Non-EEA PR holder marrying a non-EEA visitor in the UK

[kroketa]

Hello all,

I have the following question:

Can a non-EEA national with a valid Permanent Residence marry his fiancée who has a valid 6-month visitor visa?

The situations is the following:

1) Both are Ukrainians and have been together for 5 years

2) The non-EEA national is in full time employment with the annual income well above the minimum earning threshold.

3) His fiancée has a common visitor visa valid for 6 months.

Question 1: Can they get married in the UK?
Question 2: How problematic this might be?
Question 3: What is the name of the relevant Bill (s) that underpin this process?

They can go back to Ukraine to get married there but this is not the most desirable path because of the civil war sweeping across Ukraine. He is of military age and there is a possibility that he might be forced to join the Ukrainian army or prevented from leaving the country once they are in Ukraine.

Any advice would be really appreciated.

[Casa]

They can marry here.

[kroketa]

They can marry here.

Thanks for your quick reply!

Do you know what the risks might be? and how they can go about it?

[Casa]

The only risk would be if the Registrar believed the marriage to be sham, but as they are both legally in the UK this would be unlikely.
Even those here illegally are able to marry without prior permission from the Home Office. They should contact a designated Registry Office to arrange a date for the wedding.
This link may help; https://www.gov.uk/marriages-civil-part ... s/overview

However, they need to bear in mind that they won't be able to apply for a spouse visa from within the UK after the wedding. That will have to be applied for from her home country. She should ensure that she doesn't overstay her visitor visa.

[kroketa]

The only risk would be if the Registrar believed the marriage to be sham, but as they are both legally in the UK this would be unlikely.
Even those here illegally are able to marry without prior permission from the Home Office. They should contact a designated Registry Office to arrange a date for the wedding.
This link may help; https://www.gov.uk/marriages-civil-part ... s/overview

However, they need to bear in mind that they won't be able to apply for a spouse visa from within the UK after the wedding. That will have to be applied for from her home country. She should ensure that she doesn't overstay her visitor visa.

Many thanks again for your reply!

As you have already noticed, they are both legally in the UK and want to do everything in accordance to the immigration regulations. That's why I am pretty sure that they would follow the immigration rules and she will return to Ukraine to apply for the spouse visa before the other one expires.

Do you what the Registrar would accept as a proof of genuine relationship? Is there a list of things that they required to provide?

[Casa]

They could take photos of them together to the registration, but I believe the Registrar will ask simple questions to find out how well they know each other.