In most nations, weddings are regarded officially authorized unions or “lawfully binding contracts” between the two people involved. Germany is no different. Under the Constitution in Germany, marriage has conventionally been protected–right from the beginning.
It’s mandatory for everyone tying the knot in the country to first appear physically at a Standesamt, for a civil ceremony. Since this, in reality, is all that is needed, a good number of couples don’t proceed any further. Significantly, there’s no requirement whatsoever of witnesses at the civil ceremony.
Requirements and Documents
Usually, both the parties have to present these important documents to the registrar:
- Certified true copy of identification document with photograph (identity Card, passport)
- Birth certificate (not older than 6 months) in original or as certified true copy showing parents’ names. A translation might be needed. A baptismal certificate is not good enough. It’s also mandatory to exhibit Certificate of Naturalization if the candidate has been naturalized.
- In case widowed, original death certificate or certified copy of the dead partner. Here also there may be the need of translation.
- In case divorced, a certified copy of the divorce decree with a translation into German made by a qualified translator.
- In case a court other than a German court had dissolved the previous marriage, the divorce decree might have to be accepted by the suitable German federal-state administration of justice department.
- Evidence of not less than 21 days of unbroken residence in Germany (it may be a Meldebescheinigung given by the local Anmeldeamt)
- Evidence of being single (Ledigkeitsbescheinigung)
FAQs
Every migrant tying the knot in Germany requires an official Affidavit of Eligibility to Marry or Certificate of No Impediment to Marriage (Ehefähigkeitszeugnis) or Certificate of Single Status (Ledigkeitsbescheinigung) for the object of getting a marriage license at a Civil Registry Office (Standesamt). In case you are a visitor, it’s required that you have been residing in the locality for not less than 21 days prior to visiting the town hall to inform that you wish to get hitched. Those outsiders who are not from the EU cannot typically tie the knot in Germany on a Visitor Visa. In its place, they will need a visa that is lawfully valid for anywhere between three and six months.
Getting married in Germany is generally a fairly straightforward procedure of submitting the required paperwork to your local registry office (Standesamt). But, your application to get married may become more difficult in case either you or your partner happen to be from outside the EU, or if either of you has been wedded earlier.
What are the major advantages of wedding in Germany?
The advantages are many for those couples who have kids and a classic life model in which one makes little money and looks after the kids and the other makes more money doing a job full-time. In this case, wedding may bring a maximum of EUR 10,000 more in disposable income every year in the nation.
Although the processing times for registering a marriage vary from one registry office to another, in general, it may be pretty long. In case neither of the spouses/ civil partners has ever been a resident in the European nation, don’t be surprised if the processing is not less than two to three years.
The processing can take a maximum period of 12 weeks. As soon as the German authority sanctions the application, the Embassy/Consulate will issue a national visa for the first three months or 90 days of the planned stay.
Getting married to a German citizen or a person who has a permanent residence permit in Germany permits you to stay in the nation. However, this does not mean that you will not require a residence permit. Even though there is no single German residence permit through marriage, you will get your permit to stay in the nation for the family union purposes.
In case you wed a person who holds German citizenship, you won’t automatically become a citizen of the country, but you will be permitted to a residence permit for three years in case you and your partner both want to live jointly in the European nation.
Yes, it’s! It is mandatory that the application to tie the knot at first is filed with the registry office in the district in the country where one of the couple lives. In case neither of the couple happens to be a resident in the country, the application has to be submitted to the registry office were the proposed wedding would take place.
Summing-Up
Getting married in Germany may not be a difficult or complex affair for you. Still, you need to have some essential documents–like passport and birth certificate–to fulfill the requirements, especially if you are from a non EU country. If your partner is a German, even though you won’t automatically become a citizen of the country, you will have the permission to get a residence permit for three years, provided you and your spouse wish to live together in the nation.
Disclaimer
This article might contain some affiliated links, where we earn anywhere from a few cents to a few Euros,and don’t cost you an extra cent. Our recommendations remain unbiased although, and are based on a combination of market research and own experience.
