How do prove you are still married?

[Pejic]

I am a British citizen permanently resident in Bulgaria with my wife (also a British Citizen. I have been assessed as 90% to 220% disabled by Bulgarian doctors.  We have a car which is in my wife's name.  Apparently Bulgarian or EU regulations state that the car is tax free for registered disabled people.

At first they raised an objection that the car was not in the name of the disabled person, but eventually accepted that as iwe were married it would be OK (we had to prove we were married - but have a marriage certificate with an apostile).

I think someone has taken umbrage at being made to look foolish (not the person my wife is dealing with, who agrees with her that the situation is ridiculous) so then raised the objection that the marriage certificate only proves that we were once married, not that we still are.

Joining in his daft game (I assume only a man would be so stupid), my wife swore an affidavit (with legal consequences) that were still married.

We have now heard that this is no good and we must somehow get an official document confirming we are still married!  We have asked how this could be proved (as we could get divorced anywhere on the planet without reporting it) and will we be expected to prove it continuously, to retain the benefit, but to no avail, the jobsworth has instructed his minion to insist on better proof (than the affidavit) that we are still married.

It strikes me as not unlikely that this petty tyrant has been badly affected by the UK/Bulgaria immigration spat, and sees this as a means of revenge.

I wrote to the UK legalization service, but they are unable to help

Has anyone ever come across this situation? and any suggestions about what we can do?

Thank you

[avm228]

I can't tell you what will satisfy the Bulgarians, but there is UK case law on what constitutes "proof of subsisting marriage" which comes up in the context of immigration cases.  If you google that you may find something.  Can the British consulate in Sofia help, perhaps?

[Pejic]

Thanks for that sideways idea avm.  It made for some interesting reading, putting us in the category of benefit scroungers!!! I suppose they could have some grounds if it were not that we are a decrepit couple in our 70's who have been married for 25 years.  The case law mainly relates to immigration cases, and in fact the only vague connection I found seems to substantiate that a marriage certificate is satisfactory evidence of marriage,  any more ideas welcome.  Does anyone have an e:mail address for GRO?

[nanny jan]

Hi,

Does this help?

http://www.gro.gov.uk/gro/content/certificates/contact_us.asp


Nanny Jan

[groom]

How ridiculous. Have you got anything in joint names that would prove you are still together ie bank accounts, utility bills?

[majm]

Hi there,

Similar thoughts to groom 

Some outside the square thinking:

  Can you produce evidence that you still have the same surname as your wife (Passports?)

  Can you produce evidence that you share the same residential address as your wife (utility accounts addressed to either of you at that address/drivers licence with address)

  Could you ask the British Consul write a snail mail letter addressed Mr and Mrs ………  at that shared address? (send them a snail mail letter asking for a snail mail reply)

  Could you both write the one letter to the Bulgarian official asking for a written acknowledgement of your letter and for their acknowledgement to be addressed to Mr and Mrs at that shared address?

  Could you invite the Bulgarian official to visit you both at your shared residential address?

Cheers,  JM

[Erato]

That happened to me once.  We went to get our Ecuadorian national ID cards and my husband got his without any trouble.  It said right on the card that he was married to me.  But they refused to give me my card without proof of marriage.  I said, "It's a reciprocal arrangement.  If he is married to me then I am married to him."  They didn't buy that argument and neither did they buy my argument that Ecuador had recently outlawed sex discrimination.  I presented a copy of my US marriage certificate and, when it was rejected, I got an expensive notarized one from the embassy.  No good.  I suggested to the bureaucrat at the Regístro Civil that we could simply get another marriage done in Quito.  Nope, because we would have to prove that we were single in order to get married.  Finally, I had to have my parents write to the county where we were married for an official copy notarized by the county clerk; that was sent to the state attorney general who appended a document notarizing the signature of the county clerk; then it went to the Ecuadorian consulate in Atlanta where the consul notarized the signature of the attorney general; and from there to Quito where the foreign ministry notarized the signature of the consul.  With this packet of documents, I was able to get my id card even though it was no proof that I was still married.

Maybe the Bulgarians would accept a similar chain of signatures.

[larkspur]

Why not just put the car in your name? if they wont let you do that, maybe your wife can sell it to you...

[KGarrad]

Have you tried the British Embassy/Consulate?
They might be able to offer advice specific to Bulgaria?