Marriage registration in Germany

Marriage is commitment. Marriage has to endure many hardships. However, perhaps none of them is as difficult as having your marriage recognized in Germany.

This post aims at clarifying exactly how you can do that, and what documents you will need to achieve marriage registration in Germany.

Feel free to ask questions in the comments section. I answer every question personally.

Getting married abroad is easier sometimes

When both partners aren’t German citizens (especially non-EU), it is often easier to get married abroad and THEN have it recognized in Germany. Less paperwork is involved. For this you have 2 options.

Get married in countries with an international license

You can decide to fly to Copenhagen, Malta, or any of the countries (particularly Denmark) that offer an international marriage license. This document is de-facto recognized by German authorities because it has a German translation, without the need for additional documentation.

Get married in a country with Apostille

If you tie the knot in some other country however, you will need the Apostille.

It’s an international convention for official documents so they can be recognized by other countries than where it was produced. This is a “stamp” that Germany requires on marriage certificates from other countries in order to do marriage registration in Germany.

• If your marriage license comes from a non-EU country, it is a good bet that you will need the Apostille. To get this, you can go to the city hall of where you were married and most likely get the stamp there. Depending on the country it might also be the local parish or other entity.
• This page from the German foreign ministry explains what is needed based on which country your marriage certificate comes from.

Little warning about changing names: If one of your wants to take on the name of the other partner, makes sure to have this done when you marry. The German authorities can only register the marriage and not change names after the fact.

Marriage registration in Germany process

When both partners are foreigners

Little warning: based on feedback in the comments’ section, the process might be different depending on the municipality or/and clerk you deal with. Sometimes, registration happen in the Eheregister – marriage registry (Standesamt), sometimes in the Melderegister – registration registry (Bürgeramt). That might lead to additional frustration. Try the following method & adapt if need be. Good luck.

Bastien

Once you have the right certificates, make an appointment with the Bürgeramt in your respective neighborhood/city.

The employee might try to send you to the Standesamt instead because they are used to dealing with marriages involving German citizens. This is not right: if both spouses/partners are foreigners, registration takes place at the Bürgeramt in the Melderegister.

• It’s not always clear what appointment “title” it should be. In some places, this can be called “Eheschließung Anmeldung” (Marriage registration). In others, this could be simply be “Familienstand ändern” (Family status change).
• Instead of using an online booking system, try to call instead. A human might work better in this case (tips on how to book a Bürgerarmt appointment in Berlin).

When one partner has German citizenship

If there a German citizen involved, you might need to proceed to your Standesamt instead (Eheregister). The process is usually better known by city clerks. There are therefore appointments slots available for that online usually.

Here is the link for Berlin for example.

However, some people reported in the comments that it might also just be fine to go to the Bürgeramt and have it registered there.

Bring the right documents

Bring with you:

• Your international marriage license (and the Apostille depending on your case).
• A translated version of your birth certificates. Depending on your country, this can either be obtained directly from your home country, in the form of a international certificate, or it will need to be translated to a certified translation (more about this here).
• Meldebescheinigung.
• Passports.

If you are coming with your certificate from Denmark specifically, they may not ask for anything other than your passports and your marriage certificate, but as we have learned after living with German bureaucracy for a couple years, it’s always good to be prepared for marriage registration in Germany.

In doubt for Berlin, you can check this page which lists all the documents that might be required. For other cities, try to google “Nachbeurkundung einer Eheschließung im Ausland [city name]” to get to the city portal.

Pay the fee

After they fill out your German recognition for your marriage, they will ask if you want to pay for the copy of it. We did, and it was 10 euro. If your certificate is from somewhere like Malta, it may be slightly more.

Depending on which Bürgeramt you go to, it may also only accept EC cards. Again here, fees may vary from city to city.

Please note that paying the fee might not be the end of the process. It does happen that the Bürgeramt asks for additional documents to finish the process.

All done with marriage registration in Germany, what now?

After getting your marriage recognized in the German system, 2 things will happen:

• You will receive a letter in the mail with your new Tax ID number for you and your spouse as a married couple.
• You should probably consider switching tax classes to get a better tax return. We show you how to do that here.

Ultimately, the process of marriage recognition in Germany wasn’t nearly as complicated as it ended up being. Not knowing how things work is really difficult and debilitating and took much longer than it should have. Hopefully this helps people going through similar situations feel a little more prepared for the process. Good luck and feel free to ask questions in the comments.

This post was originally written by Lauren Piper, an American living in Berlin, based on her experience. It was edited by Bastien Allibert (SiB’s Editor) for clarity.

Source: 1, 2, 3