Proposed UK Civil Partnership - Your thoughts please!

[guyuk]

Having spent an age reading through all the great information posted on here, I am now considering completing an application for a Proposed UK Civil Partnership followed by Leave to Remain for my Thai Partner.

I wondered if anyone would be kind enough to just confirm I am on the right path and not barking up the wrong tree.

Our Present Situation;

1. We have known each other for 12 years, I am a UK citizen.

2. We have a joint property holding in Thailand.

3. He has been granted a total of 6 Visit visas - the last being a 2 year Visit visa.

4. I have my own property in the UK and meet the Financial Criteria.

5. He is currently in the UK on a Visit and will return to Thailand in March.

Requirements for Proposed Civil Partnership and Leave to Remain;

1. We have to give Notice of Intention at our local Registry Office for a planned date of July 2015.

2. He will then have to apply for a Proposed UK Civil Partnership Visa when in Thailand.

3. He will need to pass an Approved English Language Test and will also need to provide a TB Certificate.

4. If granted we complete our Civil Partnership ceremony and then apply for 'Leave to Remain' from the UK.

Would appreciate any input.

[Jay Sata]

I can't see you having a problem.

You have the same rights as a couple as everyone else.

The UK does not discriminate on the grounds of gender.

Why a civil partnership and not marry?

Stephen Fry got married near me in Norfolk recently.

Good luck.

Edited January 30, 2015 by Jay Sata

[evadgib]

Marriages and civil partnerships in the UK

HTH

[7by7]

If your partner meets the criteria, then he will get the visa.

A couple of thoughts, though.

1) Whilst he is in the UK he can take his A1 English speaking and listening test, though he can't undertake a course of study for it.

As there are only a handful of approved providers operating in Thailand and they all insist candidates tale reading and writing as well as the required speaking and listening, then he may find it more convenient (and possibly cheaper) to take the test in the UK before he leaves in March.

Check with your local education authority to see if it's possible to take it at a local college who offers tests from the approved list and, of course, that he can sit a test, and get the result, before he leaves the UK in March.

2) It is possible to register your civil partnership whilst he is in the UK as a visitor.

If you do so then he can apply for settlement as your partner instead of proposed civil partner. Thus saving the leave to remain application, and fee for same, necessary after registering your partnership and within 6 months of him entering the UK as a proposed civil partner.

Of course, I appreciate that as he leaves the UK in March, you may not have time to arrange this now.

You may find UK settlement visa basics helpful.

BTW, same sex marriage is now legal in England and Wales and Scotland, but not in Northern Ireland. So, unless you do live in Northern Ireland, civil partnership or marriage; the choice is yours.

[Jay Sata]

Civil partnerships are also legal in Eire.

See http://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/birth_family_relationships/civil_partnerships/legal_prerequisites_for_a_civil_partnership.html

In Northern Ireland it has been possible to enter a civil partnership since 2005.

http://www.nidirect.gov.uk/guidance-on-civil-partnerships-in-northern-ireland

In legal terms marriage and a civil partnership are one and the same.

However the small differences can be viewed here;

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/264844/131210___1625_SSM_and_civil_partnership_diff_table_1_.doc

Edited January 30, 2015 by Jay Sata

[guyuk]

7by7

Thank you so much for the great advice. I really appreciate your input.

I have emailed a couple of local Colleges to check out the possibility of doing the A1 English test. Thanks for that nugget.

Can we really register a Civil Partnership even though he entered the UK on a Visit Visa?

I had assumed, at the very least, that he would require a (Special) Marriage/Civil Partnership Visa and therefore had planned on returning to Thailand, applying for that visa and then proceeding.

Thanks again.

[7by7]

If the main intention of visiting the UK is to marry or enter a civil partnership then a marriage visit visa is what one should apply for. This is a visit visa and so cannot be converted to settlement in the UK. If the intention is to settle after the marriage then a fiance or proposed civil partner settlement visa is required.

However, there is no reason why one cannot marry or enter a civil partnership if in the UK as a general visitor; people's plans do change. again, though, the visit visa cannot be converted to settlement in the UK, and your boyfriend will have to return home and apply for settlement there.

It used to be that a general visitor who wished to marry or register a civil partnership in the UK had to obtain a certificate of approval from the Home Office and have at least three months left on their visa; unless marrying in the Church of England.

This was ruled unlawful by the House of Lords in 2008 and the requirement abolished in 2011. Certificates of Approval abolished.

See also Marriages and civil partnerships in the UK; 4. If you're a foreign national for the procedure in England and Wales and links to same for Scotland and Northern Ireland.

Note that although that says your boyfriend needs a marriage visit visa; as explained, he doesn't and can marry or register a civil partnership if in the UK as a general visitor

Best wishes.

Edited February 2, 2015 by 7by7

[guyuk]

If anyone could please advise me further.

I am now in the process of gathering the documents required for the UK proposed civil partner visa. I would really appreciate any guidance on whether there is a requirement to include a 'Certificate of No Impediment' for my Thai partner.

If so, does it have to be certified and translated?

[7by7]

There is no such requirement for a UK visa nor for marriage or registering a civil partnership in the UK.

However, once your partner is in the UK you will have to attend the register office together to give notice of the marriage or civil partnership and at that time you will each have to confirm that you are free to marry or form a civil partnership.