Interviewer instructions
People who live together as husband and wife and who so regard themselves as husband and wife, should be recorded as married. The answer must be accepted as given by the respondent and not to question the legal aspect of the marital status. Accordingly, a person shall be classified as "married" if currently married under the legal system or according to the customs of local area. For those currently married under this group, you have to ask if there is a certificate of marriage, or it was just a traditional one, i.e. only customary.
A person should be classified as "Consensual union" If living together with a person of the opposite sex as husband and wife without any legal or customary ceremony. If a person has been widowed but has since re-married or is living in a consensual union,(s) he should be recorded according to the current marital status. The same applies for a person who was once divorced but has since entered into another union.
Divorced/separated do not have to have gone through the court or other formalities for it to be considered as such. Thus, it is the respondent who defines his/her marital status. Please note that "never married" is not equivalent to "single" as the letter includes those who have never been married and those who have been married but are currently divorced/separated or widowed. "Never married" strictly refers to those who have never entered into any marital union.