Getting married in the United Kingdom – A guide to the new rules

• I want to get married in the UK and I am overseas.
• I want to get married in the UK and I am already in the country
• Giving notice to marry at a designated register office
• Religious ceremonies
• Where to get more information

Introduction

If you are planning to get married in the UK after 1^st February 2005 and you are subject to immigration control while in the UK, you will need to follow new rules.

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. These new rules do not apply to you.

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. Read section 2 for more details.

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. Read section 3 for more details.

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. Read section 4 for more details.
back to the top

Section 2

I want to get married in the UK and I am overseas

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

You should apply for a fiancé/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 of a 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.

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.

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

Now read section 4 - Giving notice to marry at a designated register office.
back to the top

Section 3

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, then you will not require a certificate of approval to give notice to marry to a registrar. You should now read section 4.

If you don't 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 remain 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 in which you are normally resident and apply for a visa there. Read section 2 for more details.

The certificate of approval application form will be available from the 1^st February 2005 on the Immigration and Nationality Directorate (IND) website: www.ind.homeoffice.gov.uk/. You can ask for an application form to be sent to you by telephoning 0870 241 0645.

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 £295 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 13 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 their 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.

Now read section 4 - Giving notice to marry at a designated register office.
back to the top

Section 4

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 76 register offices in England and Wales have been selected as designated register offices. A list of these 76 offices is available on the General Register Office website and the Immigration and Nationality Directorate website. See section 6 for these website addresses.

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. Those 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 your 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 15 full days before your wedding can take place (14 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.

Read section 6 to find out sources of further information about getting married in the UK.
back to the top

Section 5

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 plan 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 sections 2 or 3 and in section 4, before the marriage ceremony can take place.
back to the top

Section 6

Where to get more information

For more information about certificates of approval:

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

Phone:         0870 606 7766 (General enquiries)
                   0870 241 0645 (Application forms)
Email:          public.enquiries@homeoffice.gsi.gov.uk
Website:      www.ind.homeoffice.gov.uk/

For more information about visas

Write to:

UK Visas
LONDON
SW1A 2AH

Phone:           00 44 (0)20 7008 8438 (General enquiries)
                     00 44 (0)20 7008 8308 (Application forms)
Email:            enquiries@ukvisas.gov.uk
Website:        www.ukvisas.gov.uk/

For more information about getting married in the UK contact either your local registrar or the appropriate General Register Office:

England and Wales
Write to:

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

Phone:              0151 471 4803
Fax:                  01633 652975
Email:               marriages.gro@ons.gov.uk
Website:           www.direct.gov.uk/gro.