33 and unmarried? VAO’s doubt stalls engineer’s wedding

33 and unmarried? VAO’s doubt stalls engineer’s wedding

Ram.Sundaram@timesofindia.com 

19.09.2026

Madurai: For most couples, marriage plans get delayed by finances, family negotiations or careers. However, for a fintech engineer from Madurai working in Japan, it’s a village officer’s doubt about how he could “still be unmarried at 33” that has stretched things. 

U Arivanandan, who moved to Japan for work three years ago, met a Japanese woman there, and they decided to marry. For the marriage in Japan, he requires an unmarried certificate from authorities in Madurai, which subsequently has to be attested by the ministry of external affairs. 

His family applied online in Jan 2026. A month later, the application was rejected by Madurai district authorities. “At the age of 33, your son is still not married. I doubt it,” Arivanandan’s father Udhayachandran quoted the VAO as telling him. 

The officer also wanted Arivanandan to appear before him personally, Udhayachandran told TOI. The family then approached the Madurai collector and submitted a fresh application in May. They were again called to the VAO’s office, but the certificate was once again rejected last Tuesday. 

Eight months have passed since he applied, and the wedding remains on hold. Defending his decision, the VAO told TOI that Arivanandan, aged 33 already, had been living abroad for years and there was no way to verify locally whether he had married in Japan already. “If he resides here, we can issue it based on his statement and two witnesses. When he is living abroad, I cannot get into trouble without verification. Also, he had not produced a letter from Indian Embassy in Japan stating he was unmarried,” the VAO said.

However, the official TNeGA portal for certificate applications does not specifically require an unmarried-status letter from the embassy. It lists a photograph, address proof, age proof and self-declaration among documents for an unmarried certificate. Under the declaration, the applicant accepts responsibility for the information furnished and can face prosecution if it is later found false.  Madurai district collector Nishant Krishna did not respond to queries.