We have planned over 3000 weddings in Denmark and have 16 years of unrivalled experience and expertise with international wedding paperwork.
Before you can decide whether to proceed with a wedding in Denmark, we want to provide you with clear and concise information about the processes and requirements for foreigners who choose to get married here.
So, in this article, we will guide you through the following important common questions:
What documents are required for foreigners to get married in Denmark?
What is the process of getting married in Denmark?
What are the benefits of getting married in Denmark?
What is the Danish marriage certificate?
We will also include some information more specifically about the process of choosing us, Danish Island Weddings, and getting married on our beautiful Ærø island.
Hopefully, when you understand a little more about what the requirements for you as a foreign couple will be, you will feel ready to proceed with your wedding in Denmark. Which is very exciting indeed!
What Documents Are Required for Foreigners to Get Married in Denmark?
It is well known that the documents required for foreign couples to get married in Denmark are much simpler than in other countries, especially so for couples of different nationalities. The bureaucracy involved in other countries for multi-national couples wanting to get married there can be long, difficult and quite frankly, a romance killer!
The Danish authorities recognise that paperwork and bureaucracy don’t have to be difficult, so the list of documents that you need to provide is pretty simple.
The documents required for couples to get married in Denmark are:
Passport (or EU ID Card for EU citizens)
Visa / Residence permit, where it is applicable
Divorce Decree / Death certificate, where it is applicable
Birth certificates of any children you have together, where it is applicable
Letter from Commander / Military Orders, where it is applicable
Relationship Document (this is a document compiled to tell the AFL about you both and your relationship together)
Signed Declaration of Marriage
Power of Attorney
There is NO requirement for foreign couples to provide either an
original birth certificate or
a certificate that proves your marital status.
This straightforward documents list is just one of the main reasons it’s so easy for foreigners to get married in Denmark.
You can learn much more in-depth information about the documents required for foreigners to get married in Denmark at Getting Married in Denmark’s Required Documents, who we collaborate with.
What is The Process of Getting Married in Denmark?
So now you know the required documents, but what’s next?
Well, all foreign couples must apply to the Danish government before they can get married in Denmark. The document that is issued upon approval is called a prøvelsesattest - or a Certificate of Marital Status - and it is issued by the Danish Agency of Family Law.
The Agency of Family Law (or AFL) has a department dedicated to processing over 20,000 marriage applications every year.
You must send all the required documents to the AFL as well as a marriage application form. They will process your application and they will respond within 5 business days to either:
Approve your marriage application for Denmark
Ask questions about your application or request additional or better quality versions of your documents
Invite you in for an interview
But what does each of these three possible outcomes mean, and what happens in each scenario?
1. Your Application is Approved in 5 working days
If you get your application and documentation right the first time, then the AFL will approve your marriage application and issue the prøvelsesattest. They will give you an approval ‘period’ which means you have to come to Denmark within this time frame. The longest approval period that will be issued is 4 months from the date of issue. You can therefore go ahead and book your wedding date with the town hall! If you do not get married in this time frame, then you will need to reapply for a new approval period.
2. The AFL Asks Questions
It is very important to be aware that while the documents required to get married in Denmark are very straightforward, getting the application right for the AFL is not quite as simple, and huge numbers of couples get this very important part of the process wrong.
The AFL are incredibly particular about exactly how documents should be presented and if couples don’t get the application right the first time, then this is where the problems arise.
The AFL will ask questions if an application or documentation has been provided incorrectly.
Long waiting times, frustrating requests and in some cases, having to start all over again are all possibilities if it is not done right the first time around.
Seeking out the advice and help of a professional Danish wedding planner or agency can help avoid this and ensure you have a smooth application process and receive your approval within 5 days!
3. The AFL Requests an Interview
Lastly it is important to be aware that there is also the possibility that the AFL will call any couples who they are ‘undecided about’ into their offices for an interview. If they feel that the online application does not give them enough information about the couple to make a decision, then they like to speak to the couple directly and to ask for more detailed information about their relationship.
An interview request can occur in various scenarios; when couples haven’t been together for very long, if they haven’t physically met very many times, or if they suspect that the couple might be entering into marriage purely so that one of them can obtain a permit to live in Europe (this is called a proforma marriage).
We have teamed up with a Marriage Application Agency!
We at Danish Island Weddings love to ensure that you get exactly the wedding day you wish for. To ensure that we can focus solely on that, we have teamed up with another Danish agency that specialises in marriage applications.
Getting Married in Denmark, focus solely on marriage applications for foreign couples who want to get married in Denmark, and have been doing so since 2014.
With each of our long-standing track record of helping couples to get married in Denmark, we will help you get married in Denmark as quickly as you need, and as smoothly as possible.
Getting Married in Denmark will help you with the bureaucracy. They will guide you through the document-gathering side of the process and submit your application to the Agency of Family Law for you when it is ready.
The Danish Island Weddings team are dedicated wedding planners and we will help you with every aspect of planning, styling and coordinating your perfect wedding day here on beautiful Ærø island.
This way of working together ensures you, the couple, get the very best service from 2 of Denmark’s most experienced wedding agencies. It’s the perfect collaboration! ❤️
What Are The Advantages of Getting Married in Denmark for Foreigners?
Aside from the fact that Denmark is an incredible country there are a lot of practical reasons why Denmark is such a great place for foreigners to get married. Let’s take a quick look at our top 3 reasons:
Time spent in Denmark
There is no specification to how much or how little time you must spend in Denmark, either before or after your wedding. Some town halls ask that you present your documents the day before your wedding, some are happy for you to do this on the day of your wedding. So at the most, you’d need to be in Denmark for 2 days (1 night). This is very convenient for a lot of couples who have severe time constraints.
No Requirement to provide birth certificate or single status certificate
Yes, that’s right, in nearly all cases there is no requirement for couples to provide their birth certificate or any document to prove their marital status.
You can get married on a tourist visa
There is no need to obtain any kind of special visa to come to Denmark to get married. You can get married here as a tourist, which means if you need a visa to enter Denmark, a simple tourist visa will do. :-)
Are there any drawbacks to getting married in Denmark?
Only things that can be overcome with the correct information, good preparation and forward planning!
The first is making sure you get your application and documents right for the AFL. Ensuring you do this means that your application will be approved in the shortest possible time (5 business days).
If you get even the smallest detail wrong the AFL will respond to ask questions. These questions might be to request better copies of your documentation or to clarify any small details or discrepancies.
Whatever the question, the delay you will now face is up to 7 months. So, getting your application right the first time is crucial to a smooth and successful wedding process in Denmark!
The second is to be prepared for your trip to Denmark. Make sure that you plan your trip in good time (but only once your application is approved and your wedding date is confirmed).
Sometimes couples do not realise that places like Ærø island are small and so trying to book accommodation or restaurants at the last minute can prove tricky. But again, this can be overcome by good forward planning!
The Danish Marriage Certificate
The Danish marriage certificate is quite a unique document, in that it has been issued specifically for the many thousands of foreign couples who travel to Denmark to get married each year.
It does not only come in the Danish language, but also with the translation of English, French, Spanish and German. Which makes it incredibly useful for huge numbers of couples.
The Danish marriage certificate is a legally binding document and is recognised all around the world.
You may need to consider getting it legalised with an Apostille stamp for use in some countries though.
We do recommend you check this with the authorities in your home countries to find out if an Apostille legalisation is something you would need on your Danish marriage certificate for it to be successfully submitted there.
Getting Married on Ærø
Here at Danish Island Weddings, our hearts truly belong to Ærø. This is our beautiful home. We absolutely love sharing this unique and magical place with couples who want to get married here and we can’t shout about Ærø’s wonderful qualities loudly enough!
Ærø is somewhere you can truly come and experience peace. The people on the island are so kind and welcoming, the landscape is gorgeous and getting married here ensures your hearts will also belong to Ærø too!
Practically speaking, it’s very close to Germany and only a 3.5 hour journey from Copenhagen.
You must present your documents at the town hall in Ærøskøbing one working day before your wedding date and in terms of where you can get married, well, that’s where we will guide you.
We have several locations on the island that are perfect for couples to get married - for both those couples eloping alone and those bringing loved ones too.
Our expertise, local knowledge and connections with local artists, such as photographer, florist and make up artist, plus great relationships with restaurants and bakeries ensures that every aspect of your wedding day is covered by us.
We simply love helping couples get married on Ærø and we would be delighted to help you too. So please do reach out to us to talk about what you want for your wedding day. We are very much looking forward to hearing from you.