Legal Assistance for Getting Married Abroad

Questioner

I would like to ask your advice regarding the situation below. I am Dutch by birth, have Dutch nationality and a Dutch passport. I have been living and working in Azerbaijan for over 6 years. I am staying here on the basis of an annual work and residence permit (green card) as the director of a translation company. Some time ago I met a man from Iran and we have a serious relationship. We would like to get married and after our marriage live and work in Azerbaijan. At the moment my fiancé still lives in Iran. He has Iranian nationality and works in Iran as a self-employed contractor. For the sake of completeness I mention that he is a Christian and is also registered as such. This means that laws that apply to Muslims in Iran, e.g. that a foreign marriage partner must convert to Islam, do not apply to him to a certain extent. It is difficult for us to find specific information on the internet etc. that corresponds to our situation. Most information is about bringing a foreign partner to the Netherlands, etc. In our case, however, this is not the case; we would like to get married and then build a future in Azerbaijan. My specific questions are as follows: 1. We would like to get married in the Netherlands. However, it is currently almost impossible for Iranians to get a Schengen visa for the Netherlands. Most visa services do not even want to process applications from Iranians anymore because of the low chance of success. My question is: is there another arrangement possible for a wedding in the Netherlands (note: only a wedding, not living in the Netherlands afterwards)? What kind of visa and documentation would be needed for this? We would very much like to get married in the Netherlands because my mother, who is elderly and has health problems, would otherwise not be able to attend the wedding because traveling would be too much of a burden for her. 2. If we were to get married in the Netherlands, what rules would apply to me and what documents would I need to arrange for this? I have been living in Azerbaijan for over 6 years and am not registered in the GBA with a residential address in the Netherlands. 3. If it is not possible to get married in the Netherlands, we will have to move to another country. My question is: if we get married in another country, can my husband travel freely with me as my spouse (mainly to the Netherlands)? For how long at most, under what conditions? Again: we are not thinking of a long stay, but of a holiday or family visit. What documents are needed for this? What do we have to arrange for this? 4. If we want to live in the Netherlands in the (longer) term, how can we obtain naturalization for my husband? He cannot give up his Iranian nationality because this is not legally permitted in Iran. What requirements does he have to meet for NL naturalization after our marriage, and is it a problem that he cannot give up his Iranian nationality? 5. When a foreign woman marries an Iranian man, she automatically gets Iranian nationality and an Iranian passport. Of course I would like to keep my Dutch nationality. Is it possible to have dual nationality (I believe the Dutch government would like to restrict this)? Does a dual passport/nationality have consequences for keeping my Dutch nationality and passport? Does dual nationality have consequences for future travel and visa applications? Does dual nationality have other consequences that I should take into account? 6. If we were to get married in another country, I would need all sorts of documents, including a birth certificate and a declaration of unmarried status. How can I obtain these documents if I do not live in the Netherlands and am not registered with the GBA with a Dutch residential address? Via the embassy (the embassy in Baku says they do not issue such declarations)? Via the municipality in the Netherlands? The municipality where I last lived or the municipality of The Hague? Via another agency? Online or only in person? 7. If we were to get married in another country, how can we then legalize this marriage in the Netherlands? 8. If we were to have children after our marriage, what nationality would they have? They would be born in Azerbaijan or, if I come to the Netherlands for the birth, in the Netherlands. I hope you can help me find specific information regarding the above points.

Lawyer

First of all, I think it is important that you have certainty about your own right of residence in Azerbaijan and about the future right of residence there of your future spouse. I have the beginnings of an answer to a few questions: 1. Regarding the visa application: you write 'almost impossible'. Not completely impossible. As long as it is proven that there is no risk of settlement, that is to say that the economic and social ties with Iran are so strong that return is guaranteed. Or that you can show that your future spouse has the right of residence together with you in Azerbaijan. I don't see any other options available at this time. 2. In order to marry here, your partner must sign a declaration that he is not entering into a marriage of convenience, i.e. that the marriage is not entered into in order to obtain a right of residence in the Netherlands. You yourself must request a declaration of unmarried status from the basic administration of your last place of residence. This declaration must be translated into Dutch, French, English or German by a sworn translator and then legalised, i.e. a competent authority indicates by means of an apostille (stamp) that the document has been issued and drawn up correctly. This apostille can be obtained from the Azerbaijani ministries of Justice or Foreign Affairs. 4. According to the IND website, your husband can also submit a request for naturalization after 3 years because he is married to a Dutch citizen. "You can submit a request after 3 years of marriage or registered partnership and uninterrupted cohabitation. These 3 years may have been spent abroad. You must live together during the entire procedure." When countries make it impossible for someone to surrender their nationality, one may have two nationalities. Your husband must obtain the Dutch Civic Integration Diploma. 5. If you voluntarily choose another nationality, your Dutch nationality is automatically lost. However, you do not choose this voluntarily, you automatically receive Iranian nationality. I do advise you to contact the IND, and in any case to keep a close eye on whether you retain your Dutch nationality. Because Dutch people with multiple nationalities who have lived outside the European Union for more than 10 years, and who do not apply for a Dutch passport during that time, can automatically lose their Dutch nationality. 6. There are 19 municipalities in the Netherlands where you can be included in the register of non-residents in the Personal Records Database (BRP, formerly GBA). In this way you can request all kinds of documents about yourself. See info website Rijksoverheid. 8. Because you are Dutch, your children will receive Dutch nationality, regardless of where they are born. If you have any further questions, please feel free to contact me via my work email address.