Marriages and civil partnerships

Getting married abroad

If you are planning on getting married abroad there are some things you need to do to make sure your marriage or civil partnership is legal.

Please note we cannot assist couples getting married in a Commonwealth country.

The option to file paperwork under the Marriage of British Subjects (Facilities) Acts 1915 and 1916 has now been removed, please contact the relevant High Commissions and the people arranging your ceremony for further advice.

One of your first steps must be to refer to the Getting Married Abroad page on GOV.UK for information on what to do if planning a marriage or civil partnership overseas and follow the process laid out there.

Please use the GOV.UK page only as a guide and seek advice from the country and local area that you will be getting married or forming a civil partnership in.

You can also find a list of Embassies and High Commissions in the UK on the GOV.UK website should you need it.

Certificate of No Impediment

If you need to provide a Certificate of No Impediment (legal document showing that you are free to marry or register a civil partnership) you can normally do this through your local Register Office.

You can apply for a Certificate of No Impediment in Havering if:

  • you are a British subject
  • you live in Havering
  • your proposed spouse or civil partner is a foreign national
  • the marriage or civil partnership ceremony will be in a foreign country
  • you have lived in Havering for seven clear days before the day of your notice appointment

Or

  • you are two resident British subjects (some residence restrictions apply)
  • the marriage or civil partnership ceremony will be in a foreign country

You will need to confirm with the foreign country's authorities before the appointment:

  • how the place that you getting married should be listed eg just the town or city’s name, or the exact building where the ceremony will take place
  • how long before the ceremony the certificate needs to be issued (This varies by country from a few months to a year and it takes 29 days from the notice appointment to issue the certificate)

Getting your document legalised if you need to

The local authority abroad may also request that you get your document legalised.

This means getting the UK government to confirm that a UK public official’s signature, seal or stamp on the document is genuine.

You can do this through the Foreign and Commonwealth Office Legalisation Office.