"Marry, by all means. If you get a good wife, you'll become happy; if a bad one, you'll become a philosopher." Socrates
The procedure for marrying has its own particularities in every country. Most often, when bride and groom share the same nationality, they marry in their home country. Other couples are free to choose any country for their wedding whose laws and requirements suit them. It is another matter entirely when two people are nationals of different countries, or permanently reside in some other foreign state. Significant differences between legal systems can throw up no small number of bureaucratic obstacles on the road to a happy married life. Here too, though, there is a way out — choosing a third country whose laws are less strict.
Marrying in Denmark is becoming an increasingly popular option among those who dream of getting married somewhere in Europe. The first reason tipping the scales in this country's favor is the minimal paperwork required to have your marriage registered. Any Danish commune (an administrative unit of the Kingdom) may take on this task, and many communes even provide their own witnesses for the ceremony. From a legal standpoint, a marriage concluded in this country is considered valid, and no objections should arise from the authorities either in another EU member state or in your home country. It should be borne in mind, though, that no further steps at all need to be taken only by the spouse who is, say, a German national. If one of the spouses is, for example, a Russian national, then the marriage certificate issued to you must be apostilled. A marriage concluded in Denmark is recognized as valid for German nationals without any legalization, under the German-Danish Recognition Agreement of 17 June 1936 (RGBl. 1936 II, p. 213). For foreign nationals (citizens of non-EU states), the Danish marriage certificate requires legalization (under the 1961 Hague Convention) by way of an apostille. It is also worth knowing that marrying in Denmark does not entail an immediate change of surname for either spouse — this can be done only after the wedding, in the country where the husband or wife resides. If newlyweds would rather not cloud their carefree wedding with paperwork, each may simply keep their own surname.
The law of the Kingdom of Denmark provides that a couple must have resided in the country for at least three days before marrying (this requirement has been waived in some communes) — possibly, among other reasons, for economic considerations. On arriving in Denmark, one must register with the local administration; after that, one may proceed calmly "to the altar." Unfortunately, not everyone wishing to enter into official marriage is aware of all the specific particularities of the procedure described above, and others besides. Certain missteps by those getting married can lead to unnecessary questions from the authorities, further inquiries, and needless paperwork. What is most frustrating in such cases is that all of it could have been avoided had the clients received timely advice and known the particularities of this procedure in advance. We would like to share one such story with our readers in this article.
A young couple came to our law firm — let's call them Andrei and Svetlana — both Russian nationals permanently resident in Berlin. The two had met while working in the same department of an international company, and began a relationship about two months later. What seemed at first a fleeting romance gradually developed into something serious, and Andrei and Svetlana rented a small but very cozy two-room flat and began living together. Having lived together in harmony for about three years, they decided to formalize their de facto family relationship, all the more so since they dreamed of a big, happy family with children. After consulting friends in Germany and work colleagues, they decided to take the simplest route. And so, about three months before coming to us, they registered their marriage in Denmark.
Everything seemed to be going very smoothly, and nothing should have clouded the many bright plans of this newly and officially formed family — had it not been for one significant "but." Unaware of all the particularities of the procedure, the young couple, on returning to Berlin with the marriage certificate issued in Denmark and duly apostilled, applied to the local registry office (Standesamt). They believed that, in their case, the validity of their marriage additionally needed to be recognized on German territory, though in fact this was not required at all. The Danish marriage certificate was more than sufficient for them to continue their life in Berlin under their new status. The administrative authority's reaction to this situation was, in principle, fairly predictable. The Standesamt interpreted the couple's application as a request to have the marriage entered into the German internal register. As the British military historian Cyril Northcote Parkinson aptly observed, "bureaucracy is like fishing where there are no fish." So it went in the story of our future clients as well. The local German Standesamt carefully reviewed the package of documents the young couple had on hand, and concluded that one significant supporting document was missing. The problem was that, before moving to Germany, Svetlana had already been married once, in Russia. That marriage did not last long and was dissolved after a year. Since the couple had, by that time, acquired an expensive car over which a dispute later arose, the divorce had to be obtained through the courts. The former spouses were issued the court's judgment, and subsequently a divorce certificate. Since neither party to the proceedings appealed the judgment, it automatically became legally final within the statutory period. The local German authority, however, insisted on being given a document confirming that this judgment had genuinely become legally final. Put simply, the responsible authority wanted to establish beyond doubt that no second marriage had been entered into before the first registered marriage was dissolved — put more simply still, that there was no "bigamy" involved.
From our firm's practice
The procedure for marrying has its own particularities in every country.
Thoroughly bewildered, the young couple came for a consultation at our law firm. The lawyer specializing in family-law matters got to work immediately and analyzed the entire chain of events from a legal standpoint. He explained to the clients that, in their case, applying to the German administrative authority had not, under the law in force, been necessary at all. Unfortunately, that very application had only confused the officials and led to demands being made that were, in this case, unlawful. Once instructed by the clients, the lawyer set to work and prepared a detailed submission to the Standesamt. In this submission, citing the relevant legal provisions, he clarified the misunderstanding that had arisen and its causes. He pointed out that the couple who had married were Russian nationals, that they had married on the territory of an EU member state, and that the certificate issued to them accordingly required no further confirmation. In addition, the lawyer attached to the submission a certificate confirming that, at the time of their marriage in Denmark, neither party was in another registered marriage. Finally, the lawyer pointed out that no application to enter this marriage into the German internal register had ever been filed, and that this administrative procedure was not required at all for the newlyweds. The submission, together with the accompanying supporting documents, was sent to the Standesamt. To our shared relief, together with our clients, a favorable response was soon received: the matter was closed, and no further objections or demands from the German authorities remained. We wished the young couple happiness and success in all their future endeavors. For, as Honoré de Balzac quite rightly observed, "the family will always be the foundation of society." The family has always held first place for Germans, and despite the diminishing value placed on family in modern society, family traditions are still honored in Germany, family bonds are still cherished, and what is called family is, on the whole, still valued. We leave the building of a strong family in Germany, or in any other country, to our readers to pursue as they see fit — while for everything concerning the legal side of the matter, we invite you to consult the professional lawyers at our firm.
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