The man wrote:I am a citizen of Non EEA, i want to marry a citizen of EEA living here in UK, but i am confused whether to marry here in UK marriage court or do proxy marriage from my home country because i have over stay and at present am living together here with my EEA partner.
Pls. can someone advice me which is preferable having in mind that my legal status is not good at present.
to get married in a register office, the following will happen:
1- you and your bride to be will need to book an appointment to give notice of marriage. In the interview, you both will asked separately ( both of you will be sitting together and will be told to speak separately.groom first then the bride) to confirm some details ( name, address, DOB ...etc of yours and her and intended venue of marriage...etc)
2- the registrar will take your documents and will check and photocopy. He/She will not refuse your notice unless some documents are missing or your answers are all over the place.
3- if registrar suspects that relationship is not genuine, he/she will inform UKBA.
4- notice of marriage will be issued (valid for 12 months by the way) and then you both will decide on the date of ceremony.
5- on the date, UKBA enforcement team will attend and will take both parties separately to ask questions.
6- if they are satisfied that relationship is genuine and marriage is not a sham, they will leave without taking any enforcement action against you.
which way you prefer is up to you. if you have nothing to worry about, then Register Office is your best bet.
you can search the net for " what happens when giving notice of marriage" and you will see real comments from people who went through it.
BTW, how long have you been living together? if more than 2 years, you might be well eligible for residency under unmarried couple