Marrying in Denmark with a partner from Afghanistan, Iran or Iraq

Yes, you can marry in Denmark with a partner from Afghanistan, Iran or Iraq if he or she is lawfully in Denmark on the wedding day, usually with a residence permit from a Schengen country and a valid travel document. The three countries differ considerably when it comes to passports and documents, though: no Danish embassy legalises Afghan or Iraqi documents, and Familieretshuset (the Danish Agency of Family Law) decides on them case by case. Iranian documents are legalised by the Danish embassy in Tehran.

This guide is for couples where one of you lives in Germany, Austria or Switzerland and the other comes from one of the three countries, whether with protection status, with another residence permit or still in the country of origin. The rules for each nationality are on our page rules by country of origin, and the complete document list is in the guide documents for your wedding in Denmark. We do not advise on immigration law; where your individual case matters, we say so.

Afghanistan, Iran and Iraq compared

None of the three countries is a party to the Hague Apostille Convention (HCCH status table). For Denmark, this means legalisation or, where that is not possible, a case-by-case assessment (um.dk: Legalisation of foreign documents). As of 6 November 2026:

The main groups come from the Danish Immigration Service (Udlændingestyrelsen). According to its page, visitor visas for main group 5 are only issued in special circumstances, for example serious illness or the death of a family member in Denmark (nyidanmark.dk: Who needs a visa?, as of 30 June 2026). The page does not mention a wedding. How apostille and legalisation work for every country is shown in the country list for apostille and legalisation.

Passport and travel document: what Familieretshuset accepts

Familieretshuset requires nationals of countries outside the EU, the EEA and Switzerland to submit photos of every page of their passport. The passport must be valid for at least 3 months beyond the stay, have 2 blank pages and have been issued within the last 10 years.

• Afghanistan: Since 18 September 2024, Denmark has not recognised extended Afghan national passports; holders must contact the Afghan authorities to obtain a new passport (Udlændingestyrelsen, notice of 7 October 2024). So check the extension page to see whether your passport has been extended.
• Iran and Iraq: The general rules apply here. Whether Denmark recognises a particular passport series is decided by the Danish authorities; Familieretshuset does not publish a list of its own.
• With protection status: The Reiseausweis für Flüchtlinge (refugee travel document, the "blue passport"), in Austria the Konventionsreisepass, takes the place of the passport; Familieretshuset's guidance on lawful residence explicitly mentions travel documents for refugees (Familieretshuset: Vejledning om lovligt ophold). Anyone who cannot reasonably obtain a passport from their own country often has a Reiseausweis für Ausländer (travel document for foreigners, the "grey passport") in Germany, or a Fremdenpass (alien's passport) in Austria.

Which documents you actually need

Many couples do not need a single document from the country of origin. Unmarried applicants confirm their marital status in the application with their signature under penalty of law, and Familieretshuset does not ask for their own birth certificates. Documents only come into play if your partner was married before, if you have children together or if Familieretshuset asks for proof of marital status in an individual case.

For such an individual case, the Danish administrative guidance on marriage law contains two important exceptions (Vejledning 2022, section 2.5.1.2):

• Refugees and asylum seekers: They cannot be required to contact the authorities of the country they fled, and documents from that country cannot be demanded. The guidance describes this for refugees with status in Denmark; for protection status from Germany, Austria or Switzerland, Familieretshuset decides case by case. Enclose the decision granting recognition.
• Impossible or very difficult to obtain: If a certificate cannot be obtained, for example because the authority does not reply or only issues it in person in a distant country, the authority should waive it at its discretion. You have to prove this, for example with a statement from the embassy.

Afghanistan: Tazkira and no authentication

The Tazkira is the Afghan civil status document showing name and date of birth. According to the OLG Brandenburg (Oberlandesgericht, a German Higher Regional Court), the electronic card-format Tazkira issued since 2018 requires a personal appearance at the competent authority in Afghanistan (OLG Brandenburg, notes on Afghanistan, as of 14 April 2026). Documents from Afghanistan are currently not legalised, and German offices cannot have them verified either as long as the German embassy in Kabul remains closed; the OLG therefore assesses them on the basis of the complete files. Something similar applies to Denmark: no Danish embassy can authenticate Afghan documents, and Familieretshuset decides itself whether to accept them.

Iran: legalisation via the Danish embassy in Tehran

Iranian civil status papers are the Shenasnameh (birth and identity booklet) and the marriage and divorce certificates issued by the Iranian marriage and divorce notary offices. For Denmark you need legalisation: first by the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, then by the Danish embassy in Tehran. The embassy accepts legalisations on Mondays and Wednesdays from 9:30 to 10:00 a.m., and the fee is 35 US dollars in cash per stamp (Danish embassy in Tehran). The page does not say exactly how it handles civil status documents. For German authorities, according to the OLG, the German embassy does not legalise the document itself but the translation by a sworn translator of the Iranian Ministry of Justice, so always keep the original as well (OLG München, Nürnberg, Bamberg, notes on Iran). Ask the Danish embassy beforehand which form it needs.

Iraq: national card, civil register and case-by-case review

For Iraq, the Higher Regional Courts list the national card or the Iraqi identity card, the certificate of nationality and a current extract from the civil register of the General Directorate of Nationality and Civil Status (OLG München, Nürnberg, Bamberg, notes on Iraq, as of March 2026). The German embassy in Baghdad is currently not legalising documents; German offices instead require an additional authentication by the Iraqi Ministry of Foreign Affairs. For Denmark: no Danish embassy can authenticate Iraqi documents, and Familieretshuset decides case by case. An additional authentication by the Iraqi Ministry of Foreign Affairs does not replace a Danish authentication; whether Familieretshuset takes it into account as supporting evidence is its own decision.

Case by case, to be honest, means this: nobody can say in advance whether Familieretshuset will simply accept an Afghan or Iraqi document or ask for more. As a rule, it decides complete applications within 5 working days; after a request for further documents, it is currently processing applications from August 2026 (Sagsbehandlingstider, as of 6 November 2026). So do not book anything you cannot move before the approval has arrived, and read the guide request for more documents or rejection.

Translation from Dari, Pashto, Persian, Arabic or Kurdish

Familieretshuset accepts documents in Danish, English, German, Norwegian or Swedish. Everything else must be translated into Danish, English or German by an authorised translator before you apply, and for legalised documents this includes all stamps and annotations (Familieretshuset: Documentation requirements). Two points need particular care with these documents:

• Dates: Afghan and Iranian documents often give dates according to the Persian or Islamic dating system. Have them converted in the translation and check them against the passport; a differing date of birth triggers follow-up questions.
• Names: Persian and Arabic names can be transliterated into Latin script in different ways. Ask the translator to write them exactly as they appear in the passport or travel document.

Costs and process are explained in the guide certified translation of wedding documents.

Previous marriages and religious divorces

If your partner was married before, you prove that the marriage has ended by providing the divorce document, proof that the divorce is final and a translation including all annotations. Denmark only recognises a foreign divorce if a court or an authority was involved; it does not recognise divorces carried out privately without a court or authority. In addition, the country must have had jurisdiction, for example because one of the spouses lived there or both were its nationals (Vejledning 2022, section 2.5.2.3.2). The German Higher Regional Courts list the following proof for each country:

Declare every previous marriage, including one that was only religious or was never registered, and make sure that what you state matches what was said in the asylum procedure. For Germany there is a second question: under § 107 FamFG, a foreign divorce generally has to be recognised there, unless both spouses were nationals of the country in which the divorce took place. More in the guide divorced: the second wedding in Denmark.

Who may travel, and who cannot marry in Denmark

Familieretshuset requires lawful residence on the day of the wedding and lists, among other things, a residence permit from another Schengen country as proof (Familieretshuset: Legal residence for marriage in Denmark). As a rule, this means the following can qualify:

• recognised refugees and persons entitled to asylum with a residence permit and a travel document,
• beneficiaries of subsidiary protection with a residence permit and a passport, Reiseausweis für Ausländer or Fremdenpass,
• people with another Aufenthaltserlaubnis (German residence permit), for example because a ban on deportation has been established, through admission programmes, for work or for training, if they have a valid travel document,
• partners in the country of origin with a Schengen visa; for Afghanistan and Iraq (main group 5), however, do not count on it.

The wedding is not possible with a Duldung (tolerated stay, a temporary suspension of deportation), with an Aufenthaltsgestattung (permission to stay) during an ongoing asylum procedure, as an asylum seeker in Austria or with the Swiss Ausweis N (asylum seeker's permit). The Danish administrative guidance states explicitly that a stay that only lasts for the duration of a procedure in another Schengen country does not establish lawful residence in Denmark (section 2.7). An application would be rejected and the fee of DKK 2,100 (about €281) would be lost. The guides marrying with a Duldung and marrying as a refugee explain which paths remain open; the guide residence papers for the wedding explains which papers count in general. You can get advice from the Migrationsberatung für erwachsene Zuwanderer (MBE, the German migration advice service for adult immigrants), a Flüchtlingsrat (refugee council), Caritas or Diakonie in Austria, the Schweizerische Flüchtlingshilfe (Swiss Refugee Council) or a lawyer specialising in migration law.

Since 10 April 2026, anyone entering with a visa proves their stay with the visa, the printout from the EES calculator and the tickets; see EES proof for the wedding.

After the wedding: recognition in Germany and in the country of origin

Right after the ceremony you receive two international marriage certificates in five languages; German and Austrian authorities do not need an apostille for them.

• Germany: The marriage is recognised in the vast majority of cases. The form is governed by Danish law, the requirements by the law of each partner's home country (Art. 13(1) EGBGB); for recognised refugees, under Art. 12 of the Geneva Refugee Convention, by the law of their country of residence. For Iran and Iraq, the Higher Regional Courts point to marriage bans between members of different religious communities, which may be disregarded in Germany under Art. 13(2) or Art. 6 EGBGB. For the first marriage of Iranian women, they also mention the father's consent; clarify with the Standesamt (German civil registry office) whether this plays a role for your Danish marriage. The Nachbeurkundung (registration of the foreign marriage in the German civil register) is voluntary (§ 34 PStG). More in the guide recognition in Germany.
• Austria and Switzerland: see recognition in Austria and recognition in Switzerland.
• Country of origin: Whether the marriage is valid there depends on that country's law. According to the OLG notes, a foreign divorce must be registered with the local authorities in Iran and Iraq in order to take effect there; for Afghanistan, by contrast, foreign divorces do not need a special recognition procedure. None of the sources describes a separate procedure for registering a Danish marriage. A marriage that the law of the home country prohibits may be considered void there.

Getting married does not change residence status automatically. If your partner still lives in the country of origin, the next step is family reunification after the wedding; if they already live with you, clarify with the Ausländerbehörde (immigration office) or a migration counselling service whether changing the residence permit makes sense.

How to proceed, step by step

1. Check status and passport: The residence permit and travel document must be valid until after the wedding; Afghan passports must not be extended ones. The free eligibility check shows which documents your case requires.
2. Clarify documents: Do you need any at all? If so, legalise Iranian ones via Tehran, submit Afghan and Iraqi ones complete and expect follow-up questions.
3. Have them translated: with converted dates and names as in the passport.
4. Apply to Familieretshuset: The fee is DKK 2,100 (about €281) and is not refunded; the approval (prøvelsesattest) is valid for no more than 4 months, or for a shorter time if the passport or permit expires earlier.
5. Ceremony: It takes 15 to 20 minutes. You need two witnesses; many municipalities provide them on weekdays.

If your partner comes from Syria, read the guide marrying a partner from Syria. If you would rather not check the documents on your own: in the Complete package for €649.99, including the Familieretshuset fee, we check every scan before it is submitted and file the application for you; the decision is made by Familieretshuset. The Essential package for €249.99 includes a document list, instructions and WhatsApp support. All services are listed on the pricing page.