Marriage Registration Issue

[Peace]

Hi.. I am a Pakistani national studying in Germany. My fiance has been workin in England for almost 3 years and we are planning to get married later this year.

My question is that will it help if I go now to England and register my marriage there or is it the same if I simply get married in Pakistan and apply to join him in England?

Also can someone tell me if the processing time from germany and pakistan is same or longer from pakistan?

Tks.

[Kayalami]

1. The UK immigration service will accept a marriage which is recognised as valid under the laws of the country in which it was conducted - note that an additional criteria is the UK recognises marriage as a union of 1 man and 1 woman limiting applications for entry clearance purposes to a single spouse in polygomous cases. As long as this criteria is met then doesn't matter if its in the UK or Pakistan. From an administrative point of view a UK marriage certificate makes an application more straightforward to progress as it is in English and more likely to be authentic. Note that there is a residence requirement for marriage in the UK and that there are legislative proposals to change the marriage regulations for foreign nationals although this is likely to be where one party to the marriage is an EU/EEA national or holds UK permanent residence.

2. Processing times are visa post specific - generally posts in the subcontinent i.e. India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka have longer processing times because there are more applicants here and regretably issues of document authenticity. Note that the current political climate has resulted in visa posts including those in Pakistan either close at short/no notice or severely limit the types of applications they can process. Hence again for administrative purposes it is easier to make an application in Germany if the British Embassy accepts your application. Acceptance is often an issue for those who are not long term legal residents i.e. visitors in the relevant country - thse does not seem to apply to you so you should be o.k.

Good Luck

[Chess]

Note that there is a residence requirement for marriage in the UK and that there are legislative proposals to change the marriage regulations for foreign nationals although this is likely to be where one party to the marriage is an EU/EEA national or holds UK permanent residence.

Kayalami,

What do you mean that there is a residence requirement for marriage in the UK??

I thought someone could leave Timbuktu - turn up as a Visitor in the UK and apply for marriage at the registry and then leave the country if s/he did not satisfy the IR's for change of status .


What do you think the potential changes in the marriage rules are going to be now that Blair and Blunkett are trying to clamp down on bogus colleges and marriages ?? any ideas being floated apart from possibly.


1). Immigration Officials attending weddings at the regestry office
2). increasing the 'probationary' period
3). Registrars shopping people suspected of marriages of convinience

[Kayalami]

Chess wrote:

What do you mean that there is a residence requirement for marriage in the UK?? I thought someone could leave Timbuktu - turn up as a Visitor in the UK and apply for marriage at the registry and then leave the country if s/he did not satisfy the IR's for change of status .

There is a minimum notice period of 15 days for the registration of civil marriages which remains the fastest way to get married in the U.K. so you cannot turn up in the UK today and get married tomorrow. In addition there is a requirement to have lived in the relevant registration district for a mimimum of seven days. Take into account the various schedules a registry has and you are unlikely to get a marriage slot possible before a month of the day you see the registrar.

What do you think the potential changes in the marriage rules are going to be now that Blair and Blunkett are trying to clamp down on bogus colleges and marriages ?? any ideas being floated apart from possibly.


1). Immigration Officials attending weddings at the regestry office
2). increasing the 'probationary' period
3). Registrars shopping people suspected of marriages of convinience

Any measures must be consistent with various aspects of the Human Rights Act and I see the government having a rough time with this one because it will impact on the Human Rights of British Nationals.

On paper it is easier to make the marriage process more bureacratic so I expect an increased notice period and likely a requirement for the foreign national to produce a certificate of no impediment to marriage from their country's authorities. I don't see the probation period being increased as yet. I suspect they will introduce US style joint interviews at probationary period application stage and probably at ILR application stage. I also expect there to be appeals galore from any 'sham' related legislation because of the invariable subjectiveness of the tests they will introduce to consider a marriage not to be a sham - ask 20 people what their idea of a sham marriage is and you will get 20 different answers.

Unfortunatley the UK lacks a constitution which gives the government too much power - as you have seen with the current Home Secretary if something doesn't go to plan then laws are changed..again this will be possible as long as British Nationals think these laws do not affect them..they gradually are and I expect things to get confrontational soon.

[Peace]

Thank you Kayalami and Chess for your replies. That was very helpuful.

There is a minimum notice period of 15 days for the registration of civil marriages which remains the fastest way to get married in the U.K. so you cannot turn up in the UK today and get married tomorrow.

I have a question regarding the above comment.

I cannot go to the UK for more than 8-10 days, because of my studies here. Is it posible that my fiance does the 'notice' thingies doen before I go there or is it compulsory for me to be there for the process.

[Kayalami]

Both parties to a marriage must give notice in person to the regsitrar of marriages either jointly (preferable) in their district of residence or on their own as the case may be. You may wish to consider marriage in Germany if the system there allows more flexibility.

[Peace]

Thanks.. will have to check for the german regulation in that case