A single status certificate or celibacy certificate is an affidavit that testifies to the fact that a man or woman has never been married before and that there is no record within the country (Cameroon) in this instance of the person being married.
There are two types of single status certificates or certificate of celibacy that can be obtained in Cameroon. There is the certificate of bachelorhood and the certificate of spinsterhood, which applies to men and women respectively but serve the same purpose which is to indicate that a person is free to marry because he or she is not married at the moment, or his or her spouse is deceased or they have obtained a divorce decree where there was any previous marriage.
A single status certificate or certificate of celibacy is required to show that a person is free to get married. It is usually required by people who want to get married outside jurisdiction i.e. Cameroon, showing that the Marriage Registry, for instance, does not have any record of the person being married.
SINGLE STATUS CERTIFICATE OR CERTIFICATE OF CELIBACY IN CAMEROON
The first step for obtaining a single status certificate for oversea usage is to firstly depose to an affidavit of Spinsterhood or Bachelorhood. After the affidavit has been deposed to, it is to be taken together with any other required documents to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Cameroon for attestation.
REQUIREMENT FOR CELIBACY CERTIFICATE IN CAMEROON
In obtaining a single status certificate or certificate of celibacy in Cameroon Documents required include:
- Means of identification such as the National Identity card or international passport
- For a divorcee, proof that the divorce has been completed.
- If the person is a widow or a widower, the death certificate of the deceased spouse and also the Marriage certificate
- Evidence of the place of residence of the applicant
- Proof of change of name where relevant
- Certificate of birth
- Affidavit
CONCLUSION
A single status certificate or certificate of celibacy is in form of an affidavit that will usually state the name, address, age, date of birth, citizenship, occupation, that the person is single and has never gone through a marriage ceremony before; or that his former spouse is dead; or that he is divorced if a divorce has taken place.
This single status certificate or certificate of celibacy is always in form of affidavit from the high court or an attestation from the council, and it attests to the fact that the bearer or deponent does not have any existing marital obligation. It serves the same purpose a marriage certificate will serve for married person to a single person.