proposed date for marriage...

[Philip]

Looking for some clarification about the application for marriage here in the UK.

I recall reading that we can no longer apply at our local registrar(I'm in north east Scotland, Aberdeen to be exact), I dont remember where we can apply now, a specialist centre?, but I do remember that it has to be cleared by the home office?

How does this affect getting a proposed date, I'm asuming that the rule about my fiance having to be here in order to book a date still applies?

I'm aware that at the very least we need to have a proposed date for the wedding and reception so that we can include this information in the visa application, but is there any way to get an official proposed date, even through the local registrar?

Or, can we just make up a date(obviously with the intention of actually having real date set when my fiance arrives)? Perhaps the manila embassy has a way of checking?

Jeez, so many questions, sowee!!! :P

[ivor&mel]

Hi Philip,

Would I be correct in thinking you are Janice's fiancee? Mel and I were in the same position as you. We got a fiancee visa... Mel came here 31st March... we married 10th June... in the local Register Office. Nothing needs to be cleared by the Home Office: the Fiancee Visa is a marriage visa - to allow a fiancee to come to the UK in order to get married (within the lifetime of the visa).

Yes, it's easier if your fiancee is here when you actually book a date for real. It is possible to get a provisional date from the Register Office before she arrives, but it will take a lot of pressure because they are under no obligation to provide one if only one of the partners is present. If you want to follow that route, you can explain to them that you need to have a wedding date to satisfy the British Embassy in Manila's current requirements. But be prepared to keep on and on at them, as they are unlikely to be compliant...

Your fiancee needs to be able to tell the ECO a date/time/location for the wedding and also for the reception... But this is only verbal - they do not ask for written evidence. And they are extremely unlikely to phone the UK to check - that has never happened to my knowledge. So... as I told Janice in another thread... be "creative" and "imaginative"

Ivor and Mel

[Philip]

Janice? Go have a read of the Introduce Yourself forum.

So have I imagined all this Home Office info? I;m sure I read that here somewhere!?!?!

We've yet to apply for the fiance visa, but I'm doing as much pre preperation and research as possible beforehand.

Thanks for the reply.

[ivor&mel]

As I said in a follow-up post, there has been someone posting on the forum who has a fiance in Aberdeen... so I just connected the 2... wrongly, obviously...

Is the Home Office thing you're thinking about the Home Office certificate of approval, perhaps? That is not required if you have a Fiancee Visa - as mentioned here

Ivor and Mel

[Philip]

Thanks for clearing the marriage date etc up, and also, yes thats the home office thing I recall reading before.

If Its who I think it is, I know the guy from Aberdeen.

[ivor&mel]

Thanks for clearing the marriage date etc up, and also, yes thats the home office thing I recall reading before.

If Its who I think it is, I know the guy from Aberdeen.

Don't know who he is, except that he's a lorry driver and his fiancee is called Janice

[KeithD]

Thanks for clearing the marriage date etc up, and also, yes thats the home office thing I recall reading before.

If Its who I think it is, I know the guy from Aberdeen.

Small population in those clans up North eh?

[ivor&mel]

Don't wind them up or else they might mention the football

[KeithD]

Don't wind them up or else they might mention the football

[Philip]

A lorry driver!? I dont know him then.

Hey, at least England made it to the world cup, and when they do, they get past the first round!!!

[ivor&mel]

Hey... Keith... think we got away with it!

So that means 3 Aberdonians with Filipinas? They're only after your oil, you know

[Philip]

Hey... Keith... think we got away with it!

So that means 3 Aberdonians with Filipinas? They're only after your oil, you know

It's a small city as well, we're bound to bump in to one another.

[devin33]

Im in Aberdeen too!

Hi Phil

[remee_milano]

From 1st February 2005 there are new rules and procedures for anyone wishing to marry someone who is NOT a British Citizen or an EEA National. If you are planning to get married in the UK after that date, and you are subject to immigration control while in the UK, you will need to follow new rules.

Swindon is a designated office to take notices under these procedures.


Where This Applies

If you are coming to the UK from overseas to get married, you must have either a fiancé or fiancée or marriage visitor visa in your passport in order to give notice to marry to a registrar. To find out more, please read I Want to Get Married in the UK and I am Overseas below.

If you are already in the UK, you will need to either have settled status in the UK, or apply to the Home Office for a certificate of approval before giving notice to marry to a registrar. To find out more please read I Want to Get Married in the UK and I am Already in the Country below

Whether you are overseas or already in the UK, you will need to give notice to marry to a registrar at a designated register office. To find out more please read Giving Notice to Marry at a Designated Register Office below


Exemptions

If you are a British Citizen, a National of a country in the European Economic Area (EEA) or you have a certificate of entitlement giving you right of abode in the UK in your passport, you are not subject to immigration control and these new rules do not apply to you.


I Want to Get Married in the UK and I am Overseas


What to Apply For and When

You will need to obtain a visa or entry clearance as either a fiance/e or a marriage visitor.

You should apply for a fiance/e visa or entry clearance if you are planning to travel to marry someone already in the UK and you plan to stay in the country. You should apply for a marriage visitor visa or entry clearance if you only want to visit the UK to get married, but do not plan to stay for more than six months.

These rules apply even if you are a national country where there is normally no need for a visa to enter the UK. You won't be able to give notice to marry to a registrar without the correct valid sticker in your passport or travel document.


Where to Apply

You should apply for your visa or entry clearance at a British Embassy, Consulate or High Commission in your country of origin, or in the country overseas where you are normally resident. A fee, currently £36, is payable for this service.


Age Requirement

In the case of a fiance/e, both parties to the marriage must be over 18 if the couples are planning to stay in the UK.

To read further about this, please refer to Giving Notice to Marry at a Designated Register Office below.


I Want to Get Married in the UK and I am Already in the Country

If you have settled status in the UK, such as indefinite leave to enter or remain, you will not require a Certificate of Approval to give notice to marry to a registrar.

If you do not have settled status in the UK, you will need to apply for a Certificate of Approval from the Home Office.

To qualify for a Certificate of Approval, you must have been granted leave to enter or leave to reamin for more than six months on your current visa, and three months of that leave must still remain. If you don't qualify, you will need to return to your country of origin or the country which you normally resident in, and apply for a visa there.

The Certificate of Approval application form will be available from the 1st February 2005 on the Immigration and Nationality Directorate (IND) website

You can ask for an application form to be sent to you by telephoning 0870 241 0645.


Details of How to Apply

All applications have to be made by post, as you will not be able to apply in person at IND's Public Enquiry Offices for this service. The application form has details of the documents you need to send with the form and where you should send it to. A fee of £135 is payable for this service. Details of the ways you can pay are also included in the application form. We recommend that applications are sent by Royal Mail Recorded Delivery. You should allow between three and thirteen weeks for your application to be processed.

The certificate is valid for three months from the date it is issued or to the date when your leave to enter/remain expires, if this is less.

If both people getting married are subject to immigration control, they both need to make separate applications and each pay a fee for the Certificates of Approval. The Home Office will not reissue a replacement certificate if you lose the original. You will have to make a new application.


Giving Notice to Marry at a Designated Register Office

If you are subject to immigration control, you and the person you plan to marry will need to give notice to marry at a designated register office. All the registration offices in Scotland and Northern Ireland are designated registration offices, and seveny-six register offices in England and Wales have been selected as designated register offices. A list of these seventy-six offices is available on the General Register Office website, and the Immigration and Nationality Directorate website (further details at end of page).

In England and Wales, both of you must have at least seven days' residence in a registration district before you can give your notices to marry. These notices can be given at any designated register office, but both of you must attend together. You will need to bring evidence of your names, addresses, ages, nationalities, and if either of you has been married before, your marital status.

In Scotland and Northern Ireland, notice to marry can be given by post, so you will not normally have to attend in person.

You must surrender your Certificate of Approval to the registrar when you give notice to marry.

In England and Wales, once your notice to marry has been accepted, the wedding can take place at any register office or approved premises, or at any church or religious building registered for marriage in the district of residence where you or the person you plan to marry live.

After you have given notice to marry, you have to wait fifteen full days before your wedding can take place (fourteen days in Scotland and Northern Ireland).

The Notice to Marry 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 must take place within this time, or you will have to apply for another Certificate of Approval and give notice to marry again. To read further about sources of further information on this subject, please click on the link below to Where to Get More Information



Religious Ceremonies

The new rules do NOT apply if you plan to get married at an Anglican church in England or Wales, after marriage banns or an ecclesiastical licence. You must contact a member of the clergy at the church where you pplan to get married to make the appropriate arrangements.

If you plan to marry in any other form of religious ceremony, you will have to follow the procedures in outlined on this page before the marriage ceremony can take place.


Where to Get More Information

For more information about Certificates of Approval, you can


Write to

Immigration and Nationality Directorate
Lunar House
40 Wellesley Road
CROYDON
CR9 2BY


Telephone

General Enquiries: 0870 606 7766
Application Forms: 0870 241 0645


E-mail

public.enquiries@homeoffice.gsi.gov.uk


Internet Access

www.ind.homeoffice.gov.uk

For more information about Visas you can:


Write to

UKvisas
LONDON
SW1A 2AH


Telephone

General Enquiries: 00 44 (0)20 7008 8438 or
Application Forms: 00 44 (0)20 7008 8308


Internet Access

www.ukvisas.gov.uk

For more information about getting married in the UK, contact either your local registrar or the appropriate General Register Office. See below for details:

England and Wales


Write to

Marriages Branch
General Register Office
Smedley Hydro
Trafalgar Road
SOUTHPORT
PR8 2HH


Telephone

0151 471 4803


Fax

01633 652975


E-mail

marriages.gro@ons.gov.uk


Internet Access

www.gro.gov.uk

Scotland


Write to

Marriage Section
General Register Office for Scotland
New Register House
West Register Street
EDINBURGH
EH1 3YT


Telephone

0131 314 4447


Fax

0131 314 4532


Internet Access (Scotland)

www.gro-scotland.gov.uk


Internet Access (Northern Ireland)

www.groni.gov.uk

Accessibility

[Philip]

Thanks for posting that, but, its confused me...

The fiance visa is only valid for 6 months, not more than six months!?!?!

[KeithD]

You have to get married WITHIN 6 months.....pref 4 so it gives you time to get the paperwork done.

[adalmi]

did you finded the person you want?

[KeithD]

That was just in the post Rob, not the sig. Same rules though

[Philip]

The links are still in adalmi' quote. Unless you added you're own ones in there for fun.

[walesrob]

The links are still in adalmi' quote. Unless you added you're own ones in there for fun.

If this adalmi person tries any funny nonsense again, he'll be fed to the sheep and thats being nice . Just ignore the links Phil, they are obviously dodgy.