How to get married or register a civil partnership in the United Kingdom

[LadyJ]

How to get married or register a civil partnership in the United Kingdom

If you or your future husband, wife or civil partner are non-European Economic Area (EEA) nationals and not Swiss nationals, you can visit the United Kingdom together to get married or register a civil partnership as long as you intend to leave the country within six months.

If you are planning to get married or register your civil partnership in the United Kingdom and you are subject to immigration control while in the United Kingdom, you may need to apply for a certificate of approval from the Home Office. You should read the page on documents for details of who needs a certificate of approval to marry in the United Kingdom.

If you are a British citizen, a national of a country in the EEA or the family member of a national in the EEA and who has the right of residence in the United Kingdom, have a certificate of entitlement giving you the right to live in the United Kingdom in your passport or you are not subject to immigration control, the rules on certificate of approval do not apply to you.

Religious ceremonies

The rules on certificate of approval do not currently apply if you plan to get married at an Anglican Church in England or Wales, after marriage banns or a religious licence. You need to contact a member of the clergy at the church where you plan to get married for more help.

If you plan to marry in any other form of religious ceremony you will need to contact the people who will be conducting the ceremony.


Applying from overseas

If you are currently outside the United Kingdom and are coming to the United Kingdom to get married or enter a civil partnership, the documents you require will depend on how long you intend to stay in the United Kingdom.

>If you are coming to the United Kingdom as a visitor for marriage or civil partnership you must get visit for marriage or visit for civil partnership entry clearance.
>If you are planning to travel to the United Kingdom to get married or register a civil partnership with someone already settled here and you plan to stay in the country afterwards, you will need fiancé(e) or proposed civil partner entry clearance (permission to enter).
If you are applying for a fiancé(e) or proposed civil partnership entry clearance, both parties must be over 18 years of age.

Before travelling you should apply for your entry clearance (permission to enter) at a British diplomatic post (which issues the type of entry clearance which you seek) in the country where you normally live.

You will need to show evidence that you plan to enter into a marriage or civil partnership during the period for which you have been granted permission to stay (this will normally be six months).

Fees
The current fees for entry clearance are:

fiancé(e) or proposed civil partner visa is currently £500; and
marriage or civil partnership visitor visa is currently £63.
Further information about the visas can be found on the UKvisa website.

Applying in the United Kingdom
If you are already in the United Kingdom and do not have settled status (permission to live here permanently) you will need to apply to the Home Office for a certificate of approval before giving notice to marry or register your civil partnership to a registrar.

The certificate of approval requirement does not currently apply to marriages in the Anglican church in England and Wales.

Certificates of Approval

This page contains advice concerning the issue of Certificates of Approval for Marriage (COA), following both the judgement of the High Court on 10 April 2006 and the Court of Appeal on 23rd May 2007. If you are planning to get married in the United Kingdom and you think you may require a COA you should read the guidance 'Important information regarding Certificate of Approval for marriage or civil partnership application (PDF 162K opens in a new window)'.

If you are planning to get married or register your civil partnership in the United Kingdom and you are a person subject to immigration control while in the United Kingdom, you may need to apply for a certificate of approval.

The rules on certificate of approval do not apply to you if you:

>are a British citizen; or
>are a national of a country in the European Economic Area (EEA); or
>are the family member of an EEA national and have right of residence in the United Kingdom but are not yourself an EEA national; or
>have in your passport a certificate of entitlement giving you right of abode in the United Kingdom; or
>are not subject to immigration control.

If you are coming to the United Kingdom from overseas to get married or register your civil partnership, you must have:

>fiancé(e) entry clearance; or
>proposed civil partner entry clearance; or
>marriage visitor entry clearance; or
>civil partnership visitor entry clearance;

in your passport in order to give to a registrar notice to marry or register your civil partnership.

If you are already in the United Kingdom, you will need either to have settled status in the United Kingdom, or to obtain a certificate of approval before giving to a registrar notice to marry or register your civil partnership.

Whether you are overseas or already in the United Kingdom, you will need to give to a registrar at a designated register office notice to marry or register your civil partnership.

If you think you may need to apply for a certificate of approval, you should read the guidance 'Important information regarding Certificate of Approval for marriage or civil partnership applications' (PDF 162K opens in new window) before making your application.

If you are applying for a certificate of approval in the United Kingdom you will need to complete the application form for a COA. This form and the related guidance can be downloaded from the right side of this page.

It is not possible to apply from abroad for a certificate of approval


How do I give notice to marry or register a civil partnership with a registrar

This page explains what you need to do to give notice to marry or register your civil partnership with a registrar and where you can do this. This page only provides a brief overview of the registration process. For full details you should contact the General Register Office if you are in England or Wales or the General Register Office for Scotland if you are in Scotland.

In order to give notice to marry or register your civil partnership you need to:

>if you are in England and Wales both of you must have lived in a registration district for at least seven days immediately before giving notice of marriage or intention to register a civil partnership;
>bring evidence of your names, addresses, ages and nationalities. If you have been married or registered before you will need proof you are now free to marry or register a civil partnership;
>in Scotland and Northern Ireland you can register by post and you do not have to attend the registration office in person; and
>give your certificate of approval to the registrar when you give notice to marry or register a civil partnership unless you are planning to register in Scotland and Northern Ireland and register by post. You will then need to photocopy the sticker in your passport and send the photocopy to the registrar along with your marriage or civil partnership notice papers.

Once you have given your notice to marry or registered your civil partnership you can:

>get married or register your civil partnership after 15 days in England and Wales and 14 days in Scotland and Northern Ireland; and
>in England and Wales have your wedding or civil partnership at any register office or approved premises 15 days after you have given notice to marry or register your civil partnership.

The notice to marry or register your civil partnership is valid for one year from the date on which it was given in England, Wales and Northern Ireland and for three months in Scotland. Your marriage or civil partnership must take place within this time or you will have to apply again starting with the certificate of approval.

Registering your marriage or civil partnership

If you or your partner is subject to immigration control and you plan to marry or register your civil partnership you will need to give notice to marry or register your civil partnership at a designated office. All registration offices in Scotland and Northern Ireland are designated offices and 76 offices in England and Wales are designated. For a list of the 76 offices in England and Wales and for further information you should contact the General Register Office.


More info can be found here http://www.ind.homeoffice.gov.uk/vis...ettingmarried/

[Les_lady888]

Thanks for those info Your Highness

May I ask which should be better for this couple? to marry there in UK or here in the Phils? The Filipina is single with a 9-year old son (biological father not indicated on Birth Cert and child never saw his pa nor had any contact with him). The Brit is divorced with 2 adult kids. Wud it be easier for the Filipina to get a fiancee visa to be with her Brit and marry there? or wud it be much easier to get a spouse visa for her after marrying in the Phils. The bottomline is....both of course want to be with each other till death do them part....so which wud u suggest? I will appreciate any link u can send me relative to this if there's any....I've been trying to search myself but always got distracted with other nice threads

[kimmi]

is this ur personal situation Les???just being nosy...he he he

[les_taxi]

is this ur personal situation Les???just being nosy...he he he

maybe it's something to do with me

[Les_lady888]

is this ur personal situation Les???just being nosy...he he he

sort of
but ehhh why cant anyone send me links or give me a good advise about it? :(

[Les_lady888]

oh btw, Happy Valentines day to everyone!!!!

==========================
Les

[Marwin08]

Ur highness...Your contribution is always a great help to everyone.Keep up the good work and i salute you for that

[kimmi]

sort of
but ehhh why cant anyone send me links or give me a good advise about it? :(

for me Les, ud better decide where u wanted to get married..About the visa, fiancee or spousal i am sure u can get it as long as u prepared very much for all the docs needed and have proven that the relationship is genuine..

[asiansmiler]

Lady Les, it varies from which visa you would like to enter in the UK. You could marry in the Philippines and later you could apply for a spousal visa (settlement), whereas if u would have your marriage done in the UK, you could apply for a fiancee' visa, which both requires a lot of documentation. This whole community is more than willing to help out. Also, try to "search" about the requirements on the internet regarding which visa would you and your hubby are happy to deal with. Both requires faith, perseverance, organisation and patience.... So, Good Luck!!!

[CyRob]

Hi Everyone,

I contacted the marriages and civil parnerships authorities yesterday about registering
our intent to marry here in the UK and the problems of providing evidence of marriage
plans for Cyrene's visa.

This was the reply I received back from them, it might be of help or use to other members
that have not made any plans or bookings for their marriages yet.

Dear Mr Walker,

Thank you for your e-mail

In order for you to start pre-planning your wedding you will need to
provide evidence of a visa and on many occasions you will need to provide
evidence of pre-planning before you can get a visa which puts many couples
in a situation where they can not make any progress.

This office therefore can provide you with a letter which should be taken
to the relevant Embassy where you wish to obtain the fiancee visa and I
will send this to your address which you have kindly provided.

To answer your other query, you do not have to get married where you give
notice, as long as you and your partner give notice in a designated
register office you can marry anywhere that is legally recognised after
this without restrictions on your partners immigration control issue.

I trust this has answered your queries sufficiently. Please do not
hesitate to contact us again if you require further advice.

The letter will be sent this afternoon regarding pre-planning.

Kind regards,

Marriages and Civil Partnerships
General Register Office

[Bluebirdjones]

It's a Catch 22 situation.

Yes, you can "book" a room for the ceremony at the registry office, but
that's like booking a restaurant or cinema ticket..... there's no guarantee that you'll use it.
So, is this "proof" ? ...... you tell me !

The "Notice of Marriage" is the important thing, but
All civil and non-conformist marriage ceremonies must be preceded by civil preliminaries. This involves giving a Notice of Marriage to the Superintendent Registrar of the district where you live. Notice must be given by the prospective bride and groom in person. The Superintendent Registrar will ask you questions about your identity, age and freedom to marry. You will be asked to produce documents such as a birth certificate, passport or deed poll so that we can check your ages and the spelling of your names. If either of you have been married before you will need to produce a death certificate or divorce decree absolute to confirm your freedom to marry. If your divorce was granted outside the UK it may be necessary for us to submit it to the General Register Office for final verification. Other documents may be requested depending upon individual circumstances. Please bring original documents with you to the Register Office, with certified translations if applicable. Photocopies are not accepted.

In order to give notice of marriage both of you must have lived in a registration district in England or Wales for seven days immediately prior to the day on which you give notice and you must have a marriage ceremony booked. After giving notice, your application is displayed on the Register Office’s public notice board for 16 clear days, so you should allow for this length of time when planning your ceremony. For example if notice is given on 1 August the marriage can take place on or after 17 August. After this period two blue certificates, which allow you to be married, can be issued.

So, effectively, your future wife needs to be in the UK, with a fiancee visa in her passport in order to proceed with the "Notice of Marriage"

Regards

[CyRob]

So, effectively, your future wife needs to be in the UK, with a fiancee visa in her passport in order to proceed with the "Notice of Marriage"

Regards

Yes I am aware of this rule. Thats why it is virtually impossible to make any kind of marriage plans due to that fact... it is an unknown entity as to when or how long a visa will take to obtain... there is no point booking venues, photographers, cars, reception etc as one cannot guess a date.

I will await the letter and post here what information they have supplied and shared with me.

Thanks for your help, advice and reply... it's all helpful on the long journey to obtaining a fiancee visa and making plans to marry.

[jen28]

this is my problem also. according to the UK visa application center and some agencies, some of the applicants got the pre-booking of their marriage. my fiance told me that the registrar office in England cannot give a pre-booking unless both parties are present. but the question is, how come other applicant could get it? where did they got that pre-booking? someone just told me that it will be one of the cause of refusing the visa. i will apply the visa soon.

[aprilmaejon]

Hi, I am April and I just arrived here in the UK last December 23 2011...and I am under fiancee visa. As far as I am concerned, my fiancee was able to book in the date of our wedding in the registry office and he received a confirmation on that booking that was also submitted to the UK Visa Application Center. They issued my visa for just less than a month--- or it really varies on the proofs or evidences that are being submitted like for example how genuine the relationship is and loads of evidences of the intent to marry. We're getting married on April this year and after that we will apply for my spousal visa which I don't know yet the procedures--- so anybody can help me about that?

[milesaway1113]

Hi everyone. This maybe useful for couple who are planning to get married. The rules was change already.... you dont need to get permission to get marry from the home office. You can just go directly to the registry to register and you can register anywhere in the uk because your partner is a foriengner or from other country, and the husband/partner to be is a british citizen.

That is according to our experience. Hope same with you too...Good luck!

[bad-chicka]

Hi CyRob. I am currently in the same situation that u were in. Can you tell me how the letter from the registrar was received by the UKBA's Authorising Officer when you submitted your application?

Regards
Gavin

[Terpe]

Hi CyRob. I am currently in the same situation that u were in. Can you tell me how the letter from the registrar was received by the UKBA's Authorising Officer when you submitted your application?

Regards
Gavin

Hello Gavin, welcome to the forum.

Did you notice that the post by CyRob was dated 13 February 2009??

There's been a great deal of major changes to the immigration rules during the intervening 4 years.
May I very kindly suggest you read through this thread - All New Guide - How to apply for a Fiance Visa
Please do follow all the included UKBA links.

I hope it will provide a better understanding for you. If you have any specific questions you'll receive a good range of responses by starting your own thread.