1. Short title.—This Act may be called the Foreign Marriage Act, 1969.
2. Definitions.—In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires,—
(a) “degrees of prohibited relationship” shall have the same meaning as in the Special Marriage
Act, 1954 (43 of 1954);
(b) “district”, in relation to a Marriage Officer, means the area within which the duties of his
office are to be discharged;
(c) “foreign country” means a country or place outside India, and includes a ship which is for the
time being in the territorial waters of such a country or place;
(d) “Marriage Officer” means a person appointed under section 3 to be a Marriage Officer;
(e) “official house”, in relation to a Marriage Officer, means—
(i) the official house of residence of the officer;
(ii) the office in which the business of the officer is transacted;
(iii) a prescribed place; and
(f) “prescribed” means prescribed by rules made under this Act.
3. Marriage Officers.—For the purposes of this Act, the Central Government may, by notification in
the Official Gazette, appoint such of its diplomatic or consular officers as it may think fit to be Marriage
Officers for any foreign country.
Explanation.—In this section, “diplomatic officer” means an ambassador, envoy, minister, high
commissioner, commissioner, charge d’ affairs or other diplomatic representative or a counsellor or
secretary of an embassy, legation or high commission.