Marriage & divorce

Dutch law recognises three sorts of relationships: marriage, registered partnership and the 'cohabitation agreement'. Partners of equal sex have the same rights as heterosexual couples, so they are allowed to get married.

The cohabitation agreement is the least strict and mainly contains agreements on communal property, finances and household. Married or registered partners are free to choose whether they want to use each other's surname, their own, or a combination of both. The main differences between the three forms arise when children are involved. Fatherhood is only automatically stated when married. Other rules apply to partnerships and cohabitation agreements. The municipal department of 'Burgerzaken' (Civil Affairs) can tell you all about these rules.

Marriage in Nijmegen
If you want to get married, you are must register officially in the municipality of residence at least two weeks before the planned wedding day at the registry office. The registrar will check whether you are allowed to marry. This process is called 'ondertrouw'. Once granted, registration for marriage is valid for one year.

Please call tel. 14 024 ( from abraod +31 24 329 90 00 to make an appointment for 'ondertrouw'. If one (or both) of you is not a Dutch citizen, we advise you to check the Residence Wizard of Dutch Immigration Services at www.ind.nl first.

The civil wedding ceremony legalises the marriage. A religious ceremony is non-obligatory and usually takes place later, a few hours after the civil ceremony or even several days or weeks later. You can choose the date, time, location and the person who leads the ceremony of your wedding yourself (this can even be a relative or friend!).

You can read all about planning the civil ceremony in Nijmegen on this website in Dutch. If you don't understand Dutch, please call or e-mail the municipal department Burgerzaken to ask your questions or to make an appointment: (024) 329 9000 (dial 4, and then 2: 'Burgerzaken'), antwoordservice.burgerzaken@nijmegen.nl.

Divorce
In the event that the partners decide to end the relationship, a marriage can only be dissolved in court while a registered partnership can be terminated by the partners themselves (although legal separations are also possible). If the split is amicable, the couple can hire a lawyer to act as a neutral mediator to divide joint property; otherwise both sides must engage lawyers. Divorces must be reported to the municipality within six months. Where children are involved, both parents retain parental rights and courts encourage parents to reach agreement on how they plan to share parental duties.