Getting Married in the United Kingdom

A recent law change has made it harder to get married in the UK. These laws have been implemented since the first of February 2005 and apply to all foreigners from outside the EU who don’t have right to abode or live in the UK or are not holders of a British passport. Sadly it will now cost you money (£335.00 or so inc postage 2007 Nov updated), time and a lot of organisation between you and your spouse to avoid a tearful goodbye in Heathrow Airport.

 Firstly all none EEA, UK or EU citizens must apply in writing to the Secretary of state for a ‘certificate of approval in order to marry in the UK, even if you don’t wish to settle in the UK. To qualify for this certificate, you must have been granted leave to enter the UK for more than six months, so forget about it if you hold a holiday visa. Also you must still have a minimum of 3 months left on your visa for the entire process to be completed as no certificate will be granted in the case of a rushed marriage! Dont forget you must also have visited the country of your spouse and vice versa before getting married as this is vital pre marital evidence. Also after your marriage application you as the visitor to the UK MAY BE ASKED TO LEAVE THE COUNTRY AND ARRANGE ALL YOUR AFFAIRS IN YOUR COUNTRY OF ORIGIN before being allowed to be married.

The application fee for this certificate will set you back about £335.00. The application for your certificate can only be made by post so you need to allow time for that as well.

Once you have been granted your certificate you must give notice of your intention to marry to a registrar, who must advertise this fact for at least 15 days, be careful with  your timing as there a now a limited number of registrar’s offices that you can apply to so you need to do everything in good time.

If you and your partner do not wish to get married, you can apply for the right to remain as the non married partner. This requires you to prove that you have been together for a minimum period of 2 years. Remember that you must have a solid case with bills e.g. council tax, water, or gas bills etc in both your names. Very intimate physical knowledge of your partner as many embarrassing questions may be asked of you both to ensure that it is not a sham marriage. A few other factors that have been known to influence Home Office decisions on marraige are : The presence of children in the relationship. The type of job and what sector it is in, eg Health and Teaching sectors are well favoured by the Home Office and your partners health eg if your partner is physically ill.