At the peak of its popularity, as many as one in four British couples were getting married abroad. Although the numbers have decreased post-Brexit, it is no surprise that I am often asked by clients:
“Do I Have To Register My Overseas Marriage Or Divorce?”
In short, there is no provision to do so under UK legislation.
Registering A Foreign Marriage Or Civil Partnership
In 2013, the Foreign & Commonwealth Office discontinued its service of depositing foreign marriage and civil partnership certificates with the General Register Office in the UK. Depositing the documents did not “recognise” or “validate” the foreign marriage under UK law. It simply protected the documents.
There is no legal requirement to register or deposit your foreign marriage or civil partnership certificate or other documents with the General Register Office, or to have your marriage/civil partnership recorded here in the UK.
The validity in UK law of a marriage or civil partnership contracted in a foreign country is in no way affected by it having been, or not having been, recorded in the UK. An overseas marriage or civil partnership is automatically valid here, provided it is recognised in the country where it takes place.
Registering Overseas Divorce
With regard to overseas divorce, there never has been the facility to register or deposit documents for an overseas divorce in the UK.
For a foreign divorce order to be valid in England, under the Family Law Act 1986, the foreign order must be valid under the law of the country in which it was obtained and at the date at which recognition of the foreign order is sought – either of the parties has to be habitually resident, domiciled or a national of the country in which the foreign order was obtained.
How Nelsons Can Help
If you need advice on any foreign marriage or divorce-related matter or have any other family law-related queries, please contact Nelsons Family Law solicitors on 0800 024 1976 or via our online form. A member of our team will be happy to give you more information about the services that we can provide along with details of our hourly rates and fixed fee services.