Visit to marry visa UK

[lynndy38 64]

Hi guys,

First of all appologies for posting this in the wrong topic.

I had no idea where to put it and since after this I'll be applying for the CR1 for me to go and join my husband in the States I thought I'd at least start here.

My fiance and I want to marry ASAP in Scotland. But we have no idea what we require to do regarding the visit to marry visa he will need.The UK border agency website is hit and miss and says theres noone to call to ask exactly what to do!!!!

Does anyone know what documents he'd need?

Would it be passport,passport photo's,evidence of his work?a few payslips etc?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[uktousa 2]

we wanted to do same but then changed plan. I rang my local registrar office and asked about procedure. I can't remember exactly but i was told that we can marry while he is in uk on tourist visa. but he has to be present in country for some days(20 days if i rememberproperly) and to prove this you can get a letter from you neighbour or any friend that he has been in this country for that many days( they do not arrival stamp on passport)and rest of the procedure was same as for any other UK residents. and after that if u decide to stay in UK then your fiance has to go back and apply for spouse visa. but yes u guys can marry while on tourist visa.

[*Snowdrop* 603]

Hi guys,

First of all appologies for posting this in the wrong topic.

I had no idea where to put it and since after this I'll be applying for the CR1 for me to go and join my husband in the States I thought I'd at least start here.

My fiance and I want to marry ASAP in Scotland. But we have no idea what we require to do regarding the visit to marry visa he will need.The UK border agency website is hit and miss and says theres noone to call to ask exactly what to do!!!!

Does anyone know what documents he'd need?

Would it be passport,passport photo's,evidence of his work?a few payslips etc?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

My husband and I did it this way. Although we got married in England not Scotland but the first part is the same.

Step One: Apply for marriage visit visa

To get married in the UK your fiance will need to apply for this visa. The steps are laid out here:

http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/visas-immigration/visiting/marriage-cp/

To come to the UK as a visitor for marriage or civil partnership, you must also be able to show that:

you are 18 or over;

you intend to visit the UK for no more than 6 months;

you intend to leave the UK at the end of your visit;

you intend to get married or register a civil partnership during your visit;

you have enough money to support and accommodate yourself without working or help from public funds, or you and any dependants will be supported and accommodated by relatives or friends;

you can meet the cost of the return or onward journey; and

you are not in transit to a country outside the 'Common Travel Area' (Ireland, the UK, the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands).

You must produce evidence, if asked, of the arrangements for your wedding or civil partnership ceremony in the UK.

You must also be able to show that, during your visit, you do not intend to:

take paid or unpaid employment, produce goods or provide services, including the selling of goods or services directly to members of the public;

do a course of study;

carry out the activities of a business visitor, a sports visitor or an entertainer visitor; or

receive private medical treatment.

You can read more about the supporting documents you might include in your visa application here: http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/sitecontent/documents/out-of-country/visitors.pdf

We sent things like:

A letter from me explaining that we were getting married, he was returning to the US after the wedding and we would be applying for me to emigrate over there, that I would cover any financial costs that were needed for the trip if necessary and my fiance would not be working etc.

A copy of my recent bank statement showing I had a regular income and the funds to cover the trip

A letter from my husband's employer in the US saying he was granted leave to come to the UK for the wedding and was expected back on a certain date.

A copy of our wedding invitation / a copy of the booking for the venue

Of course we also sent the main ones like his passport, a passport photo, copy of his divorce doc etc.

It took 5 days for the visa to come back - very quick compared to the US system.

Step 2:

Contact the marrying authority in Scotland for their rules on what needs to be done. If you are getting married in a church or a civil ceremony if can be different.

I can't help with that step as the rules for England were different - on the plus side I actually think the Scottish rules are easier. In England the US partner had to be resident for 7 days to 'give notice' for the civil ceremony which meant an extra trip for my husband.

[Holly2234 66]

Lynne's answer was the one i was going to suggest.

If you are still unsure, find an immigration lawyer who offers a free consultation and they will tell you exactly what to do. Make sure you write down what questions you want to ask and keep a pen and paper handy. They wont give too much detail away unless you ask during these consultations. They want the custom! But it is perfectly do-able by yourselves.

[Ryan H 3,790]

Moved from IR-1/CR-1 Process & Procedures to UK regional forum; topic is regarding marriage procedures in the UK.

[lynndy38 64]

My fiancee got his visit to marry (VAF1F) visa sent to the british consulate and they got it friday 18 may 2012. We had already booked with the registrar and he already got his flight settled for July 20-29 with a wedding date on the 25th.

How long after they receive the application do they take to get his approval and get his visa and passport back to him? We have about 8 weeks until he has to leave and he is only staying those ten days and then leaving. Does anyone think we will have any trouble getting the approval back in time?

He is self employed and we showed that the finances for the trip were already spent and showed his business incorporation papers and tax returns so they will know he is going to leave after the wedding. We really could use some good news here as this has been difficult every step of the way.

Cheers!

[Holly2234 66]

Thats great news i hope he gets it in time! Im sure it will be quite fast. My husbands UK visa (different one though) took about 4 or 5 weeks to come back and that was outside of the immigration rules. So probably within a month he will have it all sorted Good luck!

[david'sgirl 134]

My fiancee got his visit to marry (VAF1F) visa sent to the british consulate and they got it friday 18 may 2012. We had already booked with the registrar and he already got his flight settled for July 20-29 with a wedding date on the 25th.

How long after they receive the application do they take to get his approval and get his visa and passport back to him? We have about 8 weeks until he has to leave and he is only staying those ten days and then leaving. Does anyone think we will have any trouble getting the approval back in time?

He is self employed and we showed that the finances for the trip were already spent and showed his business incorporation papers and tax returns so they will know he is going to leave after the wedding. We really could use some good news here as this has been difficult every step of the way.

Cheers!

It took less than 3 weeks for me to get mine back. It was here in plenty of time. David took care of the arrangements with the registrar via mail and email.It was really quick easy.

[*Snowdrop* 603]

Ours came back very quickly - under a week I think.

At the time it made me very cross comparing the wait between the UK and the US visa!

[snapdragon 9]

Hi, sorry for the late reply, I just saw this! I live in Scotland (for the next few weeks) and we got married here. I wrote a blog post here about the process of applying for the visit visa and registering the marriage. Hope it helps!

[kateellen82 0]

Hi everyone,

This is a very useful thread...I wondered if I could ask a related question.

My fiancé and I live in US (he is American and I am a British grad student). We are hoping to marry in the UK in April 2013. We are in the process of applying for the VAF1F for him because we planned to submit our Notice to Marry in the UK in January 2013 (while we're visiting for xmas). Does anyone know if once my fiancé has been granted 'Marriage Visitor' status he can make multiple trips / come and go the UK? Ie. Can we give Notice in January, return to the States for February / March and then go back to the UK to marry in late March to marry in April? Can we do the Notice and the Wedding in two separate trips, or do they have to be done during one trip to the UK?

I hope this makes sense...any info would be welcome!