review below for a further explanation.

 

ULASAN LENGKAP

This article is an English translation of Syarat Daftar Nikah di Kantor Urusan Agama bagi Mualaf, written by Erizka Permatasari, S.H. and published on Monday, 20 June 2022.

This article below is an update of the article entitled Requirements to Register Marriage for Muslims (Mualaf), published on Friday, 12 March 2021.

All legal information available on Klinik hukumonline.com has been prepared for educational purposes only and is general in nature (read the complete Disclaimer). In order to obtain legal advice specific to your case, please consult with Justika Partner Consultant.

Marriage Registration Requirements and Pillar of Islam

To answer your question about the conditions of marriage registration, we assume that you live in Indonesia and will be getting married in Indonesia. Then, before discussing the requirements of the marriage register, we will inform you of some of the legal requirements of marriage based on the provisions of Islamic law in Indonesia as regulated in the Compilation of Islamic Law.

Basically, a marriage is legitimate, if it is carried out according to the law of each religion and belief.[1] In addition, every marriage shall be registered in accordance with the prevailing laws and regulations.[2]

Regarding the conversion of religion, the requirements for people who convert to Islam or mualaf to get married are to fulfill the pillars and conditions of a legitimate marriage. The pillars of marriage are as follows:[3]

1. prospective husband;
2. prospective wife;
3. marriage guardian;
4. two witnesses; and
5. ijab and qabul (a legitimate condition of the marriage contract).

In addition, it must be ensured that both the prospective husband and the prospective wife have no impediments to marriage,[4] including ensuring that both parties are Muslim, because a Muslim man cannot marry a non-Muslim woman[5], and vice versa a Muslim woman cannot marry a non-Muslim man.[6]

As for the specific marriage requirements for women who convert, ensuring that the one who will act as a marriage guardian is Muslim is necessary. This is in accordance with the legal requirements for marriage guardians according to the Compilation of Islamic Law: Muslim, mature, and pubescent.[7]

If the father of the bride does not meet these requirements, then he can look for a nasab guardian who is the closest in the degree of kinship to him, who meets the requirements. The order of the degree of kinship of the nasab guardian can be seen in Article 21 section (1) Compilation of Islamic Law. If there is no nasab guardian who meets the requirements, a wali hakim, known as a magistrate guardian can be appointed.[8]

Based on these provisions, basically for a marriage to be legitimate under Islamic law, the bride and groom must be Muslims and the pillars and conditions of valid marriage must be fulfilled.

Also read: The Law of a Marriage Without a Guardian

Marriage Registration at the Office of Religious Affairs

Furthermore, before answering the main question, namely about the requirements for registering the marriage, it is better to first understand the procedure for registering marriage at the Office of Religious Affairs (or in Bahasa Indonesia known as Kantor Urusan Agama/ "KUA") based on Regulation of the Minister of Religious Affairs 20/2019.

Marriage between a man and a woman who are Muslim is recorded in a marriage certificate.[9] The registration of marriage in the marriage certificate is carried out by the Head of the Sub-district KUA, which includes:[10]

1. registration of the marriage will;
2. examination of the marriage will;
3. announcement of the marriage will;
4. implementation of marriage registration; and
5. delivery of the marriage book.

Registration of Marriage Will at the Office of Religious Affairs

When is marriage registration done? Registration of the will to marry, or register of marriage, is done at the KUA of the sub-district where the marriage contract is to be performed at least 10 working days before the marriage.[11] If less than 10 working days, the bride and groom must obtain a dispensation letter from the sub-district head on behalf of the regent/mayor where the marriage contract is to be performed.[12]

Marriage Registration Requirements

Registration of a marriage will or marriage registration is done in writing by completing an application form and attaching the following documents, namely:[13]

1. a letter of introduction to marriage from the village/neighborhood where the prospective bride and groom live;
2. photocopy of birth certificate or birth certificate issued by the local village/ neighborhood;
3. photocopy of electronic identity card for those who are above 17 years old or have already been married;
4. photocopy of family card;
5. a marriage recommendation letter from the local sub-district KUA for a bride and groom who are getting married outside the sub-district where they live;
6. consent of the bride and groom;
7. written permission of parents or guardians for prospective brides and grooms who have not reached the age of 21 years;
8. permission from the guardian who maintains or cares for or family who has blood relations, in the event that both parents or guardians pass or are unable to express their will;
9. permission from the court, in the absence of parents, and guardians;
10. dispensation from the court for prospective husbands who have not reached the age in accordance with the provisions of the Marriage Law;
11. a letter of permission from the superior or the unit if the prospective bride or groom is a member of the Indonesian National Army or the Indonesian Police;
12. a stipulation of polygamy permit from the religious court for a husband who wishes to have more than one wife;
13. a divorce certificate or an excerpt from the talak registration book or divorce registration book for those whose divorce occurred before the enactment of Law 7/1989; and
14. death certificate of husband or wife made by the head of the village or equivalent official for widows or widowers left behind.

After that, the Head of the Sub-district KUA/ wedding officiant conducts an examination of the above marriage documents[14] which is carried out in the sub-district area where the marriage contract takes place[15] in the presence of the prospective husband, prospective wife, and guardian to ascertain whether or not there are any impediments to marriage.[16]

In the event that the marriage documents are declared complete, the results of the examination of the marriage documents are set out in a marriage examination sheet signed by the prospective husband, prospective wife, guardian, and Head of the Sub-district KUA/ wedding officiant.[17]

Based on the above provisions, in order to be able to register the will to marry or the marriage registration requirements, prospective brides and grooms are indeed required to attach photocopies of their ID Cards and Family Cards. These documents will form the basis for the Head of the Sub-district KUA/wedding officiant in conducting an examination of marriage documents to ascertain whether or not there are any impediments to marriage.

Should You Update the Data on Your Electronic ID Card and Family Card Before Getting Married?

According to Is a Muslim Marriage Legal If the Religion Column in the Family Card Has Not Been Changed?, no marriage registration requirement explicitly requires changing the religion column on the Family Card of the prospective bride or groom who converts. This is a matter of population administration only. You can update your civil registration data after marriage. Similarly, with ID cards, there is no provision that requires a change in the religious information on the ID card for a converted bride/groom-to-be as a condition of registering a marriage will.

Therefore, in our opinion, you can apply for marriage registration or fulfill the requirements of the marriage register even if you have not updated your civil registration data on your electronic ID card and Family Card. This is provided that your conversion to Islam can be proven, one of which can be done through your Mualaf Certificate.

However, it should be noted that in the event of a change in data elements, damage, or loss, the electronic ID card owner is obliged to report to the implementing agency to make changes or replacements.[18] What is meant by implementing agency is a district/city government apparatus that is responsible and authorized to carry out services in population administration affairs.[19]

So, although a change of ID card is not required as part of the marriage registration requirements, based on these provisions, you are legally obliged to report changes to your religious data in order to make changes or replacements to your electronic ID card.

You can read more about the stages of managing changes in religion on electronic ID cards and Family Cards in Stages of Managing Changes of Religion on ID Card and How to Manage a Family Card If You Change Religion After Getting Married.

These are the answers we can provide, we hope you will find them useful.

Legal Basis:

1. Law Number 1 of 1974 on Marriage as amended by Law Number 16 of 2019 on the Amendment to Law Number 1 of 1974 on Marriage;
2. Law Number 7 of 1989 on Religious Court as amended by Law Number 3 of 2006 on the Amendment to Law Number 7 of 1989 on Religious Court as amended for the second time by Law Number 50 0f 2009 on the Second Amendment to Law Number 7 of 1989 on Religious Court;
3. Law Number 23 of 2006 on Civil Administration as amended by Law Number 24 of 2013 on the Amendment to Law Number 23 of 2006 on Civil Administration;
4. Regulation of the Minister of Religious Affairs Number 20 of 2019 on Marriage Registration;
5. Instruction of the President Number 1 of 1991 on Compilation of Islamic Law.

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[1] Article 2 section (1) Law Number 1 of 1974 on Marriage (“Marriage Law”).

[2] Article 2 section (2) Marriage Law.

[3] Article 14 Instruction of the President Number 1 of 1991 on Compilation of Islamic Law (“Compilation of Islamic Law”).

[4] Article 18 Compilation of Islamic Law.

[5] Article 40 letter c Compilation of Islamic Law.

[6] Article 44 Compilation of Islamic Law.

[7] Article 20 section (1) Compilation of Islamic Law.

[8] Article 23 section (1) Compilation of Islamic Law.

[9] Article 2 section (1) Regulation of the Minister of Religious Affairs Number 20 of 2019 on Marriage Registration (“Regulation of the Minister of Religious Affairs 20/2019”).

[10] Article 2 section (2) and (3) Regulation of the Minister of Religious Affairs 20/2019.

[11] Article 3 section (1) and (3) Regulation of the Minister of Religious Affairs 20/2019.

[12] Article 3 section (4) Regulation of the Minister of Religious Affairs 20/2019.

[13] Article 4 section (1) Regulation of the Minister of Religious Affairs 20/2019.

[14] Article 5 section (1) Regulation of the Minister of Religious Affairs 20/2019.

[15] Article 5 section (2) Regulation of the Minister of Religious Affairs 20/2019.

[16] Article 5 section (3) Regulation of the Minister of Religious Affairs 20/2019.

[17] Article 5 section (4) Regulation of the Minister of Religious Affairs 20/2019.

[18] Article 64 section (8) Law Number 24 of 2013 on the Amendment to Law Number 23 of 2006 on Civil Administration (“Law 24/2013”).

[19] Article 1 number 7 Law 24/2013.