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If you want to marry in Kenya, get the marriage certificate legalized at your nearest German embassy. It will then be accepted with no problems by German authorities. (Note: You might need an official translation into German language.)
Marrying in Germany will me much more difficult. Your girlfriend should inquire at her local Standesamt about the procedure and documents needed. Preparing everything (incl. translations and notarizations) will take several months and quite a bit of money.

omundo.j wrote:

I am a Kenyan citizen and im planning to marry my German girlfriend. Can anyone with experience in this blog share with me the procedure and how possible it is.
Thanks
Jerry

Jambo Brother!

If you have a good job and something good going on for you in Nairobi then I beg of you to stay in Kenya. There's no way your German fiancee wouldn't live in Nairobi with you if she loves you the way you do. Most Westerners are highly ignorant when it comes to Africa.They choose to believe that Africa is nothing else than starving children, wars, underdevelopment and you name it! So I hope your Fiancee has been acquainted to the "real" Africa...You know the Kenya, Somalia,Senegal or Ghana they choose never to show on TV.The grass is not always greener on the other side. I didn't have the choice you now have as I was brought here as a child and am planning of moving back to my country soon.

I may not have any tips to give you regarding your Marriage but I really want to make sure you know what you're doing because believe me, life in Germany or anywhere else in the Western world is  absolutely not worth the psychological drama and emotional distress you're about to bring upon yourself. You may end up empty and broken. Europeans relocating to Africa and living happily there, opening businesses are referred to as "Expatriates" but once you arrive here as a Kenyan man with a German wife, you'll be labelled a "Afrikaner" "immigrant" "potential criminal" and a "nuisance". They will choose not to value you as a human being with spiritual and social growth potential just  because you look different. Your future mixed race children will be confused and will have to face inner conflicts related to their racial identity because they'll mostly be looked down upon on a daily basis,by people who look like their Mother, possibly people from their Maternal side of the family.You will never be able to externalize the rage you'll feel because those in power will tell you that you're a paranoid. Very often you'll hear absurd excuses such as "Racism exist in your head. So does discrimination. I'm white I have black friends" "I don't see color"  "But your wife is white isn't she?" etc.
I didn't know what it was to be "black" until I came here. Germany made me color conscious and this is something my 9 years old self back in the days, NEVER was able shake off.
Tell me...is a visa worth all this? If not then please reconsider.

Young and educated Africans in the diaspora are turning more and more to the Motherland. I'm talking about Angola, South Africa, Somaliland, Kenya, Nigeria ,Ghana, Ivory Coast and even Senegal. Please, if you're educated and have options, take all this into consideration before subjecting yourself to self inflicted emotional pain in the west. It's really not worth it!

For the sake of a balanced discussion I want to say that, while the above problems of discrimination and ignorance do exist, there are also plenty of open-minded and curious Germans around - enough to arrange your life around them and ignore the few blockheads if you choose so.
I haven't encountered any real problem and very few unpleasant situations in six years as multinational family in Germany. There were more in other countries we lived in (mostly Asia).

Hi Jerry,

We have a good friend who married his beautiful South African wife earlier this year. They found it difficult getting the marriage processed in Germany so they went to the Netherlands and had it processed there, and legalised later in Germany. The German government seems to have problems sometimes with documents from African countries.

I'm Australian living in Germany, and I speak passable German. The only time I'm mistaken for a non-German is when I can't explain myself well in the language. People assume I'm french. I don't know about the comments on Racism, but yes this is a very white nation.

As far as getting married goes! That I can explain.

You will need to register with your local Stadesamt (in Germany) or your registry office in Kenya.
It will cost money to have your documents processed. In total around anywhere up to 400 euro. All non-German documents need to be translated by a Certified German to English translator. Non- German citizens will need to provide a Statement of No Impediment from their embassy which indicates that they are not already married. This will also need to be provided in German, and will also cost money.

Your fiancé can ask the Stadesamt in person exactly which documents you need. If you are coming here to marry, you can come to Germany and arrange your visa when you get here (if you have Shengun permission) or you will have to organise a visa for the purpose of marriage in advance.

Any specific questions, let me know

If you want to know about my time in my LDR or my experiences so far with Germany then you can read my blog



Cheers,
Lisa

Hi Jerry,

Am liz from Nai, like the other girl said kama uko poa home then better bring your girl over na mutulie Kenya. Unless ako na job ya ofisi ya maana au we umesoma degree ndio naweza kukuadvice ukam huku. If not better then be ready kuosha choo au kufagilia wazungu for the rest of your life, life si easy huku, kama unafikiria kuhustle Kenya si poa zile makazi utafanya huku zitakuaibisha baka ushindwe kuwambia wasee home, fikiria kwanza please

lizzyafri wrote:

Hi Jerry,

Am liz from Nai, like the other girl said kama uko poa home then better bring your girl over na mutulie Kenya. Unless ako na job ya ofisi ya maana au we umesoma degree ndio naweza kukuadvice ukam huku. If not better then be ready kuosha choo au kufagilia wazungu for the rest of your life, life si easy huku, kama unafikiria kuhustle Kenya si poa zile makazi utafanya huku zitakuaibisha baka ushindwe kuwambia wasee home, fikiria kwanza please

As this is an Anglophone forum could you please post in English, not Swahili. Thank you.

Well you should know that every city in Germany is different if you are thinking of getting married here. Firstly Denmark doesn't work anymore so get that out of your mind. When we were prepping for our wedding it was hard cos everywhere we went online scared us silly and my dear gorgeous Mann considered moving to where I was but after saying all the prayers we could we went for our termin and guess what? We didn't  spend as much as we as we thought... Translating, US consulate paying at the Standesamt... I would suggest you get married in Kenya tho , authenticate all the papers to German standards and be sure to vet your Fiance to ask all the necessary questions at her local Standesamt in regards to legalizing your union if you choose to live in Germany.

Hi everyone,
                     I am Queenith from India. I am in a relationship with my boyfriend since 1 and half years we met in Germany and he is from Afghanistan since he was a Refuge and he came to EUROPE and he have no family  and European govt have given him now a citizen of Europe since he was there in Germany from past 4 years since he don't have family govt was taking care of him and now he wants to settle his life with me . and we both are planning to settle in Germany . now my Question is since i am Indian and he is a German now . so what is the procedure to both of to get married and what all the documentation required and from my parents , since they are also agreed for my Relationship and they are happy too . please suggest me .

You have posted the exact same message a few days ago, and I replied.
Please refrain from posting the same multiple times. If you still have questions about my answer, please post them in the original thread.

Mentally, you will be troubled because the two worlds are really different in every aspect!your thinking and the thinking of the people here are very much not the same.first of all put that in mind!
To the people who think that a white woman is different from the our black ones, am sorry to say that is very much not true.They all are called women, which they are.Be ready for cultural differences that will hit the two of you all the time and face the realities of the community that you come in to."It is the WHITE world",which definitely has its own bit of the "conservetive" side and the "open minded"people side.
Get in touch with the embassy and you will get the certificate of no impediment to marriage and  choose wisely what you really want.