My Wife Wants To Get Married In The Uk

[mazimus]

My Thai wife and i got married in Thailand in January 2008.We applied for a 6 month tourist visa in January this year and with the help of the members of this forum,the application was successful and sailed through 1st time.(thanks again all).Now she wants to get married again but this time in Scotland,has anyone done this before,what will she need etc etc.Im sure one of you out there has done this before any help would be appreciated.I cant believe she likes it here in Scotland but i sometimes think she gets a wee bit fed up,anyone in the Glasgow area that has a Thai g/f wife i would appreciate it if you could pm me and maybe swap phone numbers etc and give my wee Mrs someone Thai to talk to in Scotland.

[CharlieB]

My Thai wife and i got married in Thailand in January 2008.We applied for a 6 month tourist visa in January this year and with the help of the members of this forum,the application was successful and sailed through 1st time.(thanks again all).Now she wants to get married again but this time in Scotland,has anyone done this before,what will she need etc etc.Im sure one of you out there has done this before any help would be appreciated.I cant believe she likes it here in Scotland but i sometimes think she gets a wee bit fed up,anyone in the Glasgow area that has a Thai g/f wife i would appreciate it if you could pm me and maybe swap phone numbers etc and give my wee Mrs someone Thai to talk to in Scotland.

She can't marry on a visit visa. She would need to show her passport & visa to the registrar and they won't allow her to continue without a fiancee visa.

[ThaiVisaExpress]

Was it an amphur wedding as in officially recognised under UK law ?

You can marry on a Tourist visa subject to getting a COA however you still have to return to apply for settlement in the UK.

[7by7]

If you registered your marriage at an Ampur then as this is a legal marriage in Thailand it is also a legal marriage in the UK; so you cannot marry again in the UK unless you first divorce each other!

However, if your Thai marriage was only the ceremonial wedding and not registered at an Ampur then this is not a legal marriage under Thai law so is also not a legal marriage in the UK.

As TVE says, if you are not already legally married then in order to marry in the UK whilst here with an ordinary visit visa you would first need to obtain a certificate of approval from the Home Office.

Some registry offices will conduct a ceremony where you re-affirm your vows but don't sign the register, which is therefore not a legal marriage; or you could have a church blessing, also not a legal marriage.

As said, if it is your intention to apply for settlement in the UK, she will have to return to Thailand to do so.

[PattayaParent]

She can't marry on a visit visa. She would need to show her passport & visa to the registrar and they won't allow her to continue without a fiancee visa.

My mate married his Thai GF when she was on a tourist visa.

Don't know what documents were required though.

As the OP already has a marriage certificate recognised by the UK then would it be possible to circumvent the red tape of an application and use that?

[7by7]

Use it for what?

They can't marry again in the UK if they are already legally married in Thailand.

If they are not already legally married then they cannot marry in the UK if she is here with a tourist visa unless they first get a CoA.

She cannot convert her tourist visa to settlement in the UK.

That is the law.

Your mate must either have married before the law changed, obtained a marriage visit visa for his girlfriend before she travelled or got a CoA once she was in the UK.

Edited May 6, 2009 by 7by7

[mrbojangles]

As 7by7 says. If legally married in Thailand, it is also recognised in the uk and so you can't get married again (unless you divorce).

However, i know some who have had a type of blessing and the big wedding party etc. Is it just this she wants?

[spongeman]

I got married to me Thai Mrs in Park Circus registry office in Glasgow. Very nice. We had to produce certificates from our respective countries that we were free to marry. We had a traditional cermony in Thailand before that but did not register it. That was a few years back , She had a normal tourist visa for the Uk but I believe now that you require a marriage visit visa ?

Ps is the "Garage" still in operation in Glasgow?

Edited May 6, 2009 by spongeman

[ThaiVisaExpress]

Not without a COA you cannot marry on a Tourist visa simple.

[CharlieB]

Was it an amphur wedding as in officially recognised under UK law ?

You can marry on a Tourist visa subject to getting a COA however you still have to return to apply for settlement in the UK.

Isn't a COA almost as complicated as applying for a fiance visa, i.e. he will need to fill out a form, produce evidence of their relationship, their freedom to marry, where they will live after the marriage etc. There is also the point that if his marriage is legal, can he marry legally again, even if it is to the same person?

[ThaiVisaExpress]

Yes by the time you have done this you may as well apply in Thailand for a fiancee visa application.

However if you go down the COA road she must in fact return to Thailand to apply for settlement anyway.

IMO waste of time totally.

[CharlieB]

Yes by the time you have done this you may as well apply in Thailand for a fiancee visa application.

However if you go down the COA road she must in fact return to Thailand to apply for settlement anyway.

IMO waste of time totally.

Yeah, best pointing this out in case he goes down the same road as another recent poster.

[spongeman]

Yes by the time you have done this you may as well apply in Thailand for a fiancee visa application.

However if you go down the COA road she must in fact return to Thailand to apply for settlement anyway.

IMO waste of time totally.

Yeah, best pointing this out in case he goes down the same road as another recent poster.

Yeah thats a sad story, no matter the mistake that was made.

I hope he gets her back to Thailand to apply from there and it works out for them.

[PattayaParent]

Use it for what?

They can't marry again in the UK if they are already legally married in Thailand.

If they are not already legally married then they cannot marry in the UK if she is here with a tourist visa unless they first get a CoA.

She cannot convert her tourist visa to settlement in the UK.

That is the law.

Your mate must either have married before the law changed, obtained a marriage visit visa for his girlfriend before she travelled or got a CoA once she was in the UK.

They didn't want to settle in UK, only decided to get married there when she was there on a visit.

[7by7]

So, are you able to say whether they:-

did this before the law changed, i.e when did they marry?

had a marriage visit visa?

obtained a CoA?

[ThaiVisaExpress]

Without a COA they never married simple .

[a10ams]

Ps is the "Garage" still in operation in Glasgow?

Yes it is. But I remember it in the 70's as Shuffles.

[Mali1964]

My Thai wife and i got married in Thailand in January 2008.We applied for a 6 month tourist visa in January this year and with the help of the members of this forum,the application was successful and sailed through 1st time.(thanks again all).Now she wants to get married again but this time in Scotland,has anyone done this before,what will she need etc etc.Im sure one of you out there has done this before any help would be appreciated.I cant believe she likes it here in Scotland but i sometimes think she gets a wee bit fed up,anyone in the Glasgow area that has a Thai g/f wife i would appreciate it if you could pm me and maybe swap phone numbers etc and give my wee Mrs someone Thai to talk to in Scotland.

Visit a few of your local Thai restaurants for a night out she may meet a few new friends there i met a couple at my local restaurant & got invited to the Manchester Songran party last year its worth a shot.

[spongeman]

Ps is the "Garage" still in operation in Glasgow?

Yes it is. But I remember it in the 70's as Shuffles.

Thanks for that. Ended up there and staggered out much later as well...........

[PattayaParent]

So, are you able to say whether they:-

did this before the law changed, i.e when did they marry?

2002 I think

had a marriage visit visa?

no, had a tourist visit visa

obtained a CoA?

no idea

[Richard W]

Three general points:

1) There is (or was) provision under Scots Law for a couple to marry if it is uncertain as to whether they are already married to one another.

2) In England, there are no visa requirements for a legal, church wedding in the established church. Unfortunately, I don't know what the position is under Scots Law.

3) Knowing lack of a required marriage visa does not invalidate a civil wedding in England - though one of the parties will have committed an offence.

[7by7]

PattayaParent, I'm not sure when the law changed, but I'm fairly sure it was after 2002 (2005 rings a bell, but I may be wrong). It is no longer possible to do what your friends did and marry in the UK whilst here with a tourist visa; unless one first obtains a CoA.

Although, as Richard W says, if one marries in the established church, i.e. the Church of England, this does not apply for some strange reason. However, I'm not sure how many many C of E clergy would agree to marry a non Christian.

This discussion is moot, though, as the OP and his wife are already legally married.

[Brigante7]

Three general points:

1) There is (or was) provision under Scots Law for a couple to marry if it is uncertain as to whether they are already married to one another.

2) In England, there are no visa requirements for a legal, church wedding in the established church. Unfortunately, I don't know what the position is under Scots Law.

3) Knowing lack of a required marriage visa does not invalidate a civil wedding in England - though one of the parties will have committed an offence.

Not sure about 1 & 3 but to get married in Scotland my wife had to show her fiance visa.

Brigante7.

[Stacey]

Three general points:

1) There is (or was) provision under Scots Law for a couple to marry if it is uncertain as to whether they are already married to one another.

2) In England, there are no visa requirements for a legal, church wedding in the established church. Unfortunately, I don't know what the position is under Scots Law.

3) Knowing lack of a required marriage visa does not invalidate a civil wedding in England - though one of the parties will have committed an offence.

Not sure about 1 & 3 but to get married in Scotland my wife had to show her fiance visa.

Brigante7.

I am also trying to investigate a UK wedding and converting my husband's visa. We have had a non legal ceremony in Thailand and he is on his third visit to the UK.

I have been accepted to university and I would like him to stay with me for the next two years whilst I complete my course.

We are only two weeks in to the Tourist Visa and I have just completed the CoA, but I didnt see anywhere about the need to return to Thailand. How long would this be for?

He has a return flight so is due to go back in November... But I obviously can't go with him as I will be back at university. We have plenty of evidence of our relationship and obviously his previous visits should help us hopefully as we returned together each time. Has anyone any experience of this? I would hope he wouldn't need to be there for too long - would it be the same process as applying for a fiance visa? Would he potentially be back in Thailand for three months?

[7by7]

Even though he has obtained a CoA and married you, he cannot convert a visit visa into settlement while in the UK. He must return to Thailand and apply for settlement as your husband.

See:-

Maintenance and accommodation

Chapter 13 - Settlement : Fiance(e)s, proposed civil partners, spouses, civil partners, unmarried and same-sex partners

Requirement for Tuberculosis testing for applicants visiting the UK for longer than 6 months

How long it will take for his application to be processed depends mainly upon the demand at the time. At present this seems to be high and people are waiting a long time. What the situation will be in November is impossible to say.