Yes, you can marry in Denmark with a partner from Brazil, Colombia, Mexico, Peru, Argentina, Venezuela or the Dominican Republic. Except for Dominicans, all of them travel visa-free. Documents from all seven countries, such as a divorce decree, need an apostille from the home country and a translation. The one hard requirement: legal stay on the wedding day.
This guide is for couples where one of you lives in Germany, Austria, Switzerland or Spain and the other comes from Latin America, whether they already live in Europe or travel from their home country. The rules for every nationality are on our page rules by country of origin, and all documents in our guide documents for your wedding in Denmark.
The seven countries at a glance
For documents from outside Europe, Familieretshuset, the Danish Agency of Family Law, requires an apostille if the issuing country is a party to the Hague Apostille Convention (Familieretshuset: Documentation requirements). This applies to all seven countries, and Denmark has not objected to any of these accessions (HCCH, status table). You therefore do not need legalisation by the Danish embassy.
| Country | Entry | Who issues the apostille | Typical document |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brazil | visa-free | authorised notary and registry offices (cartórios) supervised by the National Council of Justice (CNJ) | certidão from the Registro Civil |
| Colombia | visa-free | Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Cancillería), also online | Registro Civil de Nacimiento or de Matrimonio |
| Mexico | visa-free | documents of the federal states: the authority of the state concerned; federal documents: Ministry of the Interior (SEGOB) | acta de nacimiento or de matrimonio from the Registro Civil |
| Peru | visa-free | Ministry of Foreign Affairs | acta from the Registro Civil or RENIEC |
| Argentina | visa-free | Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and also the notaries' associations | acta or partida from the Registro Civil |
| Venezuela | visa-free | Ministry of Foreign Affairs, electronic system | acta from the Registro Civil |
| Dominican Republic | Schengen visa needed | Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MIREX) | extracto de acta inextensa |
The entry rules come from the visa country list of the German Federal Foreign Office (as of 3 June 2026), and the apostille authorities from what the countries have notified to the Hague Conference (Brazil, Colombia, Mexico, Peru, Argentina, Venezuela, Dominican Republic). Other countries in the region are in our apostille and legalisation country list.
Entry: visa-free or with a Schengen visa
Visa-free nationals may stay in the Schengen area for at most 90 days in any 180-day period. Denmark only marries people who are legally in the country on the wedding day, and Familieretshuset wants to see proof of this as early as the application (Familieretshuset: Documentation of legal stay):
- Residence permit from a Schengen state, for example from Germany, Austria, Switzerland or Spain: the permit, front and back, is enough as proof.
- Visa-free travel: since 10 April 2026 you print the data page and the result page of the EES calculator and add plane tickets or boarding passes. How this works is explained in our guide EES proof for the wedding.
- Dominican Republic: without a residence permit your partner needs a Schengen visa. What matters is explained in our guide marrying on a Schengen visa, and the comparison with a visa for getting married in Germany in our guide marriage visa or wedding in Denmark.
The passport must be valid for at least three months beyond the stay, have two empty pages and have been issued within the last ten years. An extended passport no longer counts after these ten years. Familieretshuset's approval is valid for at most four months and ends earlier if the passport, visa or residence permit expires first.
To be honest: no right of residence, no wedding
A common question: the partner has lived in Spain or Germany for years but no longer has a valid residence permit. Unfortunately the answer is clear: under § 11 a of the Danish Marriage Act, each partner must be legally in Denmark on the wedding day. The Danish marriage guidelines also state that a stay only for the duration of a procedure in another Schengen state, for example as an asylum seeker, does not establish legal stay in Denmark (Vejledning om behandling af ægteskabssager, point 2.7). For you this means:
- Once the 90 visa-free days have run out, the stay is no longer legal. Travelling to Denmark does not change that, and since the EES started, the system records overstays automatically.
- A German Duldung (suspension of deportation) or Aufenthaltsgestattung (permission to remain during the asylum procedure) only applies to Germany, see marrying with a Duldung.
- An application without valid stay is refused, and the fee of DKK 2,100 (about €281) is not refunded.
What is possible in your situation, for example a wedding in the country where you live, clarify with an immigration lawyer before you travel. The comparison between the registry office at home and Denmark is in our guide Germany or Denmark, and which papers count as residence in our guide residence papers.
Which documents does Familieretshuset need?
Each of you uploads photos of all passport pages and confirms in the application, with your signature under criminal liability, that you are unmarried. Familieretshuset does not ask for your own birth certificates, and for a certificate of marital status only in individual cases. Latin American documents are only added if your case needs them, and then always with an apostille and a translation:
| Document | When needed |
|---|---|
| Divorce decree or divorce certificate with proof that it is final | if your partner is divorced |
| Death certificate of the former spouse | if your partner is widowed |
| Birth certificates of joint children | if you have children together |
| Proof of marital status | only if Familieretshuset asks for it |
| Proof of your joint address, not older than 4 months | if you live together outside Denmark |
For a divorce, the Danish marriage guidelines require a copy of the decision, proof that it is final and a translation with all annotations (point 2.5.2.3.1). In several countries of the region the divorce is also noted in the marriage register; a current marriage certificate with this annotation is then good additional proof. If your partner was divorced outside the EU, the divorce also needs recognition for Germany under § 107 FamFG, unless both former spouses were nationals of the country where the divorce took place. More in our guide divorced: a second wedding in Denmark.
Translation from Spanish or Portuguese
Familieretshuset accepts documents in Danish, English or German. Have Spanish and Portuguese documents translated by an authorised translator before you apply, including the text of the apostille; in Germany these are publicly appointed or sworn translators. Pay attention to names: in Spanish-speaking countries many people have two surnames, in Brazil often several. If the passport shows a different combination than the document, ask the translator to reproduce both spellings exactly and explain the difference in the application. More in our guide certified translation of wedding documents.
After the wedding: registering the marriage in the home country
Straight after the ceremony you receive two international marriage certificates in five languages, including Spanish, see international marriage certificate. For the marriage to appear in the register of the home country as well, you have it registered there. If your partner was previously divorced abroad, for example in Spain or Germany, the home country often has to recognise that divorce first. The following overview is based on the government websites of Brazil and Peru and on the country notes of the Higher Regional Court of Dresden (Oberlandesgericht Dresden):
| Country | Registering the Danish marriage | Foreign divorce in the home country |
|---|---|---|
| Brazil | registration at a Brazilian consular post, then transcription at the Cartório do 1º Ofício of the place of residence in Brazil or in the Federal District (gov.br) | recognition by the Superior Court of Justice (STJ) if the divorce also settles ancillary matters (OLG Dresden) |
| Colombia | a civil marriage concluded abroad must be registered in Colombia to be recognised there; ask the consulate | formal recognition by the Supreme Court (OLG Dresden) |
| Mexico | registration at the Registro Civil of a federal state (inserción de acta extranjera); the requirements may differ from state to state (example: Morelos) | recognition by a Mexican court, then annotation in the marriage certificate (OLG Dresden) |
| Peru | registration at the Peruvian consular post in the country of the wedding, possible at any time, applied for by the Peruvian spouse (gob.pe) | no recognition needed for a divorce by mutual consent, otherwise by a court (OLG Dresden) |
| Argentina | ask the consulate | no formal recognition needed (OLG Dresden) |
| Venezuela | ask the consulate | recognition by a court (exequatur) (OLG Dresden) |
| Dominican Republic | ask the consulate | no formal recognition needed (OLG Dresden) |
For registration, many authorities require the Danish marriage certificate with an apostille. Only the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Udenrigsministeriet) issues it, for DKK 250 per document (um.dk); we arrange it as an add-on for €149.99, see apostille on the Danish marriage certificate. How other countries treat the Danish marriage is collected in our guide recognition of the Danish marriage worldwide.
For Spanish citizens: Denmark instead of the expediente matrimonial?
Anyone who has a civil wedding in Spain first goes through the marriage eligibility procedure (expediente matrimonial): under Art. 58(5) of the Spanish Civil Registry Act, the competent office hears both partners separately and in private (audiencia reservada) and can ask for further evidence (Ley 20/2011). If you marry in Denmark, Familieretshuset examines your case under Danish law. Under Art. 58(11), Spain issues a certificate of capacity to marry (certificado de capacidad matrimonial) after a separate procedure if the place of the wedding requires one; Familieretshuset, however, only asks for proof of marital status in individual cases.
This does not make the Spanish check disappear entirely; it comes after the wedding. Under Art. 59(2), a marriage concluded before foreign authorities is entered in the Spanish register provided it is valid under Spanish law. According to the Spanish embassy in Copenhagen:
- For full civil effect in Spain, the marriage must be entered in the Spanish civil registry. The competent office is the consular registry of the embassy in Copenhagen; if you both live in Spain, it is the Registro Civil of your place of residence.
- Either spouse can apply, whatever their nationality.
- Required documents include the application form, the Danish marriage certificate, a sworn declaration, ID documents, a Spanish birth certificate no older than six months, the foreign spouse's birth certificate and documents on previous marriages. Foreign documents must be legalised or apostilled and, where necessary, officially translated into Spanish; this also applies to the Danish marriage certificate.
- Both of you appear in person, at the embassy by appointment or at the honorary consulates in Aarhus, Odense or Nuuk. Registration is free of charge, and the consulate may ask for further documents.
Recognition in Germany, Austria and Switzerland
- Germany: the Danish marriage is as a rule valid without any further procedure, and the marriage certificate needs no apostille (EU Regulation 2016/1191); registering it afterwards in Germany (Nachbeurkundung) is voluntary. If a German registry office needs your partner's documents, it requires legalisation for the Dominican Republic and an apostille for the other six countries (OLG Dresden). More in our guide recognition in Germany.
- Austria: you must report the marriage to the Central Civil Status Register (ZPR), see recognition in Austria.
- Switzerland: recognition is not automatic; you report the marriage through the Regional Consular Centre in Stockholm, and registration takes at least two months, see recognition in Switzerland.
If your partner still lives in their home country, family reunification comes next, because the marriage alone does not give a right of residence; see family reunification after the wedding. For Brazilians, the German Federal Foreign Office notes that they can apply for a residence permit in Germany after entering visa-free, provided they do not take up employment; whether that fits your case, clarify with the immigration office (Ausländerbehörde).
Step by step
- Clarify your stay: residence permit, visa-free days or visa? Our free eligibility check shows whether it works for you and with which documents.
- Get the documents: only the ones you need, as recent as possible, and for divorces with proof that they are final.
- Apostille in the home country: from the competent authority in the table above.
- Translation: document and apostille into German, English or Danish.
- Application to Familieretshuset: the fee is DKK 2,100 (about €281) and is not refunded. Familieretshuset usually decides complete applications within 5 working days; after a request for more documents it is currently working on cases from August 2026 (Sagsbehandlingstider, as of 6 November 2026). The approval (prøvelsesattest) is valid for at most 4 months.
- Ceremony: 15 to 20 minutes, with two witnesses, whom many municipalities provide on weekdays. Ceremonies are usually held in Danish, English or German; if your partner does not understand any of these languages, you need an interpreter.
- Afterwards: apostille, registration in the home country and in Spain, Germany, Austria or Switzerland.
With every application, Familieretshuset also checks whether the relationship is genuine; what it wants to see is in our guide sham marriage checks. If you would rather not check the documents alone: in the Complete package for €649.99, Familieretshuset's fee included, we check every scan before submission and file the application for you. The Essential package for €249.99 includes the document list, instructions and WhatsApp support. All services are on our pricing page.
