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Do wizards who marry Muggles have to either get permission, or at least officially notify, the Ministry of Magic?

Presumably, this is a situation that involves a high chance of (usually intentional) revealing of Wizarding world to at least one Muggle, so I'd expect some rules around the situation.

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  • That's a very interesting question. I had never thought about that, but my first instinct would be to say no, there is no need to get the ministry involved. In a situation where muggles marry wizards/witches, it's fairly safe for the wizarding community. You'd only have one individual (who is of some trust) getting to know the existence of the magical world. Considering that, besides having a low chance of going wrong, it would be easy to fix (as opposed to having many people finding out at once). Maybe before their marriage there is some kind of "magical prenup" (?)
    – AugustoQ
    Jun 26, 2015 at 12:20
  • As @AugustoQ said, I doubt it.
    – TheMinecraftMan757
    Jun 26, 2015 at 17:00
  • All the purebloods would say YES followed by 'You filthy blood traitor'. But as stated by Ron, if they hadn't the wizarding population would be extinct.
    – Schuere
    Sep 22, 2015 at 6:37
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    In real life, muggles usually have to register their marriages with the muggle government, so it wouldn't be surprising if all wizarding folk were required to register their marriages with the Ministry. It would also be unsurprising if the relevant Ministry form asked for the magical status of each spouse, for demographic purposes if nothing else. Not canon, of course.
    – Nate Eldredge
    Sep 22, 2015 at 16:13
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    Typically Mom does want to know if her kids are getting married.
    – Adamant
    Aug 12, 2016 at 4:54

3 Answers 3

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They have to notify the Ministry of Magic about the relationship, only as far as telling them that the Muggle is now knowledgeable of the existence of witches and wizards and will not tell anyone.

From the Minerva McGonagall section of Pottermore:

Isobel [Minerva's mother] explained, through her sobs, that she (and their daughter) were bound by the International Statute of Secrecy, and that they must conceal the truth about themselves, or face the fury of the Ministry of Magic.

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  • This is actually true, short answer or not. It's covered under the Pottermore biography of Minerva McGonagall. Just sayin' :) Also, since when does an answer have to be long?
    – Slytherincess
    Dec 24, 2015 at 21:22
  • @Slytherincess I added what I think is the relevant quote from Pottermore. There was part of it later on that talked about her not wanting to violate the International Statute of Secrecy when calling off the engagement, but I don't think that's relevant. If there was something else you saw in Pottermore, feel free to further edit this.
    – Thunderforge
    Aug 12, 2016 at 4:14
  • @Slytherincess I can't find the source, but I know I've seen several users mention that answers are encouraged to be longer than 1 or 2 sentences. I'm guessing because such a short answer likely means there is not source provided to back it up. I have no problem with this answer, now that it has a source, though. +1 from me. :)
    – RedCaio
    Aug 12, 2016 at 4:35
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As for the law:

"Each wizarding governing body will be responsible for the concealment, care and control of all magical beasts, beings, and spirits dwelling within its territory's borders. Should any such creature cause harm to, or draw the notice of, the Muggle community, that nation's wizarding governing body will be subject to discipline by the International Confederation of Wizards." —Clause 73 of International Statute of Wizarding Secrecy"

So when looking at the first line: "Each wizarding governing body"

==> This points to the fact that those who are of wizarding knowledge (be it Muggle or Wizard) are being spoken of.

Off course, exceptions:

"the Minister for Magic occasionally consults with the Prime Minister of Great Britain on issues affecting both societies, and it is clear that the Prime Minister is aware of the wizarding world. Each Prime Minister, on the day appointed to office, gets a visit from the current Minister for Magic. The visit encompasses telling the Prime Minister of the existence of magic and that they will only ever need to meet when there is something going on in the wizarding world that might affect the Muggle world."

So as a general answer, they do not need to inform the MoM. They are, upon marrying, moving their partner into the wizarding world. Afterwards they can decide for themselves if they keep it quiet or not.

I still need to update my sources but this is how it is.

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I assume yes,

The MoM seems to perform all functions of government within the wizarding world, from education to justice and law enforcement. So maybe they would need to be informed of all marriages.

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