In my opinion both of you were not answered correctly at all;
1. Germany does not recognize common law marriages and requires a mandatory civil wedding ceremony before a Registrar of Vital Statistics at the local Office of Vital Statistics located in the Town Hall. Both spouses must be present at the mandatory civil wedding ceremony.
2. If you contemplate getting married in Germany you have to visit the “Standesamt” to give notice of the impending marriage (“Antrag auf Eheschliel3ung” formerly known as “Aufgebot”), At that point your fiancé(e) does not have to accompany you if he or she has given a Power of Attorney to you for the Registering process.
3. After all necessary documents have been turned in, the paperwork is then sent off to the Higher Regional Court of Nurnberg (“OberlafldeSgericht Nurnberg”), in order to obtain an exemption from the production of a Certificate of Eligibility to Marry (“Befreiung vom Eheffihigkeitszeugflis”). In exceptional cases you may be allowed to take the paper work to Bamberg yourself, to speed up the process, otherwise the registrar will receive the packet back in about 2 weeks. In any event a transfer form which can be obtained from the Registrar has to be filled out and the court fees have to be paid.
4. A Registrar’s fee of approx. Euro 65 (check if it is increased) needs to be paid at the time you turn all the assembled documents. If the wedding takes place in another Town Hall than the one where you are Registering, you will have to pay the Registrar’s fee twice. Additionally there is a court fee charged by the Higher Regional Court in Bamberg. The court fee can be paid at the Higher Regional Court at any German bank or the German Post Office. In the latter cases you have to show the receipt (“Quittung”) to the registrar as proof of payment.
5. Unless both persons to be wed speak German fluently you will need to bring a translator or interpreter with you to the Town Hall when you give notice of the impending marriage. Preferably the same translator or interpreter should also translate during the wedding ceremony. You will also have to have a translator or interpreter present when the witness to the marriage is not in command of the German language. Even though your fiancé(e) may speak German fluently, she/he will not be allowed to translate for you or your best man.
6. Necessary Documents that you require:-
Six-month deadline. It takes time to assemble and to fill out all the necessary documents. Once you have all papers prepared and turned in, then - depending on your special case - it will be only a matter of 2-6 weeks before the wedding bells ring. Upon completion of the registry process you have to get married within the following 6 month.
- Passport
- An Original birth certificate is needed, certified copies or hospital birth certificates are usually not accepted. The birth certificate should state your parents’ names.
- Statement of being single. If you have never been married before, you will need to provide the “Standesamt” with an affidavit stating that you are single. It can be prepared at the Legal Assistance Office.
- Marriage Questionare can only be obtained at the “Standesamt”. It has to be completed and handed back in person to the “Standesamt”. If you need assistance in answering the questions, you may either contactthe “Standesamt” or the Legal Assistance Office for help.
- If your fiancé(e) cannot be present when you register for the impending marriage, then you need to present a written statement indicating that he/she agrees to the initiation of the registry process (Beitrittserklarung). It is done very easily by simply having your fiancé(e) sign the power of attorney form on the marriage questionnaire.
7. A foreign fiancé(e) not residing within Germany, in case he/she will be only allowed to stay in the country on a tourist visa basis for up to 3 months! If you are going to stay at the fiancé place during that time you must register at local town hail immediately and deregister once you are married!. Otherwise you as her / his fiancé(e) will be in violation of the applicable German registry laws and regulations. The 3-month time frame will hardly be sufficient to assemble all the documents and to register for the impending marriage. Therefore, it is important that you start the registering process before you as his / her fiancé(e) comes into the country. An extension of the Tourist Visa is not possible!
8. The mandatory civil wedding ceremony takes place at the local Office of Vital Statistics (“StandeSamt”). It is located in the Town hail (“Rathaus”) situated at the municipal administration ( “Gemendevervaltung”) or Town Management (Stadtvcrwaltung). Generally, you can choose between three “Standesämter” ;
(a) the one where you are stationed
(b) the one where you live and
(c) the one where your fiancé(e) resides
(d) any other “Standesamt” in Germany provided that you contacted one of the above-mentioned “Standeslamter” first. Furthermore, thiswill double your registration fees.
9. Getting married to a German national may subject you to German family law no matter where in the world the wedding ceremony is performed.
It is suggested to ask your respective fiancé(e) to explain to you quote - unquot German words translation into English !
