Paper short abstract:

In the case of binational couples where one has the German citizenship and the other one is categorized as "negative third country national", different conceptions of love and marriage come together. How do these different discourses affect the individual conceptions of love of these couples?

Paper long abstract:

"That what I always hear in Germany makes me really afraid. I ask myself what he likes about me? I just have the German passport", said Maria reflecting on her relationship to Karim. She has the German and he has the Moroccan citizenship. They have met during Marias holidays in Morocco. If they want to live together in Germany, they have to marry. This is the only way for Karim to enter the European Union because he is legally categorized as "negative third country national". But first Maria wants to know if this love between Karim and her is "true love". If they decide to marry and to pass the procedures of spousal migration in order to live together, they will face again the question: Is this "true love"? This time it is the German Government who wants to know it.

In the case of binational couples where one has the German citizenship and the other one is legally categorized as "negative third country national" e.g. from Morocco, different conceptions of love, relationship and marriage are coming together. These binational couples are facing discourses about love and marriage in both, German and Moroccan society, and at the same time from migration policies. In this paper I want to analyse which influence these institutions and discourses have on the individual conceptions of love and marriage of these binational couples.