Joint Declaration of Marriage

What this document contains

5 clauses every joint declaration of marriage carries, plus 3 you can add.

1. 01

   Declarants

   The opening recital naming both spouses. The only recital in the family written in the plural, which is why it is authored here rather than shared.

2. 02

   The marriage

   When, where and under what rites or law the marriage took place. The assertion a registrar or consulate reads first, and the one they check against whatever certificate exists.

3. 03

   The marriage subsists

   That the marriage is still on foot and neither spouse has another. Takes no input. This is the sentence a visa officer or a bank actually relies on.

4. 04

   No fraudulent intent

   Disclaims any intent to evade a debt, tax, obligation or proceeding. Takes no input. Banks and passport authorities routinely refuse a document that omits it, which is why it is mandatory rather than optional.

5. 05

   Verification

   The joint verification and both signature blocks. Written in the plural, which is why it is not the shared verification clause.

Optional clauses

• Why there is no certificate

  Explains the gap — never registered, or registered and the certificate not yet issued. Optional, because a couple who already hold a certificate are usually declaring something else about it.

  Worth adding when: the marriage was never registered, or the certificate has not been issued yet

• Children

  Names the children of the marriage. Asked for by consulates on a dependent visa and by insurers settling a claim.

  Worth adding when: a consulate, insurer or pension office has asked the couple to list their children

• Purpose

  Names the authority this is made for, and confines it to that.

  Worth adding when: the couple named the registrar, consulate, bank or employer asking for it

What the law requires

Attestation

An affidavit takes effect only when sworn or affirmed before a person authorised to administer an oath — a notary, oath commissioner, or magistrate. Drafting and signing it alone achieves nothing.

Notaries Act 1952, s. 8; Oaths Act 1969, s. 4

Oath or affirmation

The deponent chooses. Affirmation carries no religious observance and is the usual choice; an oath is equally valid. Neither is stronger evidence than the other, and no officer may require one over the other.

Oaths Act 1969, ss. 5–6

False statements

A statement the deponent knows to be false is punishable. The verification is not a formality — it is what makes the declaration actionable.

Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita 2023, ss. 227–229 (formerly IPC ss. 191–193)

First-hand knowledge only

An affidavit states facts within the deponent's own knowledge. It must not be used to assert facts about a third party's rights or affairs — those are for that person to swear to, or for a document to prove.

Code of Civil Procedure 1908, Order XIX rule 3

Stamp paper is not optional here

Unlike an agreement, which binds the parties whether stamped or not and is merely inadmissible until duty is paid, an affidavit on plain paper is simply refused by the authority it is addressed to. Buy the stamp paper before the notary visit, not after.

Indian Stamp Act 1899, Sch. I Art. 4

Registration, not validity

A marriage is not invalid merely because it was not registered. This declaration is evidence of a marriage that happened; it neither performs the marriage nor registers it, and must never be offered as doing either.

Hindu Marriage Act 1955, s. 8(5)

Both must sign

A joint declaration signed by one spouse is not a weaker version of this document — it is one person asserting a fact about another, which is the thing an affidavit may not do.

Code of Civil Procedure 1908, Order XIX rule 3

A false statement of marriage is not only a false declaration

Declaring a marriage that did not take place, or one that has been dissolved, in support of a visa or a benefit is a false statement made to obtain an advantage and is prosecuted as such.

Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita 2023, ss. 227–229