Which country should we elope to????

Hello,
I am not sure if I am posting this under the right thread, but here goes! My UK partner and I want to get married, but with all the complications of his family in London, my family in the US, the expense of getting everyone over to one country or the other, we are now just thinking of eloping! The problem is which country we should elope to! I am still living in the US and will be for the next couple of years, so even after we are married, we will still be going back and forth until I can move over to the UK permanently. We have been thinking of Gretna Green in Scotland, where people have eloped for centuries, very romantic, castles and kilts and all that involves, we would be able to have a wonderful, romantic weekend just for us! I am unsure of whether I would have to apply for a fiance visa or a marriage visa and how long it would take. I know he can just fly over here and we can head to Vegas and do it without visa's or anything and it would be legal,then he can head back to the UK with no fuss, no muss (his choice, not mine)! I am a sucker for the romance! Gretna Green does not require residency at all prior to the ceremony, just file the paperwork beforehand and show up, but, as I said, not sure of which visa I would need to apply for. One of the reasons of getting married in the UK is that we were thinking that it would kick start the whole application process to become a legal resident of the UK, this is all very confusing!  Thank you for any advice that you have to give!

You'd need to apply for a marriage visitor's visa if you want to get married in the UK, but have no intention of staying: http://tinyurl.com/3ezqcch

Getting married in the UK alone will not kick start the process of gaining residency. In fact, the only 'loop hole', if you want to call it that, requires living with your partner outside of the UK for a number of years.

Since you are planning on living seperatly from your husband you will need to show intervening devotion when you eventually apply for the spousal visa. There is a great guide to obtaining this visa here: http://londonelegance.com/transpondia/spouse/

This board contains a wealth of information. Give the visa section a look. It will give you a better idea about how you can join your spouse in the UK.

Someone will correct me if I'm wrong but I don't think you can get married straight away when arriving to gretna green. Since it's under the UK's laws, I believe there is a waiting period.

DH and I eloped to Barbados! I always recommend there  . It was quite awesome!

Someone will correct me if I'm wrong but I don't think you can get married straight away when arriving to gretna green. Since it's under the UK's laws, I believe there is a waiting period.

The waiting period is circumvented by giving notice by post: http://tinyurl.com/3nmoqw4.

The ability to marry without physically residing in the district for a number of days beforehand has to do with Scottish law, not British.

Not getting into anything on the Visa side...

There are also options elsewhere.

Cancun is lovely and if you go for a week or so, there are places that will even give you a free wedding.  I know of one set of resorts with resorts in both Cancun and the Dominican Republic which has lovely set ups and quite romantic if you want to stay in the adults only resort. My cousin visits annually for her anniversary and has a vow renewal (for free) each year right on the beach.

Of course there is Vegas or the other Classic romantic place to get married, Niagra Falls.

And then, don't forget that there are also many cruises that go out for a few days.  Cruise weddings are fun, romantic and they provide an instant honeymoon.  Not to mention you are married in the port, not while at sea.  And therefore if you are leaving from, say, Miami, you would be getting married in the state of Florida.  There are fantastic 4-5 night cruises from Miami that hit Key West and another Island before coming back.

I would have personally gotten married in the States if I could.  The process to come here as a fiance was nerve wracking.  I know you wouldn't be coming over on a fiance visa, but it was just so much easier to get married in the states.  Unfortunately it was not an option for us.

Good luck!

I totally understand eloping due to family matters ect...I would have done Vegas!

On the visa side...As of right now if you get married in the states and immediately file for a spousal visa - cool.  Remember that visa only lasts 2 years and since you won't even be living in the UK you may have to apply for an extension of said visa (who knows what the rules will be then) which in essence right now is another visa fee then after 2 years apply for ILR.

You can get married and not file for the spousal visa until you know the time you are moving to the UK to save some cash and one less visa (again who knows what the rules will be by then).  You can visit him back and forth as many have done once married but yes as Caligirl mentioned when you go to apply you will need to show intervening devotion (staying in touch as a married couple) which honestly will be your flights back and forth, screen shot of your skypes to each other and inbox screenshot.

It all depends on what your long term plan is for the visa part ;-)

The eloping is the FUN part - the states might be the easiest just check each place to see what the waiting period is after applying for the license.

good luck!

We went to Vegas, and it was excellent.  It has a reputation for being tacky, but there are actually a lot of really nice venues, and our ceremony was gorgeous.  Affordable, too. 

If you go to a non-English speaking country, remember that you must have your marriage certificate translated by an official translator before you can submit it for a spousal visa. 

Louisiana has extremely generous views on elopements and the waiting times are very short.  No problems with foreigners either.

Wow! Thanks so much to everyone for all the great advice! You are all so helpful, I really do appreciate it, this forum is fantastic! 
We have settled on Gretna Green it just seems to be so simple up there, 1, 2, 3 for a very nice wedding (we are planning the ceremony for December so have a bit of time to check out other places, just in case  ), we will have his parents up from London and fly my mother over and have a simple ceremony with just the parents present and enjoy it without the stress and huge expense of trying to plan a full blown wedding with 2 different countries and all the family and friends and work people and neighbors and the cousin's brother's step father's sister that simply must be invited involved! Thank you for all the info on visa's, I will be looking into all that and am sure will be posting again for more help on that!