The short answer
No, Home Affairs may not refuse an application for a marriage certificate for a same sex marriage.
The whole question
I just want to enquire if Home Affairs can refuse an application for a same sex marriage?
I know officials can refuse to marry us but as far as I know they can’t refuse to do the application for a marriage certificate.
The long answer
Thank you for your email asking whether Home Affairs can refuse an application for a same sex marriage.
No,
Home Affairs may not refuse an application for a marriage certificate
for a same sex marriage. Heterosexual couples can be married under the
Marriages Act of 1961, while both heterosexual and same sex partners can
be married under the Civil Union Act of 2006. There is no difference in
status between them.
There are reports of some Home Affairs
officials continuing to block and obstruct the marriages of same sex
couples, but this behaviour is against the law, specifically the Bill of
Rights in the Constitution, which guarantees equal rights to everyone
irrespective of sexual orientation.
To begin the process of getting
married, you must register your intention to marry with Home Affairs and
apply for a marriage certificate at least three months before you
intend to get married. Home Affairs marriage forms are available on
request and must be submitted with the following documents:
• ID’s for both partners
• Both passports if one partner is not South African
•
A completed form which declares that there is no legal impediment to
your marriage. (This form is also available from Home Affairs offices.)
• Official divorce decree, stamped by the court, if one partner has previously been married
• A death certificate, if one partner has been widowed.
421
out of a total of 1,130 Home Affairs marriage officers have been
exempted from having to perform same sex marriages under Section 6 of
the Civil Union Act, but this will come to an end in 24 months time.
This
is because a Private Member’s Bill by Deidre Carter of the Congress of
the People (COPE) was passed in December 2018 to repeal Section 6