Ministry of Home Affairs urges married couples to verify their marriage records

Staff Reporter THE Ministry of Home Affairs, Immigration, Safety and Security (MHAISS) is urging all married couples to visit their nearest Ministry office to confirm that their marriage records have been properly submitted and registered by their Marriage Officers. The Ministry’s Executive Director, Nghidinua Daniel, explained that, in accordance with Section 40(2) of the Births, Marriages and Deaths Registration Act, 1963 (Act No. 81 of 1963), every Marriage Officer is legally required to retain a copy of the marriage register for their own records and to transmit the original marriage register to the Ministry within three days of the marriage being solemnised. However, Daniel revealed that some Marriage Officers have not consistently submitted marriage registers to the Ministry as required by law. “This late or non-submission resulted in some marriages not being registered on time in the Ministry’s system or not at all. To ensure completeness and accuracy of the national marriage register, the Ministry encourages all married couples to visit their nearest MHAISS office to verify whether their marriage records were submitted to the Ministry by the Marriage Officers and whether they have been duly registered in the Ministry’s system. This verification process is important to safeguard the legal recognition of marriages and to maintain the accuracy of national civil records,” Daniel explained. He further assured the public that the Ministry remains dedicated to maintaining the integrity and reliability of the country’s civil registration and vital statistics system, and urged all citizens to verify official information through the Ministry’s official communication channels. “As part of this commitment, MHAISS will continue to implement measures aimed at verifying, updating, and strengthening marriage records to ensure that every legitimate marriage in Namibia is accurately recorded and protected. The Ministry urges all citizens to verify official information through its official communication channels before acting on unverified messages circulating on social media,” Daniel added. Picture for illustrative purposes only. Photo: Pixabay