If you are a foreign national and wish to marry in Germany, the requirements for marriage are determined by the law that applies in your home country.

This regulation is intended to prevent the marriage from being recognized in Germany but not in your home country. It is particularly important for future children that a marriage entered into in Germany is also recognized in the country of origin of the foreign parent.

For this reason, you must always submit a certificate of matrimonial capacity from your home country in which the internal authority of your home country confirms that there are no obstacles to the intended marriage under the law of your home country.

If you have more than one nationality, the law of the country with which you are most closely connected will apply. If you are also German, the German nationality takes precedence.

You can be exempted from this obligation in individual cases by the President of the competent Higher Regional Court in whose district the marriage was registered.

As a rule, this exemption is possible for

• Nationals of countries whose authorities do not issue certificates of no impediment to marriage,
• nationals of countries that issue certificates of no impediment to marriage if this is objectively impossible. This applies, for example, to situations in which foreign law prohibits marriage for reasons that are incompatible with the constitutionally guaranteed freedom to marry (e.g. if remarriage after divorce is prohibited under foreign law)

Recognized persons entitled to asylum, foreign refugees, homeless foreigners and stateless persons with permanent residence in Germany do not require a certificate of no impediment to marriage or an exemption. Their legal status must be proven by an appropriate travel document.

In the case of an exemption, the President of the Higher Regional Court checks instead of the foreign authority whether there is an obstacle to marriage under the home country's law or whether a marriage requirement is missing. There must also be no impediment to marriage under German law. In this context, it may be necessary to check whether any previous marriages have been effectively dissolved. The exemption is valid for a period of six months.