International dating

Location map — India — India. Simplified location map — Natural Earth data, public domain.

The context

Marriage law depends on personal law — Hindu, Muslim, Christian, Parsi — or on the Special Marriage Act, the civil route open to interfaith couples and to marriages involving a foreigner. Family involvement is usually decisive, and the two sides often negotiate the arrangements directly.

Entering the country

An e-visa is available to most nationalities through the official portal; intermediaries charge for a simple process. Passport validity of six months beyond return is required.

Marriage, paperwork and recognition

Under the Special Marriage Act, a notice of intended marriage is published for thirty days before the ceremony — a public posting that some couples find intrusive but cannot avoid. Registration follows and produces a certificate. India is party to the Apostille Convention, so the certificate can be apostilled rather than legalised — a real simplification. See civil marriage in India.

Getting there

Direct flights from Europe, the Gulf and Asia to Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru and other cities. Domestic flights are cheap and frequent. Avoid the peak of the monsoon and the north Indian summer.

Customs and family

Haldi, mehndi, sangeet, the baraat, the mandap and the saptapadi — the seven steps — structure a Hindu wedding over several days. See wedding customs in India.

Points to watch

Dowry demands are unlawful under the Dowry Prohibition Act, whatever local practice suggests.
The thirty-day notice is public and cannot be shortened: plan the calendar around it.
A religious ceremony alone may not be enough for recognition abroad — obtain the registered certificate.

Two bans, whatever your residence

Buying sex while travelling and having a relationship with a minor are crimes here, as they are everywhere. Home-country law follows you across the border. Almost every state sets aside dual criminality and the need for a complaint where a child is the victim of a sexual offence. You may be prosecuted and tried at home no matter what the local law says and what the local authorities do. See sexual offences committed abroad.

If you met online

Four warning signs recur everywhere: a sudden rush of feelings, a persistent refusal of video, an urgent financial request, and pressure to move to another platform. Whatever the country, do not send money to anyone you have never met face to face. People who are genuine agree to a video call, meet in public and bring you into their family circle.

Spotting and reporting a romance scam — India

India across the whole site

This country features on 35 other pages here, in all sections of the site. Below is the full list.

Sexuality

Health

Advice

Marriage

Names

Names

Rights

Official sources and links

Your own foreign ministry's travel advice — read it before each departure: it also conditions your travel insurance. Official portals: United Kingdom · United States · Canada · Australia · New Zealand · Ireland
Your consular post there, or the one covering the country — civil status, marriage, emergencies; note the number before you go. Official directories: United Kingdom · United States · Canada · Australia · New Zealand · Ireland
World Health Organization — health recommendations by destination
Hague Conference on Private International Law — celebration and recognition of the validity of marriages

The full dossier, organised by question

Visa and entry

Passport, visa regime, health, airports, and the intermediaries to avoid.

Getting there, and what it costs

Flights, seasons, internal transport, cash, insurance and orders of magnitude.

Things to do together, and meeting the family

What to do together, the customs to respect, and the money question.

Getting married

Two parallel legal systems, a thirty-day public notice for the civil route, and a family whose involvement is usually decisive.

Two systems, and the choice matters

Marriage in India is governed either by personal law — Hindu, Muslim, Christian, Parsi, each with its own act and its own requirements — or by the Special Marriage Act, the secular civil route. For an interfaith couple, or where one party is foreign, the Special Marriage Act is usually the applicable path. See civil marriage in India.

Thirty days of public notice

Under the Special Marriage Act, a notice of intended marriage is published for thirty days at the marriage officer's office, and anyone may object during that period. One party must normally have resided in the district for thirty days beforehand. The notice is public, and for interfaith couples in particular it has been used to generate pressure — a difficulty documented and litigated in India itself.

Practically: the calendar is built around this month, and the foreign partner generally has to be in India for it, or to return.

Documents for the foreign partner

Passport with a valid visa and the entry stamp
A no-objection certificate or certificate of no impediment from your embassy in India
Birth certificate and, if previously married, divorce decree or death certificate
Photographs and witnesses — usually three

The apostille advantage

India is party to the Apostille Convention, which means the marriage certificate can be apostilled rather than passed through consular legalisation. For recognition abroad this is a real simplification, and one that most couples marrying in South Asia do not have. Get the certificate registered and apostilled before leaving the country.

Dowry

Dowry demands are unlawful under the Dowry Prohibition Act, whatever local practice suggests and however the request is framed. Gifts between families are customary and legal; a demand tied to the marriage is not.

What to see

Choose one region per trip; trying to cross the country in two weeks is the classic error.

Where to go

Delhi, Agra and Jaipur

The golden triangle: Mughal Delhi and its tombs, the Taj Mahal at dawn — go at opening and it is worth every early alarm — and the palaces of Jaipur. Six to seven days.

Rajasthan

Beyond Jaipur: Udaipur on its lake, the blue city of Jodhpur, the fort at Jaisalmer in the desert, and Bikaner. October to March only. Ten days.

Kerala and the south

The backwaters by houseboat, the tea hills of Munnar, Fort Kochi and its Chinese fishing nets, and the Kathakali theatre. Gentler, greener and easier to travel than the north, with excellent food. Ten days.

Varanasi and the Ganges

The oldest continuously inhabited city in India and the spiritual centre of Hinduism: the ghats at dawn, the evening aarti, the cremation grounds. Two to three days.

Ladakh and the Himalaya

High-altitude desert, Buddhist monasteries, Pangong lake and passes above five thousand metres. Accessible June to September; acclimatisation to Leh's altitude takes two days and cannot be skipped.

Mumbai and the Deccan

The financial and film capital, the colonial waterfront and Elephanta island, with the rock-cut caves of Ajanta and Ellora inland — among the great achievements of world art, and far less visited than they deserve.

Building the itinerary

Three stops a week, no more.

International dating — India