Who can get married in Denmark?
In Denmark anyone can marry who is legally allowed to enter Denmark and who can present the documents required by the registry office. These are in particular:
- Citizens from other states of the European Union
- People from visa-free countries
- People with a valid Schengen visa (tourist or visitor visa)
- People with a student or au pair visa
- Persons with a valid residence permit for Germany or other European countries
- Persons with a fiction certificate if the residence title is marked as continuing (§ 81 Abs. 4 AufenthG)
Asylum seekers whose procedure has not yet been completed or foreigners with the Duldung status cannot marry in Denmark. Of course, people who are illegally staying in the Schengen area cannot marry in Denmark.
How long before the wedding do I have to travel to Denmark?
The required length of stay before the wedding differs from registry office to registry office. On the island of Aero, you only need to travel to Denmark one working day before your marriage to make the personal pre-registration at the registry office to check the originals of your submitted documents. The next day you get married and can start your return journey.
Do I need groomsmen for my marriage?
According to the legal regulations in Denmark, 2 witnesses must be present at a wedding ceremony. If you cannot bring your own witnesses to your wedding in Denmark, the registry office will provide you with witnesses free of charge.
Do I need an interpreter for the wedding?
The weddings in Denmark can be carried out in German, English or Danish. For the wedding ceremony, it is important that both spouses understand one of these languages. If this is not the case, an interpreter must be present during the ceremony. The wedding couple must bear the costs for the interpreter themselves. It would be against Danish law for one spouse to translate for the other. However, it is possible for a family member present to translate.
Can I also change my name when I get married?
For people who do not live in Denmark, it has no longer been possible to change their names directly in Denmark when they get married since 2006. However, you can apply for the change at the registry office after the wedding in Germany or any other EU country.
Is my marriage certificate from Denmark also valid in other countries?
The marriage certificate from Denmark is automatically recognized in Germany. At the local registry office / residents' registration office you can have your marriage entered in the marriage register after your return from Denmark. An apostille of the marriage certificate is required for the recognition of the Danish marriage in other countries.
What actually is an apostille?
An apostille is a legalization of a document in the form of a stamp, which confirms the authenticity of a signature or a seal. A legalization has nothing to do with the content of a document and is therefore not a certificate that the content is correct. Legalization only certifies the authenticity of the signature. As a rule, no apostille is required for a marriage entry in Germany. However, if you want to use the marriage certificate in other countries of the European Union or non-EU countries, you must have the Danish marriage certificate provided with an apostille. The legalization of the marriage certificate with the apostille is carried out by the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Copenhagen.
Have to Be certified divorce or death certificates?
A divorce or death certificate from a non-EU country must always be certified. If you have a document from a country that complies with the Hague Convention on the Exemption of Foreign Documents from the Legalization , you must have the documents apostilled. Important: the apostille must always appear on the original document and not on the translation.
You can usually get an apostille from the Ministry of Justice of the issuing country. There you will also find further information on the costs and the procedure.
If your divorce or death certificate was issued by a country that is not a party to the Hague Convention and is not Turkey, USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Thailand, Macedonia, Montenegro, Hong Kong or Macau, your documents must go through consular legalization to be certified.
1. the Ministry of Justice confirms the authenticity of the original document with a stamp and signature on the document
2.the Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirms the signature of the Ministry of Justice
3. the Danish embassy in the country confirms the signature of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
4.the document now has to be translated by a sworn translator.
Can I also marry an asylum seeker in Denmark?
As the current asylum procedure has not yet been completed for an asylum seeker, asylum seekers can only marry once they have been granted a residence permit in Denmark.