Two questions regarding marriage, Please help!

[qaimbillah]

Hi,

I am an Indian citizen married to a British citizen through a mosque in India as well as a mosque in UK. My wife and I don't live in the UK but in the Gulf. I currently have a long-term visit visa to UK (valid for 7 years). I would like our marriage to be properly legalized in UK since the mosque certificates are not taken as marriage registration. My questions are:

1. Is there any way I can have my mosque certificates legalized/registered legally? Will it be sufficient to have it notarized by an attorney, for instance?

2. If the above is not possible, should I then apply for a marriage visitor visa to enter the UK and register our marriage through the registrar office (since it is illegal to do so on a standard visit visa)? In that case, what will happen to my existing long-term visit visa, will it be cancelled?

I would really appreciate it if someone could answer these questions.

[Casa]

Hi,

I am an Indian citizen married to a British citizen through a mosque in India as well as a mosque in UK. My wife and I don't live in the UK but in the Gulf. I currently have a long-term visit visa to UK (valid for 7 years). I would like our marriage to be properly legalized in UK since the mosque certificates are not taken as marriage registration. My questions are:

1. Is there any way I can have my mosque certificates legalized/registered legally? Will it be sufficient to have it notarized by an attorney, for instance? No

2. If the above is not possible, should I then apply for a marriage visitor visa to enter the UK and register our marriage through the registrar office (since it is illegal to do so on a standard visit visa)? In that case, what will happen to my existing long-term visit visa, will it be cancelled?
A marriage visitor visa would work. As long as you can continue to show strong ties to a country outside of the UK you should be able to continue to visit.
Bear in mind that a visitor shouldn't be spending more time in the UK in a rolling 12 month period than they are spending in their normal country of residence.
I would really appreciate it if someone could answer these questions.

[secret.simon]

A marriage recognised by authorities in India would be recognised by the UK authorities, provided both of you were "free to marry" (among other things, not married to any body else at the time of marriage). I am presuming that a nikah namah was issued for the marrriage.

I believe (I could be wrong) that a marriage in a mosque is recognised by the Indian authorities and hence is recognised in the UK.

Also see http://www.archive.india.gov.in/citizen ... .php?id=16.

Alternatively, a marriage registered in India would be a faster way to get a legally binding marriage and would also allow your family to attend.

[Casa]

A marriage recognised by authorities in India would be recognised by the UK authorities, provided both of you were "free to marry" (among other things, not married to any body else at the time of marriage). I am presuming that a nikah namah was issued for the marrriage.

I believe (I could be wrong) that a marriage in a mosque is recognised by the Indian authorities and hence is recognised in the UK.

Also see http://www.archive.india.gov.in/citizen ... .php?id=16.

Alternatively, a marriage registered in India would be a faster way to get a legally binding marriage and would also allow your family to attend.

@secret.simon I believe it will depend on whether the marriage in the mosque in India was also registered with the court. Note: The OP says he and his wife are currently resident in the Gulf.

[secret.simon]

@Casa, to the best of my limited knowledge (I am neither a lawyer nor of that faith), marriages in India for couples ,both parties of whom are Muslims, need not be registered by a court or any other government functionary.

No Indian government till date, not even the current fairly Hindu-nationalist one, has dared to touch Muslim personal law. Indeed, when the Supreme Court gave Muslim women a limited right to alimony in the Shahbanoo case, the then government reversed that ruling through an Act of Parliament to the status quo ante.

As an aside, the same is true of Hindu marriages as well, though some states require registration with a government department to recognise it at the state level.

[Casa]

@Casa, to the best of my limited knowledge (I am neither a lawyer nor of that faith), marriages in India for couples ,both parties of whom are Muslims, need not be registered by a court or any other government functionary.

No Indian government till date, not even the current fairly Hindu-nationalist one, has dared to touch Muslim personal law. Indeed, when the Supreme Court gave Muslim women a limited right to alimony in the Shahbanoo case, the then government reversed that ruling through an Act of Parliament to the status quo ante.

As an aside, the same is true of Hindu marriages as well, though some states require registration with a government department to recognise it at the state level.

Does the bill in 2013 passed by the Rajya Sabha making the registration of marriages, irrespective of religion compulsory, no longer stand?

[secret.simon]

The bill does not yet seem to have passed the Lok Sabha (the equivalent of the House of Commons).

The penalty of not registering a marriage is a paltry Rs 50 (currently 50p ) and "shall not affect any rights recognised under any other law or custom".

Not the most water-tight law around.

[qaimbillah]

Thanks very much for your valuable advices. I guess I shouldn't worry about having my marriage registered in that case? I have a nikahnama issued at an Indian mosque and it has been attested by the UAE embassy in India.

I was just concerned that if we had a child born in UK (as my wife would prefer giving birth in UK), would the Indian embassy in UK acknowledge our marriage in case I were to apply for an OCI for my child?

By the way, if I registered my child with the Indian embassy in UK for obtaining the Indian citizenship, could my child later be considered eligible for the UK citizenship (even if it meant surrendering the child's Indian citizenship)?

[secret.simon]

ould the Indian embassy in UK acknowledge our marriage in case I were to apply for an OCI for my child?

I would imagine that they should. The only certain answer you can get is from HCI London itself.

if I registered my child with the Indian embassy in UK for obtaining the Indian citizenship, could my child later be considered eligible for the UK citizenship (even if it meant surrendering the child's Indian citizenship)?

A child born in the UK is entitled to be registered (i.e. it can not be refused) as a UK citizen when one parent gets ILR. Registering as a British citizen will automatically nullify the child's Indian citizenship.

A child born outside the UK can be registered by discretion. Currently, in order for the discretion to be exercised, both parents are expected to be British citizens or one parent has to be a British citizen and the other parent atleast on ILR.

If you intend for the child to take British citizenship, it would be to his/her advantage to be born in the UK.