Marriage between an asylum seeker and a fiancé that is still in their home country

Question

Dear Mr./Mrs.

I am writing this e-mail to ask the possibilities of my marriage in Germany. I have been living in Germany for 4 months. I am waiting for the decision about me. My problem is, I have a fiancee in my home country. We were going to marry, every preparations and reservations were ready. However since I had problems in my home country, I had to flee from my country and cancelled all the planned things. My fiancee is still in my home country, she can come to Germany as a tourist. However she cannot apply for asylum because she does not have any reason except me. Since we are not married on the legal paper, she cannot say that she is married with me which means that she cannot want family reunification. I also mentioned this problem in my interview. We have cancelled wedding invitations, engagement party photos etc.
Shortly, we want to marry and live in Germany. But I could not find a way to marry in Germany. The requirements for marriage in Germany is so complex and reaching some documents such as National passport or marriage certificate for me is impossible. Because I cannot go to the homeland embassy or my home country. Some people say that it is easy to marry in Denmark but although I have the residence permit and marry in Denmark, I do not know if it works or not.
My questions are;

1. If my fiancee comes to Germany now and apply for asylum, can we marry as two asylum seekers? (She is going to say "we were going to marry with this guy, but since he had problems we could not marry, I am here because of my future husband, that is why I am applying for asylum")
2. If we wait for my residence permit (I hope I will get soon, because I have friends who are in the same situation with me, have their 3 years residence permit), then would it be possible to marry in Germany? I will be refugee she will be tourist. Or at that time, Can auslanderbehorde provide any document which helps my fiancee to get marriage visa? It will be like family reunion.
3. The last option is, If I get the residence permit, I can travel to Denmark with German id and passport, she can travel to Denmark with her national passport and schengen visa. Can we marry in Denmark? After that if she applies to aslylum in Germany, will our marriage be accepted by BAMF?.

Many thanks in advance for your time and help. I will be so happy if you can suggest any solution.

Kind Regards

Answer 1

Hello @Krmysl and welcome to our community!

1.

If you can provide all the required documents you can get married in Germany even if you are still in the asylum process (see this thread for further information: https://***.wefugees.de/k/questions/1997).

But your fiancé will not be granted asylum on the basis of the explanation that you suggested. You can only get a refugee status if you can prove that the situation in your home country is unbearable and that you need shelter by another state (for example due to persecution, danger of life or other types of violence and/or life-threatening circumstances).

2.

First you need to talk to your competent registry office (“Standesamt”) and apply for an appointment to get married. After that your fiancé can apply for a visa to get married (“Visum zur Eheschließung”). She will need to hand in the following documents/papers at the German embassy (or another competent diplomatic representation):

- a written confirmation of the appointment at Standesamt
- proof that she has basic German knowledge (A1 level)
- a copy of your residence permit and passport
- they might ask for other documents as well

The German agency abroad will send this visa application to Ausländerbehörde and they will invite you to an appointment. There you need to bring a non-marriage certificate (“Ledigkeitsbescheinigung”) and (if you’ve been married before) a divorce decree (“Scheidungsurteil”). Again, they might ask for additional documents.

Ausländerbehörde will check the whole application and tell the German diplomatic representation about it. The agency abroad will then decide on the visa application.

At least that’s the procedure in Berlin - it might vary from federal state to federal state. Source (German language): https://***.berlin.de/labo/willkommen-in-berlin/einreise/visumsverfahren/artikel.283140.php

Keep in mind that technically speaking this is not family reunion. As you already pointed out family reunion doesn’t work that way because you are not family members yet.

3.

Yes, you can travel to Denmark using the blue passport. I’m not familiar with Danish marriage law, but it seems to be a little bit less bureaucratic than in Germany. It’s probably best to get in contact with the competent registry office that you want to get married at and ask them what requirements they have and what documents they need exactly.

After the marriage your wife can apply for a visa for family reunion (“Visum zur Familienzusammenführung”) at the German embassy and go through the regular procedure.

Source (German language): https://***.buemlein.***/service/ehegattennachzug-einreise-und-aufenthaltsrecht-wegen-ehe/#Heirat in Dänemark

Best regards,
Thorgen

Answer 2

Dear Mr. Thor thanks for your answer. However the problem is, as I stated I cannot provide required documents such as national passport, birth certificate or Ledigkeitsbescheinigung because I cant go to my homecountry or its embassy in Germany. Can auslanderbehorde or any other institution can provide me required documents now (as an ayiım seeker) or after having residence permit. I afraiod of not providing these documents forever, because I cannt go to my country or want from someoneelse. Because of the security reasons.

Comments

Hi @Krmysl - Ausländerbehörde can issue a blue passport (“Reiseausweis für Flüchtlinge”) that you usually get along with your residence permit (“Aufenthaltserlaubnis”). That might work as an equivalent to your home country's passport for the registry office. But I highly doubt that Ausländerbehörde can give you a birth certificate or Ledigkeitsbescheinigung. Especially since they are dependent on cooperation with your home country's embassy. In other cases (like deportation) this leads to problems frequently, e.g. when authorities refuse to cooperate there is little Ausländerbehörde can do to get the required papers. But maybe I forgot about other options @Marcel and @Steven ? Best regards, Thorgen