Married abroad: when will Belgium recognise your marriage?

The law is stated as at 17 October 2026

People rarely marry abroad by chance. Family may live closer, a particular place may hold emotional value, or it is simply easier. The ceremony is soon over, but recognition in Belgium can take months. After her wedding in Morocco, Sara may be told that the municipality first wants to examine her marriage certificate. Jonas, who is getting married in Denmark, may be asked why he had to marry there of all places. In what follows, we outline some key points for those who have married abroad or are about to do so, and offer a few practical tips.

Do you have to marry again in Belgium?

No. A foreign marriage certificate is recognised in Belgium without your having to go through any procedure. Each authority to which you present the certificate will, however, check for itself whether the document is authentic and whether the marriage was validly concluded.

Which law determines whether the marriage is valid? For the substantive requirements, such as age or an earlier marriage that has not yet been dissolved, Belgium looks to the law of the country of which each spouse is a national on the day of the marriage. The formalities are governed by the law of the country where you marry. That law determines, among other things, whether a religious marriage has civil effects and whether you may marry by proxy. A Belgian who marries abroad therefore packs Belgian marriage law in their suitcase.

The authority also checks that no one sought to evade the applicable law and that the outcome is not manifestly incompatible with Belgian public policy. A well-presented document covered in seals does not make that check unnecessary.

Is an apostille enough?

An apostille is a stamp on the signature, not on the marriage. Legalisation confirms only the authenticity of the signature, the capacity in which the signatory acted and, where applicable, the seal or stamp. An apostille, which replaces legalisation in many countries, goes no further. Even with a flawless apostille on her Moroccan certificate, Sara may therefore still face questions about the validity of her marriage.

A marriage certificate from another Member State of the European Union does not even need an apostille. Regulation 2016/1191 exempts such documents from all forms of legalisation. A multilingual standard form may also make a translation unnecessary, if the receiving authority considers the information it contains sufficient. The Regulation says nothing about the legal effects of the marriage.

Registering a foreign marriage: what has changed?

Since 1 January 2025, a Belgian national must present every foreign record that changes their civil status to the civil registrar. A foreign marriage certificate is such a record. After examining it, the registrar draws up a Belgian record on that basis. For those who are not Belgian, this happens, among other cases, when the population register, the register of foreign nationals or the waiting register is updated.

Where there is serious doubt, the registrar may refer the certificate for an opinion to the Central Authority for Civil Status at the Federal Public Service Justice. The Authority has three months to give that opinion and may extend the period by a further three months. Anyone planning family reunification would do well to bear this in mind.

Pay attention, too, to the word ‘registered’. To examine the certificate, the municipality first registers it in the Civil Status Records Database (DABS in Dutch, BAEC in French), together with the status of the examination. Foreign records that have been refused are also kept in that database. Registration is therefore not yet recognition. The clearest sign that the municipality has accepted your marriage is the Belgian marriage certificate it draws up on the basis of the foreign one.

A recognised marriage, but no right of residence yet

Take Leila, who married abroad and wants her husband to come and live with her in Belgium. For her, the real work is only just beginning. A recognised marriage does not give her husband a visa or a residence card. Whether he may join her depends on the conditions for family reunification. These differ according to whether Leila is Belgian, a national of another Member State, or a national of a country outside the Union residing in Belgium.

Moreover, the Immigration Office takes a fresh look at the marriage. The Immigration Office is not bound by the municipality’s assessment of the foreign marriage certificate. That recognition does carry weight, however, and may not be set aside without a thorough examination of the specific situation.

This may raise the question whether the marriage is a marriage of convenience. Under Article 146bis of the former Civil Code, there is no marriage where a combination of circumstances shows that at least one spouse is manifestly not seeking a lasting life together, but solely a residence advantage. That word, ‘enkel’ in the Dutch text of the law and ‘uniquement’ in the French, matters. The fact that a marriage also opens up a right of residence does not make it a marriage of convenience.

The choice of country may also raise questions. In a 2021 case, the Immigration Office refused residence to the wife of a German national. The couple had married in Denmark without any connection to that country, in order, according to the Immigration Office, to circumvent the Belgian marriage procedure. The Council for Alien Law Litigation annulled that refusal on 23 December 2021 (No. 266.071, judgment in Dutch). According to the Council, evasion of the law is about evading the applicable law, not about evading the rules on residence. The choice of Denmark alone was not enough. Moreover, the Immigration Office had taken no account of the municipality’s recognition or of the couple’s child. For Jonas, then, what counts is the story behind his marriage, not the place of the ceremony.

What about a marriage between persons of the same sex?

For Belgium, the law is clear. A foreign prohibition of such a marriage is disregarded as soon as either spouse is a national of a State that permits the marriage, or is habitually resident there. Belgium is such a State.

The question tends to arise the other way round, for nationals of another Member State who marry in Belgium and want that marriage recognised at home as well. On 25 November 2025, the Court of Justice held in Case C-713/23 that Poland could not refuse to recognise the marriage of two Polish men on the ground that Polish law does not provide for such a marriage. They had married in Germany, where they had exercised their right of free movement and built a family life. If transcription in the registers is the only route to recognition, that route must be open to them. This does not require a Member State to introduce marriage between persons of the same sex into its own law. It must, however, recognise a marriage lawfully concluded elsewhere in those circumstances, so that the couple can return and continue their family life.

A related question is still pending before the Court in Case C-237/26. Does that obligation also apply to a couple who travelled to another Member State to marry there and lived there neither before nor after the wedding, but where one partner has close ties with that country? As at the date of this article, no judgment has been delivered.

Tip 1: have the requirements checked before the wedding

Find out which law applies to each of you and which documents you will later need in Belgium. This pays off especially after an earlier divorce, for a religious marriage and for a marriage by proxy. What is right before the ceremony need not be put right afterwards.

Tip 2: ask exactly what has happened

Has the certificate merely been registered, is an opinion pending with the Central Authority, or has a Belgian marriage certificate been drawn up? The answer determines the next step. Leila would have done well to ask that question before counting on her husband’s residence.

Tip 3: go to the right court

If an authority refuses to recognise your foreign marriage, the family court decides that dispute. An appeal against a refusal of a visa or residence goes, in principle, to the Council for Alien Law Litigation. The two tracks influence each other. On 20 February 2024 (No. 301.930, judgment in French), the Council annulled a visa refusal because a court had meanwhile recognised the marriage by a final decision. The Immigration Office had to re-examine the file. A judgment on recognition can thus pull the rug from under a refusal.

How can we help?

A marriage is a personal choice. The paperwork that follows calls for evidence, timing and knowledge of more than one legal system. Before the wedding, we check which law applies and which documents you need. After the wedding, we follow up the recognition with the municipality and prepare the family reunification file, so that both tracks fit together. If an authority refuses, we analyse the real ground for the refusal and, where necessary, coordinate the proceedings before the right court.

DECKER LAW combines experience in global mobility and family law. Proceedings generate work. We earn our fees from advice. That is why we first look for a solution with the authorities. Are you considering marrying abroad, or has the recognition of your marriage stalled? Book an appointment via Let’s meet. Is your partner an EU citizen and are you not married? Then also read our article on family reunification without marriage.