- If you want to get married in the UK you need a visa (unless you are a citizen of an EEA country or Switzerland) – either a Visit-Marriage Visa or a Fiancé(e) Visa, see Tip 5.
- If you want to live in the UK, but are wondering where to marry, it may be cheaper and easier to marry overseas and then to apply for a Spouse Visa. If you marry in the UK instead you have to make two applications – first for a Fiancé(e) Visa then, within 6 months, for a Spouse/Civil Partner Visa. This can be expensive and time-consuming, not to mention stressful.
- You both have to be over 18 to be eligible for any of the ‘Settlement’ Visas.
- From 9/7/12, the sponsor (British Citizen or British permanent resident) must show they can support their partner with a minimum income of £18,600
- The visa options:
- Visit -Visit-Marriage Visa – just to visit the UK to give notice of a marriage and/or to get married, then to leave the UK; or
- Settlement – Fiancé(e) Visa (aka Marriage Visa) – for those intending to marry or have a civil partnership ceremony in the UK, then remain living in the UK (one partner must be British or have Indefinite Leave to Remain in the UK)
- Settlement – Spouse/Civil Partnership Visa – for those who are already married or have registered as civil partners (one partner must be British or have Indefinite Leave to Remain in the UK)
- Settlement – Unmarried Partner Visa – for those who can demonstrate that they have been living together in a relationship ‘akin to marriage’ for at least 2 years, who now want to live together in the UK (one partner must be British or have Indefinite Leave to Remain in the UK).
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