How important is having marriage plans in place for a fiance visa?

[Fountainhead]

Hi, Hopefully someone can help me with a couple of questions.

My plan was to wait until I knew our fiance visa application was successful before i started to plan the wedding but i noticed in the guidance notes in section 6.4.8 it states...

If you are a fiance/proposed civil partner please provide details of any plans that are are in place for your marriage/civil partnership ceremony.

Is that something an ECO would place a great deal of importance on or would it not matter if no plans are in place at time of application if every other aspect of the application is satisfactory?

I'm also confused about if it's even possible to make plans before my fiancee has arrived here. The website of my local council states....

After 1 February 2005, Bromley, along with Bexley, Richmond, and Sutton, no longer have register offices designated to carry out legal preliminaries for persons subject to immigration control wishing to marry.

And also says.....

Notice must be given by the prospective bride and groom in person



Any advice gratefully appreciated.

[Fountainhead]

Just looking at the home office UK Border Agency website and it's just left me more confused. On one page it states...

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.


And on another page.....

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).


Maybe I'm being very stupid but that seems to say I need Marriage plans in place to get a Visa but I can't make any marriage plans until we have the visa.

[KeithD]

How important is having marriage plans in place for a fiance visa?

VERY IMPORTANT.

You need to prove you have made arrangements, as that is the basis on why they issue the visa's.

[Fountainhead]

VERY IMPORTANT.

You need to prove you have made arrangements, as that is the basis on why they issue the visa's.

Ok. Thanks.

In that case I assume it refers to booking a venue for the ceremony, a venue for the meal and all the other normal stuff involved in planning a wedding and that they understand that registering intent to marry is something you can't do until the visa has been granted.

It's not a problem. There is no doubt that we are going to marry I was just trying to take the approach of doing one thing at a time, get visa first and then plan wedding, but if we need plans in place before we submit application I will make sure everything is arranged over the next few months.

Thanks for your help.

[KeithD]

You only usually need a letter or something to verify the wedding, nothing else.

[Fountainhead]

You only usually need a letter or something to verify the wedding, nothing else.

Cheers. We're planning on having a small registry office wedding with only informal celebrations after, we both agree that rather than have a big wedding we'd rather save the money for our future life together, so that's set my mind at ease about not having evidence of having booked all the normal peripherals associted with a big wedding.