Marriage shortens the wait. It doesn’t waive the exam.

What actually shortens, country by country

• Austria — citizenship residency drops to 6 years (from the standard 10) for a spouse with at least 5 years of marriage and a shared household. The B1 language requirement is unchanged.
• Netherlands — residency before naturalisation drops to 3 years (from 5) for a spouse or partner of a Dutch national. The A2 language/civic-integration requirement applies the same as anyone else.
• UK — a spouse of a British citizen can apply for citizenship as soon as they hold Indefinite Leave to Remain, rather than waiting the usual 12 months after. The B1 English and Life in the UK test requirements don’t change.
• Spain — marriage to a Spanish national for at least one year cuts the residency requirement dramatically, to 1 year. DELE A2 and the CCSE are still required.
• Germany, Switzerland, France, Italy — no general language-requirement waiver for spouses in the standard route; the main benefit is procedural and residency-based, not a lower CEFR bar.

The pattern holds across almost every country here: marriage buys you time, not a lower bar. Plan your language study on that basis rather than assuming the exam itself gets easier.