Your marriage or civil partnership certificate translated into German and signed by a sworn translator, for spouse visas, registration and name matters.
A sworn marriage certificate translation into German turns your UK certificate into a Heiratsurkunde that German offices can work with. VisaDocTranslation's translations are completed and signed by a sworn translator (beeidigter or ermächtigter Übersetzer), within 2 working days.
Offices that ask for a marriage certificate often want your birth certificate translated too, and if either of you was married before, a divorce certificate translation usually joins the file. Married couples should also expect the Finanzamt to take an interest; see our page on tax return translation.
Germany
Typically for a spouse or family reunification residence permit, for registering as married when you register your address, for name matters and for recording a UK marriage in the German register. Requirements vary, so check with the office first.
A marriage certificate is a document German offices meet again and again after you move. The Bürgeramt may want it to record your marital status at registration, the Ausländerbehörde wants it for a spouse residence permit, and your marital status then flows through to tax and family benefits. A sworn translation you can reuse across offices saves you starting from scratch each time. Ask each office whether it keeps your copy, because some do.
If one of you is a German citizen, the marriage can be recorded in the German marriage register through a Standesamt or a German mission. Foreign couples instead have their marital status recorded at the Bürgeramt when they register their address.
German missions in the UK note that English-language marriage certificates often don't need translating for this, but that you may still be asked for a German translation, including of English documents. Registry offices in Germany are more likely to ask than missions abroad. If you're getting the certificate apostilled anyway, ordering the translation at the same time is the tidy option: one appointment, no second round of paperwork.
Often. German offices increasingly ask for an apostille on UK marriage certificates, issued by the FCDO Legalisation Office. We don't issue apostilles, so arrange it first and send us the certificate with the apostille attached.
The apostille confirms the certificate is genuine; the sworn translation makes it readable in German. They do different jobs and offices often want both, in that order. Our apostille translation page walks through the sequence.
Use a recent certified copy of the marriage certificate from the register office rather than the souvenir copy from the ceremony, as the apostille can only be added to an official certificate. If you married outside the UK, the apostille or legalisation rules of that country apply instead.
Yes. UK civil partnership certificates and same-sex marriage certificates get the same full sworn translation into German. How the receiving office treats the relationship is a legal question for that office, not something the translation changes.
The translation renders the document exactly as issued, so a civil partnership stays a civil partnership (eingetragene Lebenspartnerschaft) and is not upgraded or downgraded in German. Germany has allowed same-sex marriage since 2017, and offices deal with both kinds of document. If your partnership was later converted into a marriage, send both certificates so the history is clear.
£48.00 per page, charged in pounds sterling, delivered within 2 working days. Most UK marriage certificates are a single page, plus any attached apostille.
The price covers the German translation, the sworn translator's signature and a quality check, with 2 free revisions per document. Upload everything you need translated, apostille included, and the quote form shows the total before you pay. Start on the online quote form.
Check the checklist from the German mission handling your application. Missions in the UK often accept English-language certificates, while offices in Germany are more likely to ask for a German translation.
Requirements vary between offices, so confirm with the one handling your case before you order, and tell us what it has asked for when you upload.
Yes. Certificates from all parts of the UK use slightly different layouts and wording, and each one is translated in full as issued.
Often yes, but some offices keep what you hand in. Ask whether they retain documents, and order enough copies of the underlying certificate.
No. If the office needs an apostille, get it from the FCDO Legalisation Office first, then send us the certificate with the apostille so both are translated.
Up to 2 working days. There's no rush option, because a sworn translator completes and signs every translation.
The translation shows names exactly as they appear on the certificate. Any change of name in Germany is a separate declaration made at the Standesamt.
Yes, but German offices generally want the civil registration document. Check which one the office needs before ordering.
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