# EU citizen moving to Germany with non-EU gf



## shatterjack

Hello all, I'm planning to apply for a job in Germany. I have a UK passport, but my girlfriend is Taiwanese. Would it be possible for her to go with me, permanently. Would she be able to work? Would we need to be married, and if so, in which country?

Thanks!


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## ALKB

shatterjack said:


> Hello all, I'm planning to apply for a job in Germany. I have a UK passport, but my girlfriend is Taiwanese. Would it be possible for her to go with me, permanently. Would she be able to work? Would we need to be married, and if so, in which country?
> 
> Thanks!


As far as I know you have to be married. You need to be married according to the laws of the country where the ceremony is held, it does not have to be your country of origin or permanent residence.

I married in Denmark, although neither I nor my husband have any sort of connection to the country. It was simply the quickest, cheapest and easiest way at the time.

EDIT: There seems to be a possibility for unmarried partners as long as they can prove that they have been living together for a certain amount of time.

Where is your girlfriend at the moment? Does she have any sort of visa for the UK or Schengen?

In general, she could already accompany you if you are planning to go to Germany for your job search and this should be no problem if she is currently in the UK with you but I don´t know whether the situation is different if she is currently living in Taiwan. In that case, I´d ring the German Embassy where she lives to clarify things.

Once you are married and you landed a job in Germany, you need a place to live and register there. When she joins you in Germany, go to your local Ausländerbehörde to apply for her EEA family permit.

I recently found out that this is now a biometric card rather than a sticker in the passport and it takes about three to four weeks to get the card. The residence card for EEA family members is free and nowadays issued for five years (renewable).

Your wife has the right to work right away but I´d probably wait until she gets the card, to give her time to adjust and for clarity´s sake. A potential employer might be squeamish to give her a contract on a six-month EEA family permit.

Where in Germany are you thinking of moving to?

Best of luck for all your plans!


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## shatterjack

Thanks for the detailed reply. I'm going to apply for a job in Frankfurt (actually Grossostheim). My girlfriend is in the UK now, but she is going back to Taiwan in a few days. We haven't really lived together for a long time before though, we've always been in different cities in the UK. But I could get the job in Germany, move there, then she could come from Taiwan to join me and we get married in Germany and apply for the EEA family permit?


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## ALKB

shatterjack said:


> Thanks for the detailed reply. I'm going to apply for a job in Frankfurt (actually Grossostheim). My girlfriend is in the UK now, but she is going back to Taiwan in a few days. We haven't really lived together for a long time before though, we've always been in different cities in the UK. But I could get the job in Germany, move there, then she could come from Taiwan to join me and we get married in Germany and apply for the EEA family permit?


I don´t really know enough about your situation to really answer this fully.

To get married in Germany, she would need a valid visa and then you would have to apply for permission to marry. Papers and procedure vary from country to country and I am not familiar with the papers needed from Taiwan.

German authorities usually want a lot of documents and if these are in a foreign language (even if it is English), those almost always need to be translated into German.

My husband is originally from Pakistan - the documentation Germany wanted was extensive and the procedure lengthy (they wanted to verify everything through the German Embassy in Islamabad for the bargain price of 1300 German Marks. Non refundable, of course). We met while living in Switzerland and there the procedure and fee was about the same.

Could she get a tourist visa to visit you in Germany? This would be a Schengen visa and would enable her to travel freely within the Schengen area. As I understand it, Denmark is still a quick and inexpensive country to get married in as long as the couple don´t want to settle in Denmark or one of them is Danish. It might be worth looking into. Even a lot of German couples go to Denmark on holiday and get married because it´s so much less bureaucratic. The marriage certificate conveniently is in several languages including German and English, so no translation hassle, either 

Or could you visit her in Taiwan and get married there?


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## ALKB

Actually, the Embassy web site states that Taiwanese nationals can travel visa free for short stays within Schengen. 

I´d really recommend Denmark in that case. We just had to fill in two short forms, send a few copies of documents (birth certificate, something that states that you are free to marry, proof of address and something else that I forgot) about three or four weeks later we got a letter stating that we can come to the register office on any given Monday at 9 o'clock.

We had to bring the originals of the copies we had sent and ID, along with a fee of something like 75 Euro.

After registering our intention to marry on Monday, we had to 'reside' in that little town until Friday and prove that by bringing a receipt from the hotel we had checked into. On Friday morning all the weddings took place.

We just took that week in Denmark as our honeymoon and in the end we had paid much less for travelling and fees than we would have in Germany.

Otherwise she needs a visa for marriage in Germany:

German Institute Taipei - national visa for marriage in germany

There is a requirement of basic German - I don´t know whether that would be waived if she was to marry a non-German in Germany.

Could also be worth calling the Embassy´s consular section to check the requirements for your specific situation.



LOL!

There are even agencies to arrange everything nowadays, even without the week-long residency as it seems:

Home - Danish Island Weddings :: express Marriage in Denmark, Romantic island


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## shatterjack

Wow, sounds like Denmark is the place to go then! Is it cheap to visit? It's a great idea to combine the wedding and honeymoon!


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## ALKB

shatterjack said:


> Wow, sounds like Denmark is the place to go then! Is it cheap to visit? It's a great idea to combine the wedding and honeymoon!


We married in February, so it was extremely cheap to stay but also very cold and windy. Most restaurants and shops were closed, too. We spent the week holed up in our holiday let 

In summer it´s very lively, a favourite with German tourists. Prices are higher then, especially at the coast but I think you can still find something nice for a reasonable price.

How many days do you have left? Could you still make the 'Express' wedding?


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## shatterjack

lol, I'm not even IN germany yet, so I have all the time in the world right now. It would probably make most sense to get married right no, in England, before going to Germany.


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## ALKB

shatterjack said:


> lol, I'm not even IN germany yet, so I have all the time in the world right now. It would probably make most sense to get married right no, in England, before going to Germany.


Indeed 

In any case, the Denmark option should be uncomplicated, as she can fly into Germany without a visa, you can make the trip to Denmark together, which is not too far, and then she can apply for the residence card right away. Should be straightforward.

Good luck with your application!


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## shatterjack

Thanks for all your advice, I feel more relaxed now


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## neokya

*Thanks for information about Denmark*

I am in exactly same situation. I can easily get tourist visa and I have already travelled Holland and Germany. 

My question is, can I get married in Denmark while I am on tourist visa? Will that marriage certificate be valid to seek residence permit in other EU countries?


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## Nononymous

For something so specific, and important, you should consult the consular sites of the countries you're interested in. 

Recent specific example, though: Canadian friend arrived in Berlin as a tourist (no visa required), got married (actually same-sex partnership) and within a week had her residence and work permits, even though she slightly exceeded the 90-day limit before getting into the foreigner's office.


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## ALKB

neokya said:


> I am in exactly same situation. I can easily get tourist visa and I have already travelled Holland and Germany.
> 
> My question is, can I get married in Denmark while I am on tourist visa? Will that marriage certificate be valid to seek residence permit in other EU countries?


I married my husband in Denmark while he was on a tourist visa and as it is a valid marriage in Denmark, according to the laws of Denmark, all EU countries redognise the certificate.

Our marriage certificate was an international version in several languages. Depending on the official language in the country you want to go to, you might have to have it translated or not.

But I agree with Nononymus - do enquire at the Embassy as my wedding took place a few years ago and my information might be outdated (although a quick google search suggests that it is still the same).


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## neokya

ALKB said:


> I married my husband in Denmark while he was on a tourist visa and as it is a valid marriage in Denmark, according to the laws of Denmark, all EU countries redognise the certificate.
> 
> Our marriage certificate was an international version in several languages. Depending on the official language in the country you want to go to, you might have to have it translated or not.
> 
> But I agree with Nononymus - do enquire at the Embassy as my wedding took place a few years ago and my information might be outdated (although a quick google search suggests that it is still the same).


Thanks ALKB for advice. I know all the EU countries need a spouse visa to get residence permit from my country. I was wondering if I can skip this step if I marry within in EU (which it seems is possible in Denmark)


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## ALKB

neokya said:


> Thanks ALKB for advice. I know all the EU countries need a spouse visa to get residence permit from my country. I was wondering if I can skip this step if I marry within in EU (which it seems is possible in Denmark)


I don't quite understand. What do you want to skip?

If you are a visa national and married to an EEA citizen you either need a spouse visa under domestic immigration law or a residence card under EU law.

For example:

Your fiancé is a French citizen. You marry him in Denmark. 

If you want to settle in France, you can use the Danish marriage certificate to apply for a French spouse visa under French law.

If you want to settle in Austria (or any other EU country that is not France) you can use the Danish marriage certificate to apply for a residence card of a family member of an EEA citizen under EU law.


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