New rules for UK marriages kicking in on 1 Feb 2005

What about those of us who are already here with a work permit, thus able to be here legally anyway...will this apply to us as well?

Yes.  It means you too.  Aside from nationality, you're in the profile they want to stop.  Not you personally, but you generally.

Typically, they haven't given us the forms yet, and there's no briefings scheduled on how advisors should handle the transition.  I suppose they will get around to that when chaos emerges on 1 Feb.  

Peedal is correct, if you have a fiance visa, then you are already approved for marriage. However, if you are getting married in England and Wales, you would have to give notice in person at one of the designated registries. I've emailed the Home Office for a list of designated registries, and my fiance has asked the York register office, where we were planning to give notice and eventually marry, if they are one of the designated offices. I don't know if that info is available yet.

Erm, a Chuch of England Wedding isn't an option for people who aren't Christian.

You would still marry at the registry in  your district, so it doesn't involve disrupting your wedding plans. You just might have to take a trip elsewhere to give notice. I just hope the designated registries are distributed evenly around England and Wales.

The thing is, when we booked our wedding date at the York register office, we were told that we had to make an appointment to go there and give notice at least a month in advance of the date we are actually going to give notice-- the waiting list is that long. If they limit the number of registries where you can give notice, there are going to be awfully long queues.

Peedal is correct, if you have a fiance visa, then you are already approved for marriage. However, if you are getting married in England and Wales, you would have to give notice in person at one of the designated registries. I've emailed the Home Office for a list of designated registries, and my fiance has asked the York register office, where we were planning to give notice and eventually marry, if they are one of the designated offices. I don't know if that info is available yet.

Erm, a Chuch of England Wedding isn't an option for people who aren't Christian.

You would still marry at the registry in  your district, so it doesn't involve disrupting your wedding plans. You just might have to take a trip elsewhere to give notice. I just hope the designated registries are distributed evenly around England and Wales.

The thing is, when we booked our wedding date at the York register office, we were told that we had to make an appointment to go there and give notice at least a month in advance of the date we are actually going to give notice-- the waiting list is that long. If they limit the number of registries where you can give notice, there are going to be awfully long queues.

There's always Vegas 

There's always Vegas 

oooo I whole heartedly recommend Vegas!!!

Because what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas

Because what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas

So true  !

My partner and I are going to the registrars office next Thursday, and have already gotten our wedding date - Jan 29th.  I guess that's what you call "getting it in just under the gun"...

We decided to do the marriage thing now, as it is important to my partner and I that we be a proper couple before the baby comes.  We are not going to tell people straight away, as we are still planning an "official" August wedding in the states, and ultimately we will want that to be our celebrated wedding day.  Getting married now will also simplify things when I apply for a marriage visa back in the states, as I won't have to do the wedding first and then wait two weeks for the visa to arrive.  Maybe some one will be critical of us that we are getting married for the wrong reasons, but I think that soemtimes you have to foresake the romantic side of things and focus on the practical; the wedding itself is not nearly as important as ensuring that our future lives together don't get tangled up in the system.

Interesting sidebar - when we told my parents about our plan (who have been married for 39 years), I was shoked to discover that they did the same thing, albeit for totally different reasons!  My father was called for the draft (Vietnam) in the summer of 1965, so my parents decided to get married then (this was back when they did not take married men), but still have their official wedding in November.  Call them unpartiotic, but had he entered the draft I probably would never had been born.  I just can't believe they never told me!  If my marriage is half as strong as theirs, I would consider myself very fortunate...

My fiance received a reply from the York registry. They said it's not finalized, but we probably would not be able to give notice in York; we would probably have to go to Leeds or Hull. We have already reserved a wedding date at York registry and are planning on having a reception in a hotel right near the York registry.  So we will be giving notice in one district and marrying in another, which goes against the original rules that you have to give notice in the district where you are marrying.  I'm curious how they are going to work this one out.  I don't mind taking a short trip to give notice somewhere else, but I hope we can still get married in York.  The new rules say you can still get married anywhere, but what about the old rule that you have to give notice and get married in the same district?  I guess we'll have to wait for this to get sorted out.  I foresee bureaucratic headaches.
 
 

I didn't give notice and get married in the same district.  You can get married wherever you feel like.

We gave notice in Medway (where we lived) and got married in Gravesham.  This was March 2002.

Ditto, gave notice in Islington, got married in Swansea.

Yup, you have to give notice in the same district where you LIVE not where you're going to marry. We gave notice in High Wycombe (Chiltern Hills office) and married in Bath. It's just up to you to make sure the approved notice paperwork gets from one office to another - we picked ours up and sent it registered mail a few weeks before the wedding.

I picked up our "permission slip" from Medway and took it in person to Gravesham at the same time I met with the registrar who was going to perform our ceremony.

I didn't give notice and get married in the same district.  You can get married wherever you feel like.

We gave notice in Medway (where we lived) and got married in Gravesham.  This was March 2002.

Oh, good. I read that on another post somewhere. Possibly not even this message board. Have to doublecheck. I was misinformed. Sorry  for spreading misinformation.

edit: OK. I doublechecked. You have to give notice in the district where you live, as AnneG said; you can be married elsewhere. They're going to have to change the rules about getting married in the district where you live if the district where you live doesn't accept notice from immigrants.

From 1 February 2005, those under immigration control wishing to give notice to marry will only be able to do so at a specially-designated register office, which they must attend with their partner. They will also have to meet certain strict new eligibility criteria before their notice to marry is accepted.

Well when we got married (1999), we went down to the registry office in Clevedon and they said - and I quote "you can't get married in Clevedon - we don't do Americans". So we had to get married in Weston-super-Mare - who do Americans.

It had to do with the immigration paperwork that has to be sorted out and Clevedon doesn't handle that - they are too small.

So in a way - even 5 years ago - you had to go to a specially designated registry office - or at least we did.

That's very interesting, Jacky. When you went to give notice, did they
ask you if you'd been living in the district at least 7 days? If so, what did you tell them?