So people who are organised and plan ahead have to pay £585 more than people who just decide to get married while on visitor visas? Sorry, Britwife, but I'm not buying it. First, how would you prove that you didn't intend to get married before you arrived on a visitor visa? Second, where is this in the rules, and why haven't we heard anything about it before? It would have been very useful information for many people, myself included.
This particular couple applied for a CoA one month before her visa expired and a major rule change came into effect, and they expected to have it approved quickly enough for them to give two weeks' notice to the registrar? By the notoriously slow Home Office? If they were in such a hurry, why didn't they fly back to Canada, get married there, and apply for the spouse visa with an expediter? That would have all but guaranteed that their application was processed before the rule change.
Unless different rules apply to Canadians than to Americans?