What visa do I need to get married in the UK?

The visa needed to get married in the UK depends on whether the couple intend to live here afterwards. Two types of visas let a foreign national marry in the UK, and a third applies to couples who married abroad. A UK marriage registrar cannot accept notice of marriage from someone who does not hold the correct immigration permission, which can cost both the fee and the date. This post provides an overview of the visa routes, notice requirements and after-the-wedding options for getting married in the UK.

On this page

• Is there a single UK marriage visa?
• Can you get married in the UK without a visa?
• Can you get married in the UK on a Standard Visitor visa?
• What are the Marriage Visitor visa requirements?
• Which visa lets you marry in the UK and stay?
• Which visa applies to a civil partnership?
• Can you marry in the UK on a student, work or dependant visa?
• Which visa applies if you married abroad?
• How do you give notice of marriage in England and Wales?
• When is the notice period extended to 70 days?
• Can you stay in the UK after the wedding?
• Frequently asked questions
• How Whytecroft Ford can help

Key overviews

• A Marriage Visitor visa is appropriate for couples who will marry in the UK and then leave. It permits a stay of up to 6 months and cannot be extended or switched.
• A Fiance visa is required by couples who will marry in the UK and then settle here. It runs for 6 months, permits no work, and is followed by an application to remain as a partner.
• A Standard Visitor visa permits neither the ceremony nor the act of giving notice. The correct application must be made from outside the UK, before travel.
• Couples who married abroad apply for a Spouse visa rather than a marriage route. The ceremony has already taken place, so the application concerns living together in the UK.
• Notice of marriage carries immigration rules of its own. Where one party is subject to immigration control, the statutory notice period can extend from 28 days to 70 days.

Is there a single UK marriage visa?

There is no single UK marriage visa. Three separate routes cover marrying in the UK. Which one applies depends on a single question: what does the couple intend to do after the wedding? Couples who marry in the UK and then leave must apply for a Marriage Visitor visa. A couple who marry and remain apply for a Fiance visa, or a Proposed Civil Partner visa where they will register a civil partnership. Couples who married overseas need no marriage route at all, because the ceremony has already happened.

UK visa application fees change each April; current figures can be found on the UK visa fees guide.

To talk through which route fits a particular set of wedding plans, call the Whytecroft Ford immigration team on 0208 757 5751.

Can you get married in the UK without a visa?

British and Irish citizens need no permission to marry in the UK. Nor do people holding settled or pre-settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme. Anyone else who is subject to immigration control needs permission that allows both the ceremony and the notice that precedes it.

Being lawfully in the UK is not the same as being permitted to marry here. Most visitor permissions exclude the wedding itself. A foreign national partner therefore needs a category that permits it, even when already here lawfully.

Can you get married in the UK on a Standard Visitor visa?

No. A Standard Visitor visa does not permit the holder to marry, to register a civil partnership, or to give notice of marriage. All three sit in the prohibited activities at paragraph V 4.4(d) of Appendix V of the Immigration Rules.

A partner admitted on a Standard Visitor Visa cannot give notice at a register office. The notice itself is prohibited, so the correct application must be made from outside the UK, before travel.

What are the Marriage Visitor visa requirements?

Under Appendix V of the Immigration Rules, the applicant must show that:

• the applicant is aged 18 or over on the date of application;
• the applicant intends to give notice of marriage or civil partnership in the UK, or to marry or form a civil partnership in the UK, which is not a sham marriage or civil partnership;
• the applicant is visiting the UK for less than 6 months and will leave at the end of the visit;
• the applicant will not live in the UK for extended periods through frequent or successive visits, or make the UK their main home; and
• the applicant is able to support themselves during the trip, including the cost of the return or onward journey, or has funding from someone else to do so.

The visa permits a stay of up to 6 months. A decision usually follows within 3 weeks of the application.

The Marriage Visitor route is subject to two restrictions once the wedding is over. The holder cannot extend the visa or switch into another category from inside the UK. A couple who decide after the wedding that they want to live here must leave and apply again from abroad. Full requirements and evidence sit on the Marriage Visitor Visa page.

Which visa lets you marry in the UK and stay?

A Fiance visa is the route for marrying in the UK and staying. It grants 6 months, within which the holder must marry or form a civil partnership, then apply to remain as a partner. The route leads into the partner category rather than to settlement directly. Time held on it does not count towards the qualifying period for indefinite leave to remain.

Under Appendix FM of the Immigration Rules, an applicant for entry clearance as a fiance(e) or proposed civil partner must show that:

• the partner is a British citizen, present and settled in the UK, or otherwise holds a qualifying status as a sponsor;
• both the applicant and the partner are aged 18 or over at the date of application;
• the applicant and their partner are not within the prohibited degree of relationship;
• the applicant and their partner have met in person;
• the relationship is genuine and subsisting;
• the applicant is seeking entry to enable the marriage or civil partnership to take place in the United Kingdom;
• neither the applicant nor their partner is married to, or in a civil partnership with, another person at the date of application, and any previous relationship has broken down permanently;
• the applicant and partner intend to live together permanently in the UK;
• the financial requirement is met through specified income of £29,000 per annum, specified savings, or a combination of the two;
• there will be adequate accommodation for the family, without recourse to public funds, which they own or occupy exclusively and which is neither overcrowded nor in contravention of public health regulations; and
• the applicant meets the English language requirement at level A1 of the Common European Framework of Reference, or qualifies for an exemption.

A fixed wedding date therefore needs the application made well in advance. More information on this visa category can be found on the Fiance Visa page.

Applications on this route are evidence-led, and Whytecroft Ford can assess the financial and relationship evidence before anything is submitted. Call our team on 0208 757 5751 or use our contact form to get in touch.

Which visa applies to a civil partnership?

A civil partnership uses the same two routes as a marriage, under different names. The Proposed Civil Partner visa mirrors the Fiance visa category. It grants 6 months of leave, permits no work or study, and is followed by a partner application. The financial, relationship and English language requirements are identical.

The Marriage Visitor visa covers civil partnerships as well as marriages. That route applies where the couple will register the partnership and then leave the UK. Requirements for the settlement-track route can be found on the Proposed Civil Partner Visa page.

Can you marry in the UK on a student, work or dependant visa?

Yes. A person already living in the UK on a student, work or dependant visa needs no separate marriage visa. These immigration categories do not prohibit marriage. The couple proceed straight to giving notice. Permission becomes relevant again after the wedding, when the couple decide whether to remain in the UK.

Two conditions still apply. The couple must meet the applicable notice requirements. Their notice will also be referred to the Home Office where one party is subject to immigration control.

Marrying does not by itself change a person’s immigration status. Continuing to live in the UK after the wedding requires a further application in the partner category. That application is made from inside the UK where the current route permits it, and from abroad where it does not.

Which visa applies if you married abroad?

A couple who married outside the UK apply for a Spouse visa. The wedding has already taken place, so no intention to marry requirement applies. The Spouse visa is permission for the foreign national partner to live in the UK with a British or settled sponsor. It is granted for 2 years and 9 months at a time.

The legal requirements on this route mirror the Fiance visa closely. The couple must show a genuine and subsisting relationship, an intention to live together permanently, and adequate accommodation. The £29,000 per annum financial requirement at Appendix FM applies in the same way.

An applicant must also meet the English language requirement at level A1 on the Common European Framework of Reference. That rises to level A2 at the extension stage. After 5 continuous years on the partner route, an application for indefinite leave to remain becomes possible. The route is set out on the Spouse Visa page.

Couples who are not married and do not intend to marry may instead qualify under the Unmarried Partner Visa route. That route is evidenced by a relationship akin to marriage or civil partnership that has continued for more than 24 months.

How do you give notice of marriage in England and Wales?

Every couple marrying in England and Wales must give notice of marriage at a register office. Notice is a separate legal step from the visa, governed by the Marriage Act 1949, and holding the right visa does not remove it. The conditions are:

• notice must be given at least 29 days before the ceremony;
• each party must have lived in the registration district where they give notice for the past 7 days;
• notice must be given at a register office in a district where at least one of the couple lives;
• both parties must attend and give notice together, unless each of them is a British or Irish citizen or holds settled or pre-settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme; and
• the ceremony must take place within 12 months of notice being given.

The 7-day residence condition has a timing consequence for anyone applying from abroad. Notice cannot be given before arrival, so the earliest notice date is a week after entry. Adding the 29-day waiting period, a couple should expect at least five weeks between landing and the earliest lawful wedding date.

When is the notice period extended to 70 days?

The notice period can be extended from 28 days to 70 days. Part 4 of the Immigration Act 2014 contains the scheme that does this. A registration officer must refer a proposed marriage to the Home Office where one party is not a relevant national. That duty applies unless the person provides specified evidence that they are exempt.

Two conditions govern what happens next. Under section 48 of the 2014 Act, condition A is met where only one of the couple, or neither, is an exempt person. Condition B is met where the Secretary of State has reasonable grounds for suspicion that the marriage is a sham.

Where both conditions are met, the marriage may be investigated and the notice period extended. Section 50(7) requires the compliance question to be decided within that 70-day period.

During an investigation the couple may be asked to provide information, evidence or photographs. They may also be interviewed at home, at Home Office premises, or by telephone or video link. Where the parties do not comply, the notice falls away and they must give notice again to marry.

A person holding a valid Marriage Visitor, Fiance or Proposed Civil Partner visa is an exempt person under the scheme. Applying in the correct category therefore keeps the notice period at the standard 28 days.

Can you stay in the UK after the wedding?

That depends on the type of immigration leave held. A Fiance visa holder can remain. Once married, they apply to remain as a partner. A successful application grants 2 years and 9 months in the partner category. Work becomes permitted at that point, and the clock towards settlement starts.

A Marriage Visitor visa holder has no in-country option. The route cannot be extended and cannot be switched. Couples who change their plans must leave the UK and apply for entry clearance as a partner.

Time on a Fiance visa does not count towards the 5 continuous years required for indefinite leave to remain. The qualifying period runs from the grant of partner leave after the wedding.

What works in practice

The right immigration category becomes clear once the couple know where they intend to live. The timeline differs by route, and so does what has to be paid.

Priya and John live in Mumbai and will marry in London before returning home. They apply for a Marriage Visitor visa, and a decision usually follows within 3 weeks. Adding the 7-day residence condition and the 29-day notice period, the realistic window from application to wedding runs to around two months.

Sofia is Brazilian and her partner James is a British citizen, and they intend to live in Manchester after the wedding. They apply for a Fiance visa, and a decision usually follows within 12 weeks. After the wedding, Sofia’s partner application inside the UK carries a further fee, plus the Immigration Health Surcharge for the leave granted.

Frequently asked questions

Does a Fiance visa holder pay the Immigration Health Surcharge?

Usually not. The surcharge is payable on applications made from outside the UK for more than 6 months. A Fiance visa’s 6-month grant normally falls outside that rule. The surcharge does become payable on the partner application made after the wedding.

Can a couple give notice of marriage before arriving in the UK?

No. Each party must have lived in the registration district for the past 7 days before notice can be given. The process cannot begin from abroad, so a wedding booked for the first fortnight of a visit may need to move.

What happens if the marriage does not take place within the six months?

The permission expires. A Marriage Visitor visa cannot be extended or switched. A Fiance visa holder who has not married cannot apply to remain as a partner, because that application depends on the marriage. Staying in the UK after permission ends may affect a future application.

How Whytecroft Ford can help

Whytecroft Ford’s immigration team advises couples on marriage, fiance and partner applications every day. The team also advises couples carrying a previous refusal on applying afresh in the right category. To discuss your wedding plans and the right route with our team, call 0208 757 5751 or use the contact form.