Marrying in Denmark with a Vietnamese partner: apostille and documents

Yes, you can marry in Denmark, and since 11 September 2026 the paperwork for a partner from Vietnam is shorter: Vietnamese documents for Denmark get an apostille from the Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the extra legalisation by the Danish embassy is, as a rule, no longer needed. Denmark does not ask for a certificate of no impediment.

This guide is for couples who live in Germany, Austria or Switzerland where one partner comes from Vietnam. It explains which Vietnamese documents you really need, how the apostille and the translation fit together, how your partner travels to Denmark legally and how you register the marriage in Vietnam afterwards. The Vietnamese terms are given in brackets so you can use them directly with the authorities in Vietnam.

What applies to a partner from Vietnam at a glance?

The rules for every other nationality are in our overview Rules by country of origin.

Why do German-Vietnamese couples marry in Denmark?

For a wedding in Germany, the registry office asks the Vietnamese partner for a certificate of no impediment or an exemption from it granted by the Higher Regional Court (Oberlandesgericht). In its leaflet on Vietnam (as of September 2020), the Higher Regional Court of Dresden lists, among other things, the birth certificate, a certificate of marital status from the People's Committee of the last place of residence in Vietnam, a certificate from the Vietnamese mission in Germany and a statutory declaration; the Vietnamese documents must be legalised.

In Denmark the route is leaner. Familieretshuset, the Danish Agency of Family Law, does not ask for a certificate of no impediment or for your own birth certificates. It only requests a certificate of marital status if it sees a specific need; otherwise you both confirm your marital status with your signature on the application, under criminal liability. What this means for binational couples overall is explained in our guide Binational wedding in Denmark.

Apostille instead of legalisation: what changed on 11 September 2026

Vietnam acceded to the Hague Apostille Convention, which has applied to Vietnam since 11 September 2026. According to the Danish embassy in Hanoi, Denmark and Vietnam are now both parties. Until then, Vietnamese documents had to be authenticated twice: first by the Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, then by the Danish embassy in Hanoi or the Danish office in Ho Chi Minh City.

The embassy's page Apostille and Legalization of Vietnamese documents describes the new route as follows (as of 03.11.2026):

1. The Vietnamese document is translated into English, and a Vietnamese notary office certifies the translation (công chứng).
2. The Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs puts an apostille on the original and on the translation, either at the Consular Department (Cục Lãnh sự) in Hanoi or at the Department of External Relations (Sở Ngoại vụ) in Ho Chi Minh City.
3. No further legalisation by the Danish embassy is then needed.

The embassy writes that “most” Vietnamese public documents can now be apostilled; it still offers legalisation, for DKK 250 (VND 1,050,000) per stamp. Whether a document needs any authentication for Denmark at all is explained in our apostille guide; which countries joined in 2026 is shown in the country list for apostille and legalisation.

Which Vietnamese documents do you really need?

Fewer than many people think. Familieretshuset does not ask for your own birth certificates. What is added depends on your partner's marital status:

Every Vietnamese certificate in this list needs the apostille and a translation; the passport does not. If you live together outside Denmark, add proof of residence, for example the German registration certificate (Meldebescheinigung), no older than 4 months; documents from Germany, Austria or Switzerland need no apostille. The complete list for all couples is in our guide Documents for your wedding in Denmark.

Translation: who translates, and what exactly?

According to Familieretshuset's Documentation requirements, foreign documents must be translated into Danish, English or German by an authorised translator before you apply. This also covers the text of the apostille and, for legalised documents, all stamps and notes. For Vietnamese documents there are therefore two routes:

• Translation in Vietnam: a notarised English translation (bản dịch có công chứng) that is apostilled together with the original. This is how the Danish embassy in Hanoi describes it.
• Translation where you live: first the apostille goes on the Vietnamese original, then a sworn or authorised translator in Germany, Austria or Switzerland translates the document and the apostille into German or English.

Either way, watch the names. Vietnamese names have diacritics and the order family name, middle name, given name (họ, tên đệm, tên). The passport, the certificates and the translation should spell the name the same way, otherwise you risk follow-up questions. What certified translations cost and where to find translators is in our guide Certified translations.

Visa or residence permit: how does your partner come to Denmark legally?

On the wedding day, your partner must be staying in Denmark legally. For Vietnamese citizens there are two cases.

Your partner lives with you on a residence permit

If your partner holds a residence permit of a Schengen state, for example an Aufenthaltserlaubnis in Germany or Austria or a permit in Switzerland, no visa is needed. The permit, front and back, is enough proof for Familieretshuset. It must still be valid on the wedding day; if it expires before the end of the four months for which the approval (prøvelsesattest) is otherwise valid, the approval is valid for a shorter time too.

Your partner lives in Vietnam

Then your partner needs a Schengen visa (type C). In Vietnam, visa applications for Denmark are taken by the Danish Visa Application Center. State the purpose of travel honestly: the wedding in Denmark. The visa must already be issued before you apply to Familieretshuset: the visa sticker belongs in the application, together with the printout of the data page and the result page of the EES calculator for the planned stay. How to plan this is explained in our guides Marrying on a Schengen visa and EES proof for your wedding.

Married before? Divorces from Vietnam

If your partner was married before, Familieretshuset needs the divorce decision with proof that it is final, with an apostille and a translation. With several previous marriages, you need all the decisions. In Vietnam, the People's Courts (Tòa án nhân dân) grant divorces in two ways:

• By mutual consent: the court issues a decision recognising the divorce by mutual consent (quyết định công nhận thuận tình ly hôn). It usually states that it takes effect when issued.
• Contested: the court rules by judgment (bản án ly hôn), which only becomes final once the appeal periods have passed. So add a confirmation that it is final (đã có hiệu lực pháp luật); ask the court that decided the case for it.

If the earlier marriage was dissolved outside Vietnam, for example in Germany, the German decree with its note of finality (Rechtskraftvermerk) is enough for Denmark, without an apostille. For the later registration of your marriage in Vietnam, check beforehand whether the foreign divorce has already been recorded there (ghi chú ly hôn). For Germany: a Vietnamese divorce in which both spouses were Vietnamese needs no separate recognition by the state justice administration (§ 107 FamFG); if a German was involved, it does. More on this in our guide Divorced: a second wedding in Denmark.

After the wedding: registering the marriage in Vietnam (ghi chú kết hôn)

Vietnam does not learn of your wedding by itself. If the marriage is also to count with Vietnamese authorities, the Vietnamese partner applies for the marriage concluded abroad to be recorded in the civil status register (ghi vào Sổ hộ tịch việc kết hôn, ghi chú kết hôn for short). The competent office is:

• for residents abroad, the Vietnamese embassy or consulate in the country of residence (cơ quan đại diện), as provided by the Vietnamese Law on Civil Status of 2014 (Luật Hộ tịch);
• in Vietnam, since 1 July 2025, the commune People's Committee (Ủy ban nhân dân cấp xã), because the district level was abolished. According to the Hà Tĩnh provincial portal, recording takes 5 working days there from a complete file, at most 8 if checks are needed.

It is based on your Danish international marriage certificate. For Vietnam it gets an apostille from the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs (DKK 250 per document); according to the Danish embassy in Hanoi, Danish documents with an apostille can now generally be used in Vietnam without further legalisation by the Vietnamese embassy in Copenhagen. Add a certified Vietnamese translation, the application form (tờ khai) and the identity documents. Ask the office beforehand which form of translation it requires. How the Danish apostille works is explained in our guide Apostille on the Danish marriage certificate.

From 1 March 2027 a new Law on Civil Status applies in Vietnam, under which registration no longer depends on the place of residence; check the current procedure then. Vietnam does not recognise same-sex marriages (Art. 8 of the Law on Marriage and Family of 2014), so you cannot expect the marriage to be recorded there. What applies to same-sex couples in Denmark is explained in our guide Same-sex marriage in Denmark.

And at home: Germany, Austria, Switzerland

Your Danish marriage certificate is, as a rule, recognised in Germany and needs no apostille there or in Austria (EU Regulation 2016/1191). In Austria, reporting the marriage to the Central Civil Status Register (ZPR) is mandatory; in Switzerland, registration goes through the Swiss mission. The steps are in our guide Married in Denmark: what now?

It is different with Vietnamese documents you present to German authorities, such as a birth certificate. Germany objected to Vietnam's accession; according to the Bavarian Ministerial Gazette 2026 No. 447, the Apostille Convention is therefore not in force between Germany and Vietnam. Austria also started an objection in 2026. For Switzerland we found no objection; ask the authority where you present the document.

If your partner from Vietnam is to move to you in Germany, after the wedding they usually apply for a spouse reunification visa at the German mission in Vietnam, normally with German at level A1. If your partner already lives in Germany on a residence permit, the immigration office (Ausländerbehörde) is the right contact. The details are in our guide Family reunification after the wedding.

Typical pitfalls

• Translation without the apostille text: if the translation is done where you live, the apostille belongs in it. If it is missing, Familieretshuset asks for more documents.
• Vietnamese apostille for German authorities: it is not valid there, see above.
• No proof that the divorce is final: a divorce judgment without confirmation of finality is not enough.
• Inconsistent names: the passport, certificate and translation spell the name differently.
• Too little proof of the relationship: because your partner is not from the EU, the application form asks for dated photos of you together and chat histories. What Familieretshuset checks is explained in our guide Proof of relationship and the sham marriage check.
• A certificate of marital status in advance: Familieretshuset only asks for it in individual cases. Get it only then, so that it is current.

Every request for more documents costs time. Familieretshuset usually decides complete applications within 5 working days; after a request for more documents, according to its page Sagsbehandlingstider, it is currently processing applications from August 2026 (as of 03.11.2026). What you can do if it happens anyway is in our guide Request for documents or rejection.

How we help

We went the Danish route ourselves as a binational couple, with documents from several countries; our co-founder Thi Yen Le is from Vietnam and speaks Vietnamese. Our story is among our case studies. Whether your case fits and which documents you need is shown by the free eligibility check. In the Complete package (€649.99 including the Familieretshuset fee) we check your Vietnamese documents before submission and file the application for you; the apostille on your Danish marriage certificate is available as an add-on for €149.99. All packages are on our prices page.