Ironically, on the one hand, the government views marriage officially as a "contract"; on the other hand, if it is "just a contract" between two consenting adults, then it is considered fraud! It makes little sense.

I think it is outrageous for a government to allege, or even just to investigate, particular causes for marriage unless one of the parties was coerced into it rather than wanting it out of their own free will.

"German government" does not see marriage as a contract.

Lets combat marriage fraud by making it a kafkaesque ordeal to get married in the first place.

Big brain move, how many innocent couples get caught in the net, versus how many fraudsters can you realistically catch (organized crime has figured out how to game the bureaucracy, no doubt).

Germany has laws and traditions around marriage.

If one doesn't respect German laws, best to go to a country which works differently and stay there.

That's the beauty of it, people will leave, and it won't be the people desperate enough to commit marriage fraud.

Anyway none of this is about respecting German law.

> people will leave

sure, why not? People leave for various reasons. People are free to go.

> Anyway none of this is about respecting German law.

Law and traditions. Marriage is a serious decision with lots of implications. It's not the bureaucracy (alone), which slows the process down.