Getting married in the UK

[brett]

Hi all,

My lady is dreaming of a white wedding in a little English church. This is a surprise to me, but I said I would investigate. Does anyone know if this is possible? Would we have visa problems with getting my lady and her parents over to the UK? Would we need to get married in China first? I think I would prefer to get married in China, despite the thought of my parents going out there giving me the fear. My brother is getting married in 2012 though, so I might suggest to my lady that do a quick wedding in China then we hijack his guest list and do a 2 for 1 wedding in England in 2012.

Alternatively maybe we should get married in neutral territory like Hong Kong ha ha ha :icon_cheesygrin:!

[RobertBfrom aust]

Brett , sooner or later it may change but at the present your Miss Wu is required to have her red book ceremony in her birth city , wedding dinner as such can be anywhere so your thoughts of Marry in China and double hitch in England would be the way to go , do not know the wait time for English visa , so others can give an idea on this , but probably 9 - 12 months , regards Ying and Robert .

[JimB]

It is not mandatory to get married in China first, but Robert is correct, she must be married in her home city If married in China.. It is the law.

Glad your trip was successful.  Now comes the hard part.  Being apart and maintaining the relationship long distance.

[brett]

Thanks guys. The long distance relationship will be hard but we are both geeks and will be QQ'ing furiously. I kind of expected that we would have to get married in China first. Well maybe we can get married in a church there. There were a few old churches in her home city (although bizarrely one was being converted into a bank - as if Yichang needs more banks lol).

[Paul Todd]

Hi Brett,

All the answers are here;- www.bia.homeoffice.gov.uk/
and here:- http://ukinchina.fco.gov.uk


Best of luck
Ming Zhi, Paul

[Willy The Londoner]

Brett

As I see it obtaining a visa for your lady to come to Britain to marry will be the hardest part.  The UK Border Force is very aware that many Chinese have tried to use this method to get into the UK and then 'disappear'.   Even if you married her in China it could take some time before the Embassy in Beijing issued her a visa to enter UK as your spouse without recourse to public funds.   If there are more than a couple of years difference in your ages then that will also go against you and make them check you out more.  

If she entered on a Visitors visa she would need to be here for three weeks before you could marry here plus as soon as you applied for the marriage the local registrar is obliged to inform the UK Border Force as to when and where it will take place.  

Unfortunately like Africans, people from China are suspected of trying to enter the UK by any means possible.

My own experience in Africa was that after marriage it took many months before the 'wife' could get a visa to go to the UK and we had to provide a great deal of information to them going back nearly a year and we were both called for interview at the Embassy.   This interview had to be carried out the same day to avoid collusion.

I do not want to dampen things down but unless others have actual experience then I think that you will need to marry in China then go through the proceedure then, when she is allowed here, have a Blessing in an English Church and renew your vows there.

Unlike the USA the UK Border Force is not keen in letting fiances in before marriage and even after marriage you will need to prove your relationship is genuine.  You will  find info on the Border Force website that suggest that you come to UK to marry if you intend to leave the UK within 6 months.  This way is not recommended if she is going to stay in the UK and the authorites do not look on this kindly for persons from certain countries.

Having done it once that was one of the  reasons I decided to come here and stay because if we wanted to visit the UK in the future it willmake applying for an visitors visa easier.

Willy

[Willy The Londoner]

Just picked up this from my local council website.   A person without right of residence in the UK needs Home Office approval before being allowed to marry in the UK.  0870 606 7766 is the number to call.

Willy