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MOVING TO GERMANY

EXPLAINED: How to have your marriage abroad recognised in Germany

Moving to Germany? Or have you lived here a while and just decided to get married abroad? You should advise the German authorities that you’ve tied the knot – particularly if you’re married to a German or other EU national - as it has implications for your tax and residency rights. Here’s how.

Published: 12 December 2023 11:29 CET
EXPLAINED: How to have your marriage abroad recognised in Germany
A newlywed couple pose on the Alexander III bridge in Paris. If getting married abroad, there's an extra step to having it recognized in Germany. (Photo by Ludovic MARIN / AFP)

If you got married outside of Germany before moving here – or if you already live in Germany but opted for a beachside wedding in Spain or the excitement of a Las Vegas wedding chapel, you’ll typically need to advise German authorities.

This is especially true if at least one partner is German.

READ ALSO: Here’s how to marry a German as an expat

Does Germany consider my marriage valid?

In most cases, yes.

If the marriage performed abroad was conducted in the customary manner that the country typically observes, and is a legal marriage in that country – Germany will typically consider it valid in Germany as well.

You then just need to go about proving it.

READ ALSO: I just got married in Germany. How does this affect my taxes?

Two golden wedding rings on a rock

Registering a foreign marriage in Germany is a fairly easy process, and grants a load of rights. Photo by Denny Müller on Unsplash

What documents do I need?

To do this, make an appointment at your local registry office and present your marriage certificate. If you’re moving to Germany for the first time, you can try simply bringing your marriage certificate with you to your first appointment registering your residence (Anmeldung), along with your passport and birth certificate.

Official documents such as your marriage certificate may need to be authenticated depending on which country the document is from. German authorities won’t require this step if the certificate is from one of the 125 signatories of the Hague Convention, which includes European countries, the US, UK, Canada, Australia, Brazil, and India – just to name a few.

‘Ja, Ich will’: What it’s like to get married in Germany

If in doubt, it’s a good idea to check in with the responsible German mission abroad, who can then authenticate the document. They cannot, however, legally translate it into German. You also can’t get married at a German mission abroad.

In most cases, you won’t need your marriage certificate authenticated. However, if the certificate is in a language other than German, you may need to have it translated by a court-approved translator. Documents issues in English are often accepted, but this may depend on your local authority.

If your certificate is from another EU country, you can request an EU multilingual standard form from that country’s authorities. The form, when presented together with your original document, can be used as a translation aid. Germany will typically waive the requirement for a certified translation if you have one of these. The forms, however, are only available in other EU countries.

READ ALSO: 10 things you need to know about German weddings

What if one of us is German?

Before the German partner gets married abroad, they may be required to get a “certificate of no impediment” (Ehefähigkeitszeugnis) from German authorities – which simply certifies that they are not married already and thus can marry. This certificate is available either at local authority offices in Germany or from the relevant German mission abroad. It’s typically valid for six months.

If the German partner is divorced, they may need a copy of the divorce certificate from a German court as well.

Unlike some nationalities, Germans who are married abroad aren’t legally required to inform the German authorities of their marriage abroad if they’re not resident in Germany. However, it may still be wise to register a marriage abroad with a German consulate in order for the German partner to pass on their German citizenship to any children they may have.

EXPLAINED: Who is entitled to German citizenship by descent and how to apply for it

Member comments

  1. When we moved to Germany 2-1/2 years ago, the local city administrator refused to register us as a married couple because our marriage certificate from the U.S. was not written in German. We proved our marriage status only by going to a company in Munich who provided an endorsed document.
    After 25 years of marriage, we were stunned by the negative attitude of the small-town local official. Our landlord accompanied us to the residential registration meeting and we were only able to register our residency because of the landlord’s insistence.
    When we moved to a larger city, we felt welcomed. The lessen was that an administrator can ignore official rules. Sometimes it’s best to find a friendly one.
    In any case, we love living here and want to remain as residents.

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For members

FAMILY

Why so many couples in Germany go to Denmark to get married

Couples with at least one non-German partner who try to get married in Germany often run into near-impossible hurdles. The solution that many international couples resort to is crossing a border for a day or two and returning as newlyweds.

Published: 13 May 2024 12:40 CEST
Why so many couples in Germany go to Denmark to get married

Germany is not particularly well known as a wedding destination, but its neighbour Denmark is.

Denmark has been an especially popular wedding destination for people coming from Germany since the 1960s. 

To be clear it’s not that couples in Germany are swapping their wedding carriages for tandem bicycles, or that they want Smørrebrød at their reception dinners. 

Actually what attracts couples to Denmark for marriage is not what the country has, but what it doesn’t have – that being outrageous bureaucratic hurdles.

The Local spoke with one newly wed husband and one engaged bachelor who both opted for Danish weddings. They explained why they avoided getting married in Germany, and how seamless the process can be in Denmark.

Impossible documents and language barriers

For many foreigners, and even some native born citizens, Germany’s paperwork and German language requirements for the marriage process are simply too much.

Sam Care, 32, who lives in Berlin told The Local that he didn’t spend too much time investigating the marriage process in Germany. Rather he and his newly wed wife were recommended to marry in Denmark from the beginning.

“Given our experience with German bureaucracy, it didn’t take much to convince us,” Sam admitted. But he did look into the process enough to realise the list of required documents is substantially longer in Germany than it is in Denmark.

“I’m sure lots of people don’t arrive in Germany with their birth certificates and proof of civil status. At least we hadn’t, so the German process had this added hassle of trying to get documents from my wife’s home country.”

newlyweds in Denmark

Sam Care and his newlywed bride as seen in Copenhagen shortly after getting married. Photo provided by Sam Care.

While requesting documents from your home country (and then getting them translated and apostilled) is difficult enough if you are coming from the US or the UK, for example, it can be nearly impossible for people coming from countries like Kenya or South Africa, or countries where regular processes may be disrupted by conflict, like in Ukraine or Russia.

William Bryan, 28, who is scheduled to marry his fiancée in Denmark in a few months said that as a German-American he had made an honest effort to start the German process.

“It was so quickly, overwhelmingly bureaucratic in classic German fashion,” Will told The Local. 

He added that an official translator was required at the marriage if either of the partners couldn’t prove sufficient German language skills – which would have been an issue for his fiancée – and they didn’t offer options beside German language for the ceremony.

Ultimately, Will says the extra paperwork and the language barrier, and the fact that both of those issues could be avoided with a quick trip to Denmark, made it an easy choice.

‘You could be married next week in Denmark’

Beside the language and paperwork barriers, another issue for those trying to marry in Germany can be the timing. Scheduling a marriage in Germany can take months, especially in bigger cities where local venues are often fully booked well in advance.

Of course marriage is not something to rush into, but there are certain situations where couples may need to marry sooner than later.

Will noted that after he and his fiancée submitted their documents to Danish authorities, they received approval on their application within five business days.

“You could probably apply today and get married next week,” Will said.

bride and groom celebrating

A bride and groom celebrate their union with a toast. Photo by Pexels via Pixabay

Sam also noted how easy and quick the Danish process was: “You just go to the Danish website, upload a few documents, get approved, choose a venue, done!”

He said that they did have to register a day ahead of the marriage at the town hall: “When we got to the town hall there were a bunch of couples from around the world. It was actually sweet to see the other couples in a similar situation to ours, all in need of a feasible way to secure their lives together.”

Germany gets its papers either way

There is one catch. When German residents are married abroad, they need to have their foreign marriage officially recognised in Germany before that marriage will count in terms of tax and citizenship / residency effects.

Sam, who was married by the end of 2023, says he is still in the process of having his marriage recognised by the German authorities, which would also be required to arrange a name change in the country.

READ ALSO: How to have your marriage abroad recognised in Germany

“In my experience it’s not so straightforward,” Sam said. “Depending on your circumstance, you have to either go to the Standesamt or Bürgeramt and it’s not entirely obvious which one until you contact one and are told to go through the other – and then over to the Finanzamt.”

Typically, married couples can start this process by presenting the marriage certificate at their local registry office. But if you’re moving to Germany for the first time, you can try brining the certificate with you to your first Anmeldung appointment.

But here also, coming from Denmark has an advantage. Danish weddings come with marriage certificates in five languages (Danish, English, German, Spanish, and French) at no extra cost. 

So at least you won’t have to translate your marriage certificate when you turn it in to the relevant authorities in Germany.

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