Certificate of marital status (Germany)

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According to German law, a certificate of marital status is an official certificate that confirms that a marriage between two fiancées , at least one of whom also has a nationality other than German , does not conflict with any impediments to marriage under the legal system of the issuing country , i.e. in particular no lack of marital status or no marriage ban .

The certificates of marital status are recognized without restriction on a mutual basis in accordance with the Convention on the Issuance of Certificates of Marriage Status, which is effective in Germany, Greece , Italy , Luxembourg , Moldova , the Netherlands , Austria , Portugal , Switzerland , Spain and Turkey . Certificates from other countries can also be used. U. meet the requirements for a certificate of non-marriage, but in most cases it is only a certificate of single status without the quality of a certificate of non-marriage.

Marriage of foreigners in Germany

According to Section 1309 (1) of the German Civil Code (BGB), the engaged couple require a certificate of marital status if at least one of them is subject to foreign law with regard to the requirements for marriage, i.e. at least also has a non-German nationality.

The marriage certificate must be issued by the internal authority of the home country. Issuance by a consulate is possible if an intergovernmental treaty allows this. The certificate of marital status certifies that the intended marriage of the two explicitly named fiancées does not conflict with the law of the foreign fiancé.

If such a certificate cannot be produced (for example because the home state does not issue such certificates), the President of the Higher Regional Court in whose district the marriage was registered can, as the judicial administration authority, grant an exemption from the requirement to produce a certificate of marital competence (Section 1309 Paragraph 2 BGB). The application for exemption must be submitted to the registrar , who forwards it to the OLG president. The registrar has to prepare the decision of the OLG president.

According to § 13 Abs. 1 PStG the registrar has to check whether the marriage is an obstacle to marriage, in particular a lack of marital capacity or a marriage ban . Section 12 (2) of the PStG generally regulates which evidence must be provided when registering a marriage. If an application is to be made to the registrar for exemption from the submission of the certificate of marriageability, the couple must also provide the evidence required to examine the admissibility of the marriage under the applicable foreign law ( Section 12 (3) sentence 1 PStG) . The competent OLG specifies which evidence must be provided for the marriage. If the fiancé is unable to obtain public documents or is only able to do so with considerable difficulty or disproportionately high costs, the provision in Section 9 (2) PStG applies accordingly in accordance with Section 12 (3) sentence 2 PStG . Under the conditions mentioned there, other documents can then also serve as the basis for notarization or insurances can be requested and accepted in lieu of the person concerned or other persons.

According to Sections 23, 25 of the Introductory Act to the Courts Constitution Act ( EGGVG ), an application for a judicial decision can be submitted to the competent Higher Regional Court against a negative decision by the President of the Higher Regional Court, which constitutes an act of judicial administration .

German marriages abroad

The formal requirements for a marriage abroad are determined autonomously in the legal system of the respective country. Only a few countries, especially those that comply with the above Conventions on the issuance of certificates of non-marriage expressly require a certificate of non-marriage.

Mostly, however, a certificate from German authorities is required abroad, which confirms that there is no (longer) another marriage (often described as a single certificate ). However, the German legal system does not provide for such a simple certificate of unmarried status , so that in the absence of a necessary legal basis, the registry offices or other authorities cannot issue certificates of unmarried status. Only in a German registration certificate is the marital status stored in the register of residents (for information purposes) listed, which in some countries (e.g. Denmark) and the like. U. can be sufficient as proof of the non-existence of another marriage. In countries outside Europe in particular, however, there is often an insistence on the submission of a document that has been authenticated for international legal transactions (i.e. with an apostille or in a legalized form). However, some German authorities do not carry out such over-authentication for registration certificates, especially if, from a German legal point of view, this is actually intended to avoid a certificate of marital status.

Civil partnership

In the case of civil partnerships , one deliberately deviated from the regulation of Art. 13 EGBGB, because otherwise most foreigners in Germany would not have been able to enter into a civil partnership. Therefore, Art. 17b, Paragraph 1, Clause 1 EGBGB stipulates that the requirements for establishing a civil partnership are subject to the law of the state that keeps the civil partnership register. If the civil partnership is concluded in Germany, the requirements of the civil partnership for each part are based on German law.

According to German law, same-sex fiancés must be single, see Section 1 (2) No. 1 LPartG. Proof of the requirements for entering into a civil partnership is provided for a foreigner by a certificate from an internal authority in his home country that he is single. This single certificate only proves the actual requirements that are necessary for the certification under German law; the legal requirements of the home country are irrelevant. When examining the question of which certificates foreigners who want to enter into a civil partnership have to produce, the registrars comply with the requirements of the locally competent higher regional court.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. Convention on the Issuance of Certificates of Non-marriage Dated September 5, 1980, Federal Law Gazette 1997 II, p. 1086 ( Memento of the original of August 22, 2017 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.habenstandsrecht.de
  2. Tønder Kommune registry office ( Memento of the original from August 24, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , a “certificate of residence with marital status” can therefore suffice  @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.toender.dk
  3. ^ Standesamt I, Berlin - Certificate of marital status for marriage abroad
  4. State laws on the Civil Partnership Act ( Memento from January 2, 2008 in the Internet Archive )