In order to register your marriage in Australia with the Swiss authorities, please send the following documents after the wedding to the Consulate General of Switzerland in Sydney:

• Original of the full marriage certificate (with particulars of parents), issued by the Registrar General's Office (not by the marriage celebrant);
• Original of the full birth certificate of your spouse (with particulars of parents), issued within the last 6 months by the Registrar General's Office;
• the questionnaire „Family name after the marriage“, duly filled in and signed;
• copy of your spouse passports or drivers licences;
• if the foreign spouse has been married before, the documents concerning the dissolution of the former marriage, i.e. the original of the divorce certificate „Decree Nisi of Dissolution of Marriage" (issued by the Family Court) or the original of the full death certificate (issued by the Registrar General’s Office);
• a self-addressed prepaid "registered post" envelope, if you wish your original documents be returned to you.

Please note that photocopies cannot be accepted by the Swiss representations. The Australian Registrar's Office of each State keeps a permanent record so you or your spouse can obtain certificates at any time.

Furthermore, Swiss citizens whose place of origin is in the Canton of Vaud, are requested by the civil registries of Vaud to have all Australian documents stamped with an Apostille. Documents without Apostille will not be accepted. The original documents sent to the authorities of Vaud will not be returned to you.
 Authentications and Apostilles 
 

 
If you are planning to get married in a civil ceremony in Switzerland, you must request the following from the Swiss Consulate in Sydney:

• An Application for Marriage Preparation
• A Declaration regarding Prerequisites for Marriage. This form has to be signed in front of a consular officer at the Consulate General in Sydney.

In general the following additional documents are required:

for the Swiss bride or Swiss groom:

• Personenstandsausweis (Extract from the Family Register pertaining to marriage) available from the civil registrar office where the family registers are kept in Switzerland. The relevant Swiss Consulate General can order this document at the same time when the documents for the marriage preparation are forwarded to Switzerland
• Proof of residence (if you are registered at a Swiss representation, this can be replaced by a Certificate of registration and nationality)

for the Foreign Bride or Foreign Groom:

• Birth Certificate, an original of your full birth certificate issued within the last 6 months
• Divorced and widowed persons must prove their marital status (divorced persons by a divorce certificate; widowed persons by a death certificate of the former wife/husband)
• Valid passport
• A Statutory Declaration or Affidavit, legalised by a Notary Public and issued with an apostille by a regional office of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, showing: your place(s) of residence for the last 6 months, your nationality(ies), statement of civil status (never validly married, divorced or widowed) 

Kindly note that couples getting married in the Canton of Vaud, are requested by the civil registries of Vaud to have all Australian documents stamped with an Apostille. Documents without Apostille will not be accepted.
 Authentications and Apostilles

The original documents handed in will not be returned to you.

Additional documents may be required, e.g. in relation to your name after the marriage. Please refer to the attached fact sheet. Further information can be obtained from the Swiss representation when lodging your application.

Costs
When an application is submitted, an advance in the local currency for all expected fees and expenses has to be paid to the relevant Consulate General of Switzerland.