Fiance Visa Question

[Swannie]

Hi

In the notes on the embassy website for a fiance visa, it says that we have to get married within six months of my fiance arriving in this country. Do the wedding dates have to be fixed before applying for the fiance visa or can you arrange the wedding when your partner obtains the fiance visa and comes to the UK ?

[John]

No the dates do not have to be fixed but it will do no harm in order to secure the fiancée visa for you to put into your covering letter something like .... "We intend to go to XYZ Register Office about two weeks after my fiancée arrives in the UK to give the Notice of Intention to Marry, and to get married at (location) about four (or whatever) months later."

In a sense no date can be fixed before the fiancée visa is granted and she comes to the UK. She needs to attend in person, with you, in order to give the Notice of Intention to Marry.

[Swannie]

Thanks as always John for the advice, you have been a great help to me.

[John]

No probs.

That wording .... "We intend to go to XYZ Register Office about two weeks after my fiancée arrives in the UK to give the Notice of Intention to Marry .... " actually makes good sense. She needs to have been resident at her UK address for at least "seven clear days" before she is legally able to get Notice of Intention to Marry, so planning to go along say two weeks after arrival is about right.

The point is that it is better to get that part of the procedure out of the way. After Notice is given it will be publicly displayed for 15 days and then "After this period, another document called a 'marriage authority' will be issued. This document is the legal clearance and allows your marriage to take place." That "marriage authority" is legally valid for a year, except in your case the marriage must take place within the validity of the fiancée visa.

Also note that as your fiancée is not a EEA Citizen that the Notice of Intention to Marry cannot be given at any Register Office in England or Wales but only those that have been "designated". Your disclosed location is Berwick on Tweed. Assuming you plan to marry in England, there are only two designated Register Offices in the North-East of England, namely Middlesbrough and Newcastle upon Tyne, so looks like quite a journey for you. But after the notice is given, there is no problem you getting married nearer to home, for example, your local non-designated Register Office.

Living where you do you will know much more about if you can live in England and get married in Scotland? If you can, the good news is that all Register Offices in Scotland have been designated.

[Swannie]

John

Thanks for that advice regarding the registry offices. I had no idea that only certain registry offices in England would allow me to register with a non-EU fiance.