SINGAPORE — A Bill will be introduced at the next Parliament sitting to enable civil and Muslim marriages to be solemnised remotely using technology, Minister for Social and Family Development Desmond Lee said in a Facebook post on Sunday (April 26).

Under the proposed law which will be introduced in Parliament on May 4, couples would not need to be present at the Registry of Marriages or Registry of Muslim Marriages, or in the physical presence of a marriage solemniser and witnesses.

To be eligible, at least one member of the couple must be a Singapore citizen or permanent resident. The couple must also present Singapore-issued documents for verification, instead of foreign-issued documents.

The couples, their witnesses and their wali (usually the bride’s father) for Muslim marriages must physically be in Singapore to sign the statutory declaration, and for the Government to verify the necessary documents.

They must also all be physically in Singapore during the solemnisation of the marriage.

Marriage solemnisations have had to be postponed since Singapore’s circuit breaker measures to curb the spread of Covid-19 began on April 7.

“Even during a crisis, we should try to enable important life events such as marriages to go on,” Mr Lee said.

If the law is enacted, the process is expected to start from mid-May onwards.

"If all goes well, we hope to extend this as an option to more couples, even after the circuit breaker period," Mr Lee said. “We will also resume solemnisations that are conducted in person, when it is safe to do so.”