Visitors for marriage or civil partnership

This page explains whether you can come to the UK for a marriage or civil partnership.

The ‘visitor for marriage or civil partnership’ category is for nationals of countries outside Europe.

To come to the UK as a visitor for marriage or civil partnership, you must also be able to show that:

• you are 18 or over;
• you intend to visit the UK for no more than 6 months;
• you intend to leave the UK at the end of your visit;
• you intend to get married or register a civil partnership during your visit;
• you have enough money to support and accommodate yourself without working or help from public funds, or you and any dependants will be supported and accommodated by relatives or friends;
• you can meet the cost of the return or onward journey; and
• you are not in transit to a country outside the ‘Common Travel Area’ (Ireland, the UK, the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands).

You must produce evidence, if asked, of the arrangements for your wedding or civil partnership ceremony in the UK.

You must also be able to show that, during your visit, you do not intend to:

• take paid or unpaid employment, produce goods or provide services, including the selling of goods or services directly to members of the public;
• do a course of study;
• carry out the activities of a business visitor, a sports visitor or an entertainer visitor; or
• receive private medical treatment.

You will be able to marry or register a civil partnership in any location licensed for this purpose.

You should provide documents to show that you meet the above requirements.

You must obtain a visa before you can come to the UK as a visitor for marriage or civil partnership.

This page contains information about the documents that you may want to provide to support your application to come to the UK as a visitor for marriage or civil partnership.

You should provide as many relevant documents as you can to show that you qualify for entry to the UK. If you do not provide them, we may refuse your application.

You must decide which documents will best support your application. We advise you to consider providing documents that contain:

• information about you
• information about your finances and employment
• your accommodation and travel details
• information about your visit to the UK

This page explains whether and how you can extend your stay in the UK as a visitor for marriage or civil partnership.

If you come to the UK as a visitor for marriage or civil partnership, you are allowed to remain here for a maximum of 6 months. When you enter the UK, we will stamp the duration of your permission to stay in your passport.

If we give you permission to enter for less than 6 months, and you later want to extend your stay to the maximum of 6 months in total, you must apply for an extension – see below.

If we allow you to extend your stay, you must continue to meet the requirements for visitors for marriage or civil partnership.

When your permission to stay expires, we expect you to return home. You cannot ‘switch’ into a different immigration category.

You must apply using application form FLR(O). You can complete and submit this application form online, or you can print out the form, complete it by hand and submit it by post, by courier or in person.

You should read the FLR(O) guidance notes before you complete the application form. You will need to pay a fee when you apply, and we will not refund your fee if we refuse your application or if you withdraw it.

The application form gives details of the documents you must send with the form. You should send the original documents, not copies. In exceptional circumstances, we may accept a photocopy that is certified as an accurate copy by the body or authority that issued the original, or by a notary. You must include a letter explaining why you are providing a certified copy rather than the original document.

You must be in the UK to apply, and you must apply at least 4 weeks before your permission to stay in the UK ends.

This page explains what you can do if we refuse to allow you to enter the UK as a visitor for marriage or civil partnership.

We will make a decision by carefully checking your application, immigration history and supporting documents, to see whether you meet the Immigration Rules. If we cannot make an immediate decision, we may need to interview you.

If we refuse your application for a visa or to enter the UK, our immigration officer or entry clearance officer will send or give you a notice of refusal. This document will list the reasons for the refusal, and will tell you whether you have the right to appeal. The notice will also give you advice on where to send your appeal.