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Hello,

Today morning we had an interview to give notice for marriage and my fiancee's Polish ID card and birth certificate were rejected stating that guidelines from HO issued two weeks ago. 3 weeks ago when we booked for interview we were told that we would have no problems. This has completely messed up our plans, family already booked tickets for wedding next month and now we have to wait for 2 months to get a passport.

Registrar seemed also puzzled as to why they should reject IDs as they are accepted for travel.

Anyone heard of these changes yet?

I havent seen or heard any thing new in terms of requirements. You both will have to prove your identities and nationalities. If you are free from immigration control, then your partner's polish ID card will be fine. Some registrars are not well equipped with the knowledge on EEA Regualtions and may need to be guided on that by you. UKBA webpare here http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/visas ... gistering/ explains in detail. There are no specific requirements other than what is stated.

Just rang the general register office and they confirmed that because the ID cards from poland only state where they are born an not the nationality.

Afterwards i rang my registrars office again and was told that Polish ID card would be accepted but it is up to the discretion of the registrar. So, I was advised to translate birth certificate to english and try again in the morning.

very confusing.

if your fiancee is in the uk , doesn't she have passport ? its always good to take the passport with you , we had the same issue, but we rang HO first before progressing with any plans. we thought the id card was enough, but because the id is in the native language of the original country, they will not accept unless its accompanied by translated affidavit

We live together in UK and she travels on ID which has always been ok. She is never had a passport before but we have now made an appointment with her consulate to get her a passport. But this should take about 7-8weeks from the 6th October.

We are 2 months pregnant and if we are to wait for passport to marry, she will be 6months pregnant and can not fit in her wedding dress. Family already flying in for wedding.
Its all messed up because 3 weeks ago we were assured that ID and BC would be fine.
Actually ID is written in both Polish and English. We are trying again today with a translated BC.

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Just to confirm: the problem that the UKBA have with the ID card is that it does not literally state 'Nationality: Polish' (or its Polish equivalent)?

Yes. the registrar yesterday said they had been asked to reject the ID cards because they do not state the nationality.
Her colleague later said they are accepted but its on the discretion of who interviews you.
We've been asked to try again today with a translated BC.

86ti wrote:Just to confirm: the problem that the UKBA have with the ID card is that it does not literally state 'Nationality: Polish' (or its Polish equivalent)?

I think this is not a UKBA problem. They will accept the ID card.

This is a problem with some combination of the local council and possibly the GRO (which is part of the home office).

It does seem, in any case, very improper. I would urge anyone affected to contact Solvit and complain. Anyone with a Polish ID should legally be able to live life fully in the UK without any issue.

Our notice has been accepted. Thanks all for your replies.
My interview only took 5 minutes and my fiancee only 10mins.
Was only asked her names and DOB and address. And told that they would have to inform UKBA in case they suspect it's a sham.
The fact that i was not asked any questions about our relationship, i suspect UKBA boys will turn up on the day to question us again.

Thank God we have our day and the plans have not been messed up.

Please please complain to Solvit. This needs to be resolved so that others do not have the same problem.

I have now raised the complaint with Solvit on behalf of my partner.
My own opinion is that some of the people iin the registrar's don't know what the law/ guidelines are.

Is it not suspicious to not be asked about our relationship?

I suspect most people who go to registrar are not asked about their relationship. That is the job of friends and family! :)

My "friends"!!! Well, the plan now is to go half an hour early on big day incase the want to grill us.
That am not so worried about.

Relax and breath deeply. There is enough stress related to getting married. Enjoy the day!

reubenb04 wrote:Just rang the general register office and they confirmed that because the ID cards from poland only state where they are born an not the nationality.

This is not true.
At the back of the ID card it says (although only in Polish and in small print):

"ID card is a document confirming the identity of the holder as well as their Polish nationality"

I thing the problem here is that this bit is only written in Polish, but if you had it translated by an official translator then i thinh there shouldn't be any problem with that.

I'm surprised they are making such a fuss, I was told my identification was not sufficient because the people that handle phone enquiries are not the ones making the decision at the end of the day.

I just asked, very nicely if I could speak to the superintendent registrar that maybe they could direct me further on my options and after a rational conversation with them (cos it's at their discretion), I was assured the forms of ID I had would be sufficient to determine my nationality.

Hope this helps a little.

The legal bottom line is:
Anywhere a British person can use their passport, a national of an EEA member state can use their passport (or if they have one a national ID card).

There is no discretion allowed for the official to not accept the ID card. They MUST accept it.

The only thing they can possibly request is an official translation, anyone know where those services can be provided?

It would be helpful to anyone in that situation, I would guess maybe a consulate may be able to provide it... but aside from that, your guess is as good as mine.

Sorry, but even a translation is not allowed. Remember that these are passports and ID cards issued by an EU member state!

I'm fairly certain I read somewhere that if documents are presented and not in english they must be presented along with an official translation [no source available, it's almost 11 pm and I'm tired ]