Do I marry US citizen boyfriend in the UK or not?

[SunFlower0517]

I am an EU national, been living in the UK for almost 6 years now.

I have a relationship with a US citizen. At the moment he lives there. We intend to live together here in the UK. I don't want to live in the USA since I like my life here and I am settled here and he doesn't like it there either. The way things are for him to be able to stay with me in the UK for an indefinite period of time we have to marry. He wouldn't be able to get a visa for a job here or as a student and so on as he is not a skilled worker or studying anything. We want to have a family together, have kids etc, so yes, it's very much a genuine relationship.

My doubt is whether we need to marry outside the UK (.e. my home country) and then travel together here or if we can marry directly in the UK, which I would prefer. If we married here in the UK, would it look suspicious? He can stay up to 90 days as far as I know without a visa, so it looks like we'd have to marry within that time frame. Doing back and forth from the USA isn't really an option as money is very tight, so if he comes here we don't want a situation where he has to go back there and then travel back here. Thanks in advance.

[Casa]

You say he 'lives here'. Does he currently have a valid visa?
You can marry in the UK, but as foreign nationals you will have to give notice at a Home Office designated Registry Office. The Registrar is then legally bound to notify the HO who can then extend the notification period from 28 to 70 days in order to interview you both before the wedding can take place, should they choose to do so.

[SunFlower0517]

You say he 'lives here'. Does he currently have a valid visa?
You can marry in the UK, but as foreign nationals you will have to give notice at a Home Office designated Registry Office. The Registrar is then legally bound to notify the HO who can then extend the notification period from 28 to 70 days in order to interview you both before the wedding can take place, should they choose to do so.

Thanks for your reply. Actually I said he lives there. No, he is in the USA, not here yet. I had read about this interview. On what basis do they decide it would be a genuine or non genuine marriage?

[Casa]

Sorry, I misread it. If the HO interview you both, they will take a dim view if he's entered as a visitor with the intention to marry. They will also ask about the history of the relationship to determine whether it's genuine. It might be easier to marry in your home country and apply for an EEA Family Permit from there, but I'll leave others with more experience on the EEA route to advise.

[SunFlower0517]

Sorry, I misread it. If the HO interview you both, they will take a dim view if he's entered as a visitor with the intention to marry. They will also ask about the history of the relationship to determine whether it's genuine. It might be easier to marry in your home country and apply for an EEA Family Permit from there, but I'll leave others with more experience on the EEA route to advise.

Thanks.
Yes, I had a feeling that would be advice.

I thought what mattered was that it is a genuine relationship

[Richard W]

It might be easier to marry in your home country and apply for an EEA Family Permit from there, but I'll leave others with more experience on the EEA route to advise.

The new husband shouldn't need a family permit if the newly-weds enter the UK together - he's a US citizen, not a visa national.