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Document Requested By Townhall For Marriage
Good morning,
Long post and would sincerely appreciate any genuine information/help at this moment.
Are there any US citizens here, that married their Belgian spouse in Belgium, that can confirm the document that a Flanders (Kontich) civil servant is requesting for filing our marriage declaration form? It is something that expresses the "common law"/"ordinary law" or in Dutch, "BEWIJS VAN GEWOONTERECHT" for marriage in the US and if you're from the U.S., you already know that marriage is regulated by each state and not our federal government. Thus, finding federal regulatory laws for marriage in our country is not a thing. My fiancee and I went to the US Embassy in Belgium and received a document called the "Affidavit-Verklaring Onder Ede", which I was informed by the consulate, this is the only document needed to declare our countries "common law" and additionally residency, etc. It's something that is drawn up for Belgium in the US Embassy for Belgium specifically, since we don't have one for the US in the US. This document has been provided, along with a translated divorce decree, birth certificate, passport and apostilles...everything that the town hall asked for is present.
The civil servant, due to her lack of familiarity with American documents, is questioning the affidavit provided by the US Embassy to fulfill the required document(s) needed for the "common law" or "BEWIJS VAN GEWOONTERECHT". We have explained ad nauseam regarding the form submitted, the validity thereof, and even pointed out the sections of the form, that the Embassy nicely expressed on the form itself, that applies to US citizens marrying in Belgium (it's in Dutch and English).
My fiancee and I are exasperated and tired of running around, trying to figure out what it is the town hall is requesting, when they are not even certain of the specificity of the document needed themselves. Short of involving an attorney for a matter as simple as this, has someone secured the document or knows if the documentation provided by the Embassy to us is the document needed?
Also, if this isn't it, does anyone know of a different document that can provide the "common law" or" BEWIJS VAN GEWOONTERECHT" (rules for marriage in the US) if this document is not it?
Thank you again for time and assistance, everyone.
Visit a notary. Initial advice is free. A good one with international experience is http://www.berquinnotarissen.be/nl/
Dealing with bureaucrats at the commune is a regular issue.
Notary fees are fixed and are generally much less than a lawyer. You will only be billed if they need to draw up a document for you.
Sorry if this comes over as a bit cynical, but...
Las Vegas wedding?
Or maybe Gretna Green.
I had similar issues with another document when I married in Brussels. I went back to the commune when another person was working and they approved the document right away.
Good luck. Welcome to the world of Belgian bureaucracy. Remember that Belgians will always answer the questions that you ask. It is a well known and documented national trait to not volunteer extra information and answer any questions that you don’t ask but perhaps should have.
Good luck.
We had similar problems in small town Flanders where the staff had little experience of dealing with foreign paperwork. They seemed unable to believe that other countries don't work in exactly the same way as Belgians.
My divorce certificate was 10 years old so they expected me to produce one dated less that 6 month ago despite the fact that the judge who signed the original was long DEAD!
Warm welcome to Belgium! Lots of red tape. Best to look on the bright side of life!
Belgian law requires documents to be less than 3 months old when issued within Belgium, and less than 6 months old when issued in another country. Just ask the original issuing organisation for a new official copy.
Hello,
It wasnt clear for me which document did you use at the end.
I am from Peru and the municipality is asking me for the same document and when I asked them, they asked me for "the law", I answered them the law of our country is a +300 pages book and they only asnwered back, ask at your consulate.
At my consulate they dont even understand what they want.
