Getting Married In England - UK Citizen & Canadian Citizen

Member since 29 September 2018

drileyMember29 September 2018 14:46:43

Hi everyone,

My Fiance and I in the the process of leaving Qatar to move to Canada and we have preliminary booked our wedding in London for next May. I am a British Citizen and my Fiance is a Canadian Citizen. My Fiance will leave Qatar in November for Canada whilst I will be leaving Qatar to head back to England for 4-6 weeks in April before heading to Canada as a married couple.

Upon looking to book our Registrar we came across the issue of serving our wedding notice. My understanding is that we both have to be present in England for 10 consecutive days before serving our notice and ideally this has to be done at least 2 months before the wedding. That isn't that big of an issue as we are planning to spend some time at my family home in December/January.

Also it states that we both have to be present in the country for 7 days before the wedding and 15 days after in order to obtain our wedding certificate. I have a number of questions regarding this process;

Firstly, is there any kind of service where we can serve our notice whilst out of the country? I would like to think there is something in place for expats but I can't see to find anything.

Upon serving our notice we are asked to provide proof of our address. My Fiance will be in Canada come December/January so that shouldn't be an issue but I will be on the verge of leaving Qatar, where addresses aren't used on any kind of documentation. As I'll be getting married in May when I'm back, at my English home address, will I be better off providing my UK or Qatar address when serving our notice? I still have Bank statements go to my family home and hold a valid UK driving licence.

We are getting married in the London Borough Of Tower Hamlets but my family address is in the London Borough Of Redbridge, do I apply in Redbridge?

Does my Fiance have to apply for a Marriage Visa? As a Canadian she is allowed into the country VISA free/VISA on arrival but does getting married change this?

Thanks in advance to anyone who might be able to help us, it seems like a fair old bit of work to get through!

David

Cynic UK/Netherlands Expert

Member since 15 September 2015

CynicUK/Netherlands Expert30 September 2018 09:45:30

8059

Hi and welcome to the Forum.

Jeez - talk about making it complicated.

I honestly don't know where to start, but your main question seems to centre around the address you provide for your marriage vows and does your wife need a marriage visa.

First off, your wife's marital status has no bearing on her Canadian citizenship; unless you're going to hang around London waiting for the Canadian embassy to re-issue her passport in her maiden name, make sure you book your flights to Canada after the wedding in her maiden name. My wife and I made that mistake and it caused an almighty fuss at the airport (and 30 years later still does when we forget); many countries still issue passports in your wife's maiden name, despite her change of status and I forget the Canadian system since I left Alberta many years ago.

With regards to your address, speak to the Registrar's office who will be issuing your marriage certificate; you can't be the first person "passing through" to get married and it is them that will have the problem (if their is one).

With regards to your wife; I don't think she needs a marriage visa, but I can't find anything in writing to confirm this. The marriage visa is an immigration control, not a marriage permit; I think the registrar can confirm whether he checks for a visa and if the Canadian passport is an acceptable document, so ask them while you are enquiring about your address.

Hope this helps.

Cynic
Expat Team