Yes, you can marry in Denmark with a partner from Ukraine, even if they hold temporary protection in Germany, Austria or Switzerland. Ukrainian documents need an apostille from Ukraine and a certified translation for Familieretshuset. You prove legal stay on the wedding day with the residence permit or, when travelling visa-free on a biometric passport, with the EES proof.
This guide is for couples where one of you lives in Germany, Austria or Switzerland and the other comes from Ukraine; it is also available in Ukrainian and Russian. 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.
Which documents does your Ukrainian partner need?
Familieretshuset, the Danish Agency of Family Law, asks each partner for photos of all passport pages and the online application, in which unmarried applicants confirm their marital status with their signature under criminal liability. It asks for a certificate of marital status only in individual cases, and never for your own birth certificates. Ukrainian documents are added only if your case needs them:
| Document | Ukrainian name | When needed | Apostille and translation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Passport | паспорт громадянина України для виїзду за кордон | always | no, colour photos of all pages |
| Proof of stay | residence permit from DE, AT or CH, otherwise EES proof | always | no |
| Proof of divorce | рішення суду про розірвання шлюбу with note of finality, or свідоцтво про розірвання шлюбу | if divorced | yes |
| Death certificate of the former spouse | свідоцтво про смерть | if widowed | yes |
| Birth certificates of joint children | свідоцтво про народження | if you have children together | yes, if Ukrainian |
| Proof of marital status | depends on the request | only if Familieretshuset asks for it | yes, if Ukrainian |
| Proof of your joint address | e.g. German registration certificate (Meldebescheinigung) | if you live together outside Denmark, not older than 4 months | not for documents in German |
About the passport: the Ukrainian ID card is not a passport. For citizens from outside the EU, the EEA and Switzerland, Familieretshuset requires the passport, which must be valid at least 3 months beyond your stay, have 2 empty pages and have been issued within the last 10 years. If its validity was extended, it still no longer counts after those 10 years. According to the German Federal Foreign Office, Ukrainians travel visa-free only with a biometric passport.
Who issues the apostille in Ukraine?
Familieretshuset accepts documents from most European countries without authentication, but Ukraine is expressly on the list of exceptions: Ukrainian documents need an apostille from the issuing country (Familieretshuset: Documentation requirements). The Hague Apostille Convention has applied to Ukraine since 22 December 2003, and the Hague Conference's status table records no objection to it. You therefore do not need legalisation by the Danish embassy.
Which Ukrainian authority issues the apostille depends on the document. According to what Ukraine has notified to the Hague Conference (HCCH: Ukraine, competent authorities):
- Ministry of Justice (Міністерство юстиції): documents of the civil registry offices (ДРАЦС), extracts from the state civil status register, decisions of Ukrainian courts and notarial documents. That covers almost everything you need for Denmark.
- Ministry of Foreign Affairs (МЗС): other official documents for which no other body is responsible.
- Ministry of Education (МОН): diplomas and certificates; you do not need these for the wedding.
The Ministry of Justice also issues electronic apostilles and keeps an online register of them. Whether Familieretshuset accepts a purely electronic apostille is not stated on its pages; if in doubt, ask before you apply. More on the apostille in general is in our apostille guide, and the rules for every country in our apostille and legalisation country list.
Getting documents from Ukraine when you live abroad
If a document is missing or old, you can apply for a duplicate (повторне свідоцтво) or an extract from the state register (витяг з Державного реєстру актів цивільного стану громадян). According to Ukraine's official Diia service guide, any civil registry office (ДРАЦС) issues the extract regardless of where you live, as do the administrative service centres (ЦНАП). Online it works through the Diia portal with a qualified electronic signature, and a representative can also apply for you. The guide states a fee of 73 hryvnias and a processing time of one day.
Translation: into which language, and by whom?
Familieretshuset requires foreign documents to be translated into Danish, English or German by an authorised translator before you apply, including the text of the apostille. Ukrainian and Russian are therefore always translated. The simplest option is a publicly appointed or sworn translator from Germany, Austria or Switzerland; in Germany you find one in the database of the state justice administrations. Costs and process are explained in our guide certified translation of wedding documents.
With Ukrainian documents, names deserve special care:
- Cyrillic names can be written in Latin letters in different ways, for example Oleksandr or Olexandr. Ask the translator to write names exactly as in the passport.
- The patronymic (по батькові) is part of the full name in Ukrainian documents. It should appear in full in the translation.
- If a name has changed, for example through an earlier marriage, the chain should be traceable from the documents: birth name, name in the earlier marriage, current name in the passport.
Married before: proving a Ukrainian divorce correctly
If your partner was married before, Familieretshuset needs proof that the marriage has ended, and for a divorce, proof that it is final. Ukraine has two ways to divorce, and the proof looks different for each (Diia: Державна реєстрація розірвання шлюбу):
| Type of divorce | When the marriage ends | What you submit |
|---|---|---|
| At the civil registry office (ДРАЦС), on a joint application by spouses without children | on the day of registration | divorce certificate (свідоцтво про розірвання шлюбу) with apostille and translation |
| By a court | on the day the decision becomes final (набрання законної сили) | court decision (рішення суду) with the note of finality (відмітка про набрання законної сили), with apostille and translation |
Today the court sends its decision to the civil registry office itself, which enters it in the register. For court divorces from before 27 July 2010, when Ukraine's civil status registration law came into force, the divorce also had to be registered at the civil registry office; in that case add the divorce certificate too. If your partner was married more than once, submit all the proofs. For widowed partners the death certificate counts, see remarrying in Denmark after being widowed.
For Germany there is a second question: is the Ukrainian divorce valid there too? Under § 107 FamFG, a foreign divorce is in principle only recognised once the state justice administration has confirmed it. That does not apply if both spouses were nationals of the state whose court or authority decided, that is, two Ukrainians divorced in Ukraine. If the former spouse was not Ukrainian, for example German, sort out recognition before the wedding; the procedure can take several months. For Austria and Switzerland, ask the registry office (Standesamt or Zivilstandsamt). More in our guide divorced: a second wedding in Denmark.
Travelling to Denmark: passport, § 24, Austria's ID for displaced persons or Swiss status S
Denmark only marries people who are legally in the country on the wedding day. As proof, Familieretshuset names, among other things, a residence permit from another Schengen state (Familieretshuset: Legal residence for marriage in Denmark). Anyone without a permit who travels visa-free has, since 10 April 2026, proved their stay with a printout of the data page and the result page of the EES calculator plus plane tickets or boarding passes. According to the German Federal Foreign Office, Ukrainians travel visa-free only with a biometric passport, for at most 90 days in any 180-day period.
If your partner lives with you under temporary protection, this is what the authorities of the three countries say about travelling to other Schengen states (as of 3 November 2026):
| Situation | Travel to Denmark according to the authority | Proof for Familieretshuset |
|---|---|---|
| Germany: residence permit under § 24 of the Residence Act (AufenthG) | with the residence permit, up to 90 days in 180 days in other Schengen states (BAMF, Germany4Ukraine) | residence permit, front and back, plus all passport pages; Familieretshuset expressly names a residence permit from a Schengen state |
| Austria: ID card for displaced persons (Ausweis für Vertriebene) | with the card and passport, generally 90 days in 180 days visa-free (BFA, questions and answers) | card, both sides, and all passport pages; Familieretshuset does not name this card expressly, so clarify the proof beforehand |
| Switzerland: protection status S | travel in the Schengen area generally possible if you have a biometric passport, at most 90 days in 180 days (SEM) | S permit and all passport pages; Familieretshuset does not name status S, so clarify the proof beforehand |
| No residence permit, biometric passport | visa-free, at most 90 days in 180 days | EES printout (data and result pages) plus plane tickets or boarding passes |
| No residence permit, no biometric passport | Schengen visa needed | visa in the passport, EES printout plus plane tickets or boarding passes |
Three situations are not on Familieretshuset's list, so ask before you apply: a German Fiktionsbescheinigung (provisional certificate) instead of the residence card, travel by car, bus or train instead of by plane, and the protection documents from Austria and Switzerland. How the EES proof works is explained in our guide EES proof for the wedding, and the visa in our guide marrying on a Schengen visa. Recognised refugees with a refugee travel document find their rules in our guide marrying with refugee status. If your partner still lives in Ukraine, first find out whether they may leave the country under Ukrainian law; restrictions apply to men liable for military service.
The EU has since extended temporary protection until 4 March 2028. In Austria, according to the BFA, the right of residence currently runs until that date. In Switzerland, status S applies until the Federal Council lifts it, according to SEM not before 4 March 2027; the S permit itself is valid for one year at a time.
After the wedding: the certificate for Ukraine and your residence
Straight after the ceremony you receive two international marriage certificates in five languages (Danish, German, English, French, Spanish). German and Austrian authorities do not need an apostille on it (EU Regulation 2016/1191). What happens next at home is explained in our guide married in Denmark: what now?.
For Ukrainian authorities, the Diia guide says: foreign civil status documents must be duly legalised, unless an international treaty provides otherwise, and come with a certified translation into Ukrainian. Since Denmark and Ukraine are both parties to the Apostille Convention, for the Danish marriage certificate this means the apostille of the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Udenrigsministeriet), DKK 250 per document. Then comes the certified translation into Ukrainian. What you need the certificate for in Ukraine, for example a passport in a new name, clarify with the Ukrainian consulate. We arrange the apostille as an add-on for €149.99, see apostille on the Danish marriage certificate.
The wedding does not change residence status automatically
In Germany, anyone who already holds a residence permit may apply for a different residence permit from within the country, without a visa procedure (§ 39 sentence 1 no. 1 AufenthV); the wording covers every residence permit, including one under § 24. Whether switching to a residence permit as a spouse makes sense for you, and which requirements such as A1 German then apply, clarify with the immigration office or a migration counselling service. If your partner does not live with you, the normal family reunification after the wedding with a visa applies.
In Austria, the BFA asks you to report a change of name so that it can issue a new ID card for displaced persons. As one reason for an early end of the right of residence, it names leaving Austria for more than a short time; plan the trip to the wedding as a short stay. In Switzerland, ask the cantonal migration office what the marriage means for the S permit.
Typical pitfalls with Ukrainian documents
- Missing apostille: without it, Familieretshuset asks for more documents, and after such a request it is currently working on applications from August 2026 (as of 3 November 2026).
- Wrong order: translated first, apostilled later. Then the translation of the apostille is missing.
- Court decision without note of finality: without the відмітка про набрання законної сили there is no proof that the divorce is final.
- Inconsistent names in passport, documents and translation.
- Wrong document: the ID card instead of the passport, or a passport that is not biometric, older than 10 years or about to expire.
- Expiry date overlooked: the permit or card expires before the wedding, or after an automatic extension the card still shows the old date.
What Familieretshuset asks for and how to respond is explained in our guide requests for documents or rejection by Familieretshuset.
Step by step
- Clarify your situation: passport, residence status and earlier marriages. Our free eligibility check shows which documents your case needs.
- Get the documents: only the ones you need, ideally as a current duplicate or register extract.
- Apostille in Ukraine: from the Ministry of Justice for documents of civil registry offices and courts.
- 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; the approval (prøvelsesattest) is valid for at most 4 months.
- Ceremony: it takes 15 to 20 minutes. You need two witnesses, and many municipalities provide them on weekdays.
- Afterwards: an apostille on the marriage certificate if you need it in Ukraine, and a visit to the immigration office.
What else binational couples should keep in mind is in a separate guide. 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.
