Recognising divorce decree

After examination of the general requirements and the documents submitted, the applicant's former spouse will be granted the right .dem be heard.

• A consultation period shall be set.
• In order to be able to carry out the necessary hearing, the current and serviceable address of the former spouse is therefore always required. Deliverable means that the address must be given in full (current surname, street name, house and, if applicable, apartment number, postal code, etc.).
• If the party to be heard is domiciled abroad, the address must be given at least in the international postal language (French) and, where appropriate, additionally in the written and language of the country addressed.
• Violation of the right to be heard may lead to a revocation of the decision.

• The applicant must make all reasonable efforts to determine the address. Should the address nevertheless not be determined, the impossibility of producing it must be proven.

Foreign judgments declaring a marriage null and void, annulling, dissolving the marriage after or maintaining the marriage bond, or establishing the existence or non-existence of a marriage between the parties must be recognised. This particularly affects foreign divorce decrees, but also comparable decisions by (e.g. Russian) administrative authorities or so-called private divorces before religious courts such as the Arab Sharia courts or the rabbinical courts in Israel, as well as divorce declarations before a Thai registry office.

A formal recognition procedure is not required if a body of the state to which both spouses belonged exclusively (i.e. not dual nationality) at the time of the decision participated in the foreign decision (so-called home state decision).

A formal recognition procedure does not apply to judgments in matrimonial matters from Member States of the European Union – except Denmark – if the procedure was initiated after 1 March 2001 or after the accession of the Member State at a later date.

The decision shall be made only upon request. In addition to the spouses concerned, any person who demonstrates a legal interest in clarifying the status question (e.g. fiancées, subsequent spouses or heirs) is entitled to apply. The pension insurance institutions also have their own right of application. Recognition is granted upon request. Only when this has been complied with by decision does the foreign decision also have effect for the German legal area.

In addition to the completed and signed application form (available on the homepage of the responsible state justice administration or from the registrar), the following documents must be submitted in the original (in individual cases, further documents may be required):

• Marriage certificate or family book extract or marriage register extract of the divorced marriage as proof of marriage.
• Complete copy or certified copy of the foreign judgment given by the court of the issuing State, stating the facts and reasons. In the case of an official divorce, a divorce certificate or an extract from the divorce register must be submitted.
• Proof that the foreign judgment has become res judicata (either by endorsement of res judicata on the judgment, by means of a separate document or by entry in the civil register).
• Proof of entry in the register in countries where it is necessary for the decision to be effective.
• Translations of all foreign-language documents prepared by a recognised translator in Germany.
• Certificate of earnings/income of the applicant.
• Proof of the intended marriage in Bremen by submitting the registration for marriage, provided that neither of the spouses of the divorced marriage is resident in Bremen.
• Written power of attorney if the request is made by an authorised representative.
• Copy of the applicant's valid passport.

The documents will be returned to you at the end of the procedure.

In principle, the originals of the documents must be provided with the legalisation of the competent German mission abroad or with the apostille of the competent foreign home authority.

In the case of legalisation , the German embassy in the country of divorce will confirm that

• the signatures on the document are authentic, and
• the signatory was entitled to issue public documents.

Several states have concluded the Hague Convention of 05.10.1961 on the exemption of foreign public documents from legalisation in order to simplify the authentication by legalisation. Legalisation shall be replaced by apostille between the Contracting States pursuant to Article 3(1) of the Convention. It shall be issued by the competent authority of the State which drew up the document. Under Article 5(2) of the Convention, the apostille testifies to a rebuttable presumption of authenticity of the document.

Special guidelines apply to documents from countries whose deeds are, in the opinion of the Federal Foreign Office, such serious deficiencies that legalisation is no longer justifiable. As a rule, these documents are checked for authenticity and accuracy by the German mission abroad by way of administrative assistance. The resulting costs must be borne by the applicant.

• for the decision: EUR 15.00 to EUR 305.00
• in case of rejection or withdrawal of the application: half of the fee for granting the exemption, but at least EUR 15.00

None

Provided that all necessary documents are available, the processing time is at least one to four months, depending on the individual case and the processing time of the competent state justice administration. The applicant's former spouse must be granted the right to be heard in the recognition procedure; a consultation period shall be set. Letters or replies from persons to be heard may delay the procedure.

• Section 107 of the Act on Procedure in Family Matters and in Matters of Voluntary Jurisdiction (FamFG)
• Convention on the Exemption from Legalisation of Foreign Public Documents (Apostille Convention)
• § 4 Act on Costs in Matters of Justice Administration (Justizverwaltungs-Kostengesetz – JVKostG)
• Act on Costs in Matters of Justice Administration (Justizverwaltungskostengesetz – JVKostG), List of Costs – Annex (to § 4 Abs. 1) Kostenverzeichnis, Nr. 1331

yes

The application shall be decided in a written procedure. Even if applications/documents are submitted during opening hours, there will be no immediate check. The procedures are generally processed in the order in which they are received. Requests for progress by telephone should be avoided in order to ensure the swift and continuous processing of all applications received.

05.11.2020