Overseas Marriage and UK Citizens
Every year thousands of couples from England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland get married in foreign countries and it all goes perfectly smoothly. Clearly it is not too complicated!
If you get married legally in a country which appears on this list, your marriage will be recognised in the United Kingdom.
Validity of Foreign Marriage
Overseas marriages by UK citizens are recognised as legal and valid within the UK provided:
- the marriage is legal under the law of the country where it took place
- the marriage would have been legal if it had taken place in the UK.
Certificate of No Impediment
Almost all countries will require that both parties to the marriage produce a Certificate of No Impediment issued by your district registrar before they will issue a marriage licence or give permission to marry.
If you are living overseas the certificate can be issued by the Embassy or Consulate in the country in which you live.
Regardless of where it is issued, it needs to be sent the Legalisation Office of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office to be legalised. This can take 2-3 weeks, so make sure you organise it in time.
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
(Legalisation Office)
Old Admiralty Building
Whitehall
LondonSW1A 2LG
Tel. 020 7008 1111
Fax. 020 7008 1010
Registering a Foreign Marriage
You not only do not need to register your overseas marriage in the UK, you cannot do so. There is no need to, it is fully recognised for all legal purposes and will be treated no differently from one issued within the UK.