The number of marriages in the territory has declined steadily since 2008, according to a report from the Civil Registry and Passport Office.
The report, tabled at the House of Assembly last month, says that 252 marriage licences were issued last year, compared to 247 in 2011 and 299 in 2010.
It was a year of changes for the office, Registrar General Stephanie Benn wrote in the 2012 annual report.
In addition to adding units and increasing fees for passports and belonger cards, the office saw a change in marriage licence rules in September. The new special licences allow couples who have been in the territory just one business day to marry, easing the former requirement of three days.
After a decline in 2010, the number of passports issued has increased in the last two years, with 2,030 passports issued in 2012, the report states. The number of passports reported lost or stolen has remained steady over the last three years, with 38 reported in 2012.
With a new system of electronic belonger cards launched in May, the Belongers’ Status Unit faced “a mammoth task” in 2012: transferring all the existing belonger card information to the new electronic system.
See the Aug. 15, 2013 edition for full coverage.
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