Is a proxy marriage recognized in Germany?

Question

Hello, A Polish citizen residing in Germany want to marry an Ghanaian asylum seeker. The marriage is to be conducted in USA Court with a powe of attorney.  I mean only the woman will travel to USA Court to sign the documents because the man doesn't have permission to move. My question is, does Germany authority accept marriage by power of attorney conducted in USA?

Comments

Dear @mbeon-Ruth, @mbeon-tina, @meike and @mbeon-Éanna, could you have a **** at this question and maybe help with an advice? Thank you and best wishes, Saskia.

Answer 1

Dear @Donmorris, 

Welcome back to the Wefugees Community and thank you for reaching out to us.

Unfortunately, I never came across a similar case or question. I tried to make some research though and found this article published in “Migazin”. Here, they write about a case in which a couple was married by a proxy (“Stellvertreter-Ehe” or “Handschuh-Ehe”) in Mexico. The German registry office (Standesamt) refused to recognize and register the marriage at first. However, the couple appealed against the decision and the German Federal Court of Justice eventually agreed with the couple. 

I am not sure if this information can be helpful. But I am afraid that the whole procedure will not be easy anyway. Maybe you can consider to marry in Germany as well, which is in general also possible while an asylum application is still pending (given that the required documents can be provided).

All the best for you and please don’t hesitate to get back to us with any further questions.

Regards,

Meike