Marriage certificate and passport application.

[Soroush]

Hello everyone!

I was born in Iran, the son of an Iranian mother and a British father. My parents married about a year before my birth and my father left us shortly after I was born. I have my parents' marriage certificate, with a translation certified by a university professor of good standing, but I do not know if the British authorities have any record of the marriage, since my father left so soon after I was born (we were not so important to him I suppose) and never bothered to notify the British authorities. He is remarried and I have very little contact with him.

My question is this: is the marriage certificate (plus all the other necessary documents) enough for a UK passport application, or would the passport authorities check some kind of database of my father's records and find that there is no sign of the marriage? Would they just accept the marriage certificate as sufficient?

I am very scared that if I apply for a passport like this, they might accuse me of making false claims or even creating a false document, since they probably have no record of the marriage!

I have been working in the US for several years but I seem to be no closer to obtaining a green card. It is almost impossible to get without being married to an American citizen. I feel very insecure about my future since if I lost my job because of the bad economy I would have to go back to Iran, which is a very stressful and dangerous place for free-thinking people. If I could claim my father's citizenship and go to Britain, I would have peace of mind without the constant fear of being sent away! That is why this is so important.

Sorry about the long message and thanks to anyone who can help.

Best regards,

Soroush.

[vinny]

If your father was British otherwise than by descent (e.g. born in the UK) and a had a valid marriage, then you are British.

[Soroush]

Thanks Vinny! I have read your links. You are very well informed.

Yes, my father was born in the UK, and the marriage was certainly valid in Iran, or else I would have been denied many rights as an 'illegitimate child' according to Iranian law. The problem is that according to my mother the marriage was performed by a cleric (rouhani - basically a 'mullah') and as far as she knows my father did not involve the British authorities in it. The marriage was considered acceptable in Iran, and I was given a 'shenasnameh' (Iranian identity document) and treated as the legitimate child of my father on the basis of that marriage contract, because a marriage according to Islamic law was considered valid. This type of thing has caused many problems in Iran, with people being married by clerics without the usual preparations, especially in smaller towns, but in court such a marriage is generally accepted unless either of the parties was not free to marry at the time of the marriage or there is another impediment (e.g. they are close relatives, 'milk siblings' etc). In other words (referring to your link about the validity of marriage and the settlement of spouses) this is a type of marriage which ultimately is acceptable in Iran even though it initially may bypass some requirements. Even though my parents are now divorced, and therefore they cannot now register the marriage in any other way, it was considered valid at the time, and I was considered the legitimate son of my parents.

Therefore if I submit all my documents as they are, will the marriage certificate by itself - since it does display a marriage which is valid in Iran - be enough to satisfy the passport office of my parents' marriage, or will they check in my father's records somehow and find (perhaps!) no record of the marriage? Would the document itself be sufficient?

Apologies once again for the long message. It is a scary situation and I do not want to do anything that might have even worse consequences than having to go back to Iran (e.g. prison). If it is that risky, I might just take my chance with the green card and at least stay out of jail (though Iran is like a jail to me in some ways).

Thank you very much for your help.

Regards,

Soroush.

[vinny]

They will not find any record of the marriage if your father didn't deposit marriage documents in the UK. However, this isn’t compulsory.

You may have to get the marriage certificate and translation verified.

[Soroush]

Thanks again! This looks hopeful... I must say you are very knowledgeable. I would never have known where to look for this type of information.

I will look into it and hopefully I won't have to bother you with more questions, but you never know what strange issues might come up!

Thanks for your help.

Soroush.

[Soroush]

One more thing, sorry.

Will the passport people maybe look in my father's records and find no sign of me as his child - only his children from his second marriage? Or if they find me will they find no sign of the marriage, thinking that the marriage did not happen? I am afraid that they will check some records and find them incomplete because of the lack of bureaucratic procedure that happened in my case. My birth certificate does show my father as my father, with his date of birth as well, but maybe the passport people will find no sign of me or will find me as 'illegitimate'. Will they check? I just do not know what kinds of checks they do.

I am sorry to keep spamming you with these questions. I just want to make sure I don't get into serious trouble by trying to do what should be a routine procedure, since my case is not standard. Thank you very much as usual for your help!

Best,

Soroush.

[vinny]

You have to provide proof that your parents were legally married.

[Soroush]

So does that mean that as long as I have the marriage certificate (and birth certificate etc) with all the necessary translations and legalisations, the passport people will be satisfied? Is it enough? I'm worried that they might not otherwise find me in my father's records - in other words that my only evidence of being his son and of their marriage is the documents themselves. Even if my only evidence is the documents, is that enough?

Thanks again -

Soroush.

[vinny]

Although birth registration is recommended, it is not necessary. However, you should provide equivalent documentation for the passport application.

[Soroush]

Ok - so by the 'equivalent documentation' you mean the documentation that would have been provided if I had been registered, namely my birth certificate, my father's birth certificate, possibly my mother's birth certificate (as in the list of registration documents), my father's passport number (this is required on the application forms I saw), and my parents' marriage certificates, with translations where necessary? Am I right?

Many thanks

Soroush.

[vinny]

Yes. Additionally, a passport application also needs qualified person to countersign the form and your photograph.

[Soroush]

Thanks very much!

Soroush.

[Apparition]

I've read British Nationality Law and when it talks about marriage it doesn't say anything about whether it has to be under British Law or what's acceptable. Seems a grey area.

For what it's worth, my parents got married under Iranian law, then 9-10 months later when they were in the UK, they got married under British Law.

I always wondered whether the UK passport authorities would have accepted the marriage under Iranian law. But obviously I'll only send off their UK marriage certificate.

Also there's always that element of variability depending on who views your application, which office, etc. Something that's not talked about on here but that has to factor.

[MPH80]

Is there a particular reason you chose to resurrect a 5 year old thread to make this point?