Marrying a UK citizen in the UK - Not moving there

Hey everybody,

I've looked around this forum already to find some answers and while there are similar topics around, I can't find anything relating to my exact problem.

See here's the thing:

I'm getting married in several months to my fiance who is a British citizen. I hold a Canadian passport but a british birth certificate, and since all of our family on both sides live in the UK, we naturally want to have the wedding there. However, after the wedding I do not plan to live in the UK and nor does she. We'll both be coming back to live in Canada.

So here's my question; what does it take for a Canadian citizen to marry a UK citizen in the UK but without wanting to go for the full on immigration? Are there any special licences we need or anything? Do I have to go there before hand and sort everything out, or is it just some simple paperwork to fill out?

On the flip side I heard that if your grandparents are British citizens then you could apply for it as well. I already have a British birth certificate, but because neither my mother nor my father had a UK passport at the time, I was unable to get one (father was Canadian, mother lived in the UK but held an Indian passport - don't ask me why she never got one). However both my grandparents held UK passports so there is a chance I could get one as well. Would it be easier for both of us if I just applied for a UK passport and then got the marriage licence on that? Since my Canadian passport is my primary one I am allowed to hold dual citizenship.

So yeah, to summarize for everyone who doesn't want to read that wall of text:

- fiance is from UK
- I am from Canada
- We want to get married in UK
- Then move to Canada
- What licences do I need for this? OR
- Would it be easier if I applied for a UK passport first and then got a regular marriage licence?

Thanks.

This doesn't seem to be that complicated unless I missed something, so here goes with my thoughts for you.

He is British, you have a british birth certificate presummably because you were born in the UK - if that be the case, then get your British passport.

Have you ever appied for an adult British passport before & if so, what if any difficulties did you have?

That done simply go over to the UK & get a civil marriage at the local registry office.

If you then want a religious wedding - do that also.

Now, if you then want to sponsor the new Brit husband to Canada - do so.

I was born in the UK yes. But I was not given the UK passport at the time because neither of my parents held one. Apparently, the same year I was born Maggie Thatcher enacted a law saying one of your parents has to be a UK citizen in order to get a passport. So I've been unable to get one since because of this. However, both of my grandparents had UK passports, so could I get one through them?

Also, I'm the husband in this situation. Not a big deal, just thought I'd clear it up.

see if this helps further

http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/briti ... territory/

ok after reading that I am not a British citizen. So with that settled, what is the best course of action?

this is interesting

before you say no - one more time

Please read the link below as well as look through the flow charts in the annex.

http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/sitec ... iew=Binary

if you could tell us

a) were either one of your parents legally settled as residents in the UK at the time of your birth
b) are either one of your grandparents British citizens or born in the UK (not just passport holders)
c) which kind/type of British passport are they holding.
c) the year you were born in the UK

My last suggestion for you as follows

If you are 100% sure & convinced in your own mind, even after trying to apply now for a British passport that you wont get one, the apply for a fiance(e) visa

http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/visas ... oposed-cp/

One last idea for you is look at the following - open the two links & read very carefully

http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/sitec ... onality/ns

this is interesting

before you say no - one more time

Please read the link below as well as look through the flow charts in the annex.

http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/sitec ... iew=Binary

if you could tell us

a) were either one of your parents legally settled as residents in the UK at the time of your birth
b) are either one of your grandparents British citizens or born in the UK (not just passport holders)
c) which kind/type of British passport are they holding.
c) the year you were born in the UK

ok
a) I don't think my mother was a legally settled resident. However, she did live there her entire life, attended school, got a job, has a Social Insurance Card etc. so I could be wrong. I'm not exactly sure what constitutes "legally settled resident". Though she has not lived there for about 25 years.

b) Both of my grandparents on my mother's side were British citizens. However they have both passed on now, and the link you gave before made no mention of other family members. Just parents.

c) I have no idea what kind of British passport they held. I didn't know there were different types.

d) I was born in February of 1984 in the UK.

According to the chart, if my mother was a legally settled resident then I would've been able to apply before I was 18. Unfortunately, that was about 9 years ago.

duplicate post

One last idea for you is look at the following - open the two links & read very carefully

http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/sitec ... onality/ns

OK so looking through that link I saw a link for "Visitors for marriage or civil partnership" where the requirements meet everything we will do, however it all kind of reads as if neither person is a UK citizen.

Could we still go through this process even though she's already a UK citizen? By all rights we'll both be leaving the country for Canada once the wedding is done, and the length of stay will be no longer than 3 weeks most likely.