German Lover...

Hi LondonBound

I don't know if you really need a "spousal" stamp on your passport or permit. I am about to marry a German and move to Germany as well, so we have been looking into this situation.

We will marry in the US, but once we return to Germany, we will need to visit the citizen office for my registration there. I assume that any stamps or documents I will need will be provided at that time. So far, we have not been told exactly what will be required. As an American citizen, you are allowed to be in Germany for up to 90 days from the date of arrival without a visa or other permit. This should be plenty of time to determine what other documents you will need for residency. You should be sure to take original documents with you, such as birth certificate, social security card, drivers license and any other legal documents you have that are important. It is also important to remember that if you intend to get married in Germany, the process is more difficult than in the US, and they may require a certified copy of your parents marriage license, as well as all documents to be officially translated into German. This can be expensive. Your fiance should inquire about your residency with the Bundesland (or state) where she lives because their requirements may differ. She also needs to find out about whether you will be required to have your own insurance coverage, since insurance is handled much differently in Europe than in the US.

Also, as far as driving in Germany, you should check the US Department of State website to see whether your state has a reciprocal agreement with Germany. Either it has a full agreement, a partial agreement, or none at all. A full agreement means you will just have to apply for a German license within 6 months of arriving, without having to take the tests. A partial agreement means that you don't have to take the driving test, but you will have to take the written test (it can be provided in English). If your state has no agreement, you will be required to take the driving test and the written test before obtaining a German license. I don't know what fees they charge, if any, but I am sure fees are involved if you have to take either or both tests. But be prepared to give up your US drivers license, because you apparently cannot have both!

Good luck and best wishes!

We married wendesday the 21st in the afternoon. I have a original copy of our certificate/license and 8 certified copies from the state. I have read this http://www.germany.info/relaunch/info/c … anent.html
and I have all of this information gathered...I am going to drive to the german consular office that my region is supposed to apply out of, which is chicago (550 miles) where I am from....im leaving on the 16th of march to go there. It took about one hour for us to get married...we are both 18, we did it in arkansas! The only thing I did not check out was the insurance situation...I understand now that this is a big deal in europe (apparently, you cannot work anywhere without it) and I am in the process of figuring out what kind I will need and how to go about purchasing it(calling german consular tommorow). To you issabelle, I would just read the german consular website as much as possible, and call one of the german consular offices if you have any questions. I would reccomend calling the New York office as they are much much much...more helpful then the CA or Chicago offices in my experience so far. The number for the german consular office is 1-212-610-9700 it will start in german....you will press what ever number it tells you to of course change to english.
I hope it works out for you well with you fiancee...it has with mine, its just true love...honestly. I am just hoping that his permenant residence visa process will process quickly, it says it takes 1-3 months. Anyways, that my story....Stick with it, and make sure and only marry for love... good luck and god bless(if your religious