Vegas of the North

Our friends Katja and Andrew just got married a few weeks ago... in Denmark. It wasn't exactly an elopement and certainly not a destination wedding. They were married there because it was easy.

If a German citizen (like Katja) wants to marry someone from another country (like Andrew), the couple first needs to go to the local government offices (the Standesamt) to discuss what documents are needed for the marriage application. Andrew and Katja met with Herr Kockmueller (I will let you imagine what sort of a nickname they gave him) who asked for their passports and proof of residence. In addition, Andrew had to get the following documents from back home in Australia, all issued within the last six months: a certified birth certificate, an official copy of his divorce certificate, and a statement from the local government showing that he was free to marry. All of these documents needed to be translated into German by an official translator who is authorized to work on government documents (i.e. charge a lot of money).

Andrew and Katja showed up at their next appointment with Herr Kockmueller, all documents in hand.  He told them that they weren't finished yet - Andrew also needed a certified copy of the marriage certificate from his first marriage, which would show that he had married the same person that he had proof of later divorcing. When they argued that Herr Kockmueller had never asked for the marriage certificate before, he said, "Yes, I know I did. Whenever I request a document I always write it down. And look, here it is written down in your file." If that's not proof enough, I don't know what is. Oh, and also, each of the documents that came from Australia and then were translated also needed an apostille.

An apostille is basically a document stating that the person who signs official documents (like birth certificates, etc) has the authority to sign them. The apostille was made up by the 1961 Geneva Convention as a way to show that documents from foreign countries are authentic. Americans need to contact the secretary of state from wherever the document was issued to get one. They cost money too - anywhere from $2-$20 per page for Americans (Andrew would have had to pay 16 Australian dollars each). So who signs the apostille? and does that person need some other paper to say he/she has the authority to do it? who signs that? It could go on and on.

In frustration, Andrew called the Australian embassy.  They told him to just go get married in Denmark because it's easier. The border towns of Denmark are sort of a Las Vegas of the North. There are no showgirls or high rollers, but there are a lot of cheap, fast weddings. About 6000 non-Danish couples get married in Denmark every year, many of them bi-national couples who live in Germany. In Andrew and Katja's case, they called up the city hall of a Danish border town and made an appointment for the following week. They had to stay in Denmark for three days and show ID and proof of marital status. That was it. So with a receipt for three nights paid at the local campground and their passports, they tied the knot. The Danes even offered to provide witnesses if Katja and Andrew hadn't brought their own. Unfortunately they did not offer to have Elvis preside over the wedding.