460 views

Hello Dears,

I have an online marriage certificate from the Utah county Clerk in The USA. I have the digital version protected with Blockchain and they sent me the paper version with an Apostille - The Convention of 5 October 1961 La Haye -.

The ausländerbehörde said that this certificate is not recognised in Germany because we got married online. Although i gave them an explanation letter from the Judge says that as i quote: 


 '' The ceremony was performed via a web-based video conference or live stream in which both parties remotely presented themselves before their officiant to enter into the marriage contract. This ceremony was also performed in the presence of two witnesses whose names appear on the certified copy of the marriage certificate. The ceremony took place in the city of Provo, in the county of Utah, in the state of Utah, United States which establishes jurisdiction over the marriage record. Under this jurisdiction the marriage is legally recognized and considered binding.


In addition, under the laws of the State of Utah this ceremony is not defined as “virtual”, “proxy” or “online”. No such marriage type exists, meaning there is no such thing as an “online marriage”, “virtual marriage, or “proxy marriage” codified with the State of Utah. The use of internet technology to allow the couple to appear at their marriage ceremony via a remote appearance does not create a special class of marriage under the law, as no such class currently exists. It is also appropriate to point out that allowing individuals to appear remotely via video conference is a commonly accepted practice in most legal proceedings, unless specifically excluded under the law. The couple named herein are, without exception, married and have the same legal standing as all marriages solemnized under Utah law.''

I would like to know please if my certificate is recognised in Germany or not? because i believe that the ausländerbehörde official didn't take much time reading and checking my document as  he directly said that it's not recognized in Germany.

Kind Regards

asked Mar 9, 2023 in Legal advice by yuliia247 | 460 views

Please log in or register to answer this question.

1 Answer

0 votes

Dear @Yulla247,

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

My colleague was giving an answer on a very similar question here before - you may want to check the advice he was providing.

I read some articles on a court case in early 2022 which was dealing with an online marriage from Utah as well. Unfortunately, the court did not recognise the marriage either.

However, I would recommend you to contact the registry office (Standesamt) in order to get reliable information on your individual situation. The Standesamt - not the immigration office (Auslönderbehörde) - is the responsible authority for the recognition of marriages.

In any case, please also don't hesitate to get back to us with any further questions.

All the best,

Meike

answered Mar 12, 2023 by Meike

Hi there! Could you please provide an update on whether you were able to legalize your online marriage? I am considering using a Utah online marriage for my partner and I, but it looks like getting it recognized by Germany might be tricky. Do you have any updates from the past month? Thank you! Zoe

Hello,
I'm still working on it. and to be honest I think that they're not gonna recognize Utah marriage certificate. If something happens i'll post an update. Thank you!
mbeon App

Confidential one-on-one consultations via App

For confidential one-on-one consultations in a secure virtual space, we work with mbeon. You can download the mbeon app free of charge from the App Store or Google Play Store and have private conversations with mbeon consultants there:

Link for iPhone
Link for Android

Welcome to Wefugees, where you can ask questions and receive answers from other members of the community.
5,179 questions
6,166 answers
8,057 comments
139,154 users