Getting married to British Citizen

Hi everyone,

Im here hoping for some advice. I originally came here on a student visa (overseas) and recently graduated my degree. I have been seeing a british citizen for a while and we do genuinely want to get married.

However, my visa expires on the 31st of October and I have been planning on applying for the post study working scheme visa (extending my stay for 2 more years to work here). To save the funds (£400 application fee) and the hassle of providing all the paperwork for the PSW visa, we thought we could bump up our marriage and go through with it before my visa expires, but we fear that this may look "bad" for the immigration officer (Getting married a few weeks before visa expires does look dodgy!!!)

What is the best way to go about this? And how can I apply to stay here legally in the UK after we get married?

Thanks guys, hoping to get some replies...

After marriage, apply for FLR(M) (285) before current leave expires.

I wonder whether you will be able to get married within that timescale. Have you made any enquiries with a church or a registry office? If you can get married in a Church of England, go ahead and do it and then apply as per the links supplied by Vinny.
Registry Office marriage is a little more problematical. The Home Office rules require you to apply for a Certificate of Approval (look it up on the UKBA website), but this has recently been declared unlawful by the courts. So theoretically you could just go to a Registry Office and book a date, but I don't know whether Registrars have been given any new instructions, and you might be turned away if you don't have a Cert of Approval.
The C of A costs £295 and can take between 20 and 70 working days. So if you have to do that, it doesn't leave you a lot of time to get married and apply for LTR.
If you're not doing a Church of England wedding, get round to the Registry Office as soon as possible, and see what they say.

Thanks for the reply guys.

I guess I have to extend my visa to the PSW first, then get married, and change my visa status again after that. That seems to be the best way as getting that certificate of approval might take ages... On the other hand if they have been deemed unlawful I guess I need to check with the local registry office!

Thanks Rusty, Vinny

I do have a same question and don't know should I getting married in Church of England or registry office. I know that if I would like to getting married in the registry office that they will require COA except CoE. The question is which way will cost more. Also, my partner don't have family or too many friends in the UK, so if marrying in the church, I would be worrying look awful. Can any advise!!!

gimli wrote:I do have a same question and don't know should I getting married in Church of England or registry office. I know that if I would like to getting married in the registry office that they will require COA except CoE. The question is which way will cost more. Also, my partner don't have family or too many friends in the UK, so if marrying in the church, I would be worrying look awful. Can any advise!!!

What is your religion?
Have you been married before?
What is your immigration status?

Your queries about cost can probably be resolved by internet searches, but the CoA is currently £295
What you will look like in church is not really a matter for an immigration forum.

Globally wrote:Thanks for the reply guys.

I guess I have to extend my visa to the PSW first, then get married, and change my visa status again after that. That seems to be the best way as getting that certificate of approval might take ages... On the other hand if they have been deemed unlawful I guess I need to check with the local registry office!

Thanks Rusty, Vinny

Globally,

Not sure what you have decided in the past few weeks or what your exact situation is, but could you get married in your home country and come back on a spouse visa? Seems like you'd save yourself the PSW fee and some paperwork if nothing else. My husband and I did that a few years ago: I was at the very end of my student visa. We got married in NY, applied for a spouse visa, and I was back in the UK within 3 weeks. No need for CoA, FLR, etc.

(Of course, there are other costs involved: flights, hotels, time off work... But on the other hand, it could be a built-in honeymoon!)