Home Office Certificate of Approval
If you are in the UK and are subject to UK Immigration control and are not on a visa that is based on your relationship, then before you can marry in the UK, you must firstly obtain a Home Office "Certificate of Approval". This is a document issued by the Border Agency (Home Office).
A Home Office Certificate of Approval is needed if you want to have a religious or civil ceremony elsewhere other than an Anglican Church, as this does not require a Home Office Certificate of Approval
Duration of a Home Office Certificate of Approval
The Home Office Certificate of Approval is valid for three months from the date it is issued. Holders of the Certificate must give notice to marry or register their civil partnership within this time.
Home Office Certificate of Approval Eligibility
To apply for a Home Office Certificate of Approval, you should ideally have a UK visa that has been granted to you for longer than 6 months, and at the time that we submit your application for your Certificate of Approval, you should ideally have 3 months or longer left on your current permission to stay (i.e. your visa).
Relationships
For a Home Office Certificate of Approval to be issued the following requirements need to be fulfilled:
- Plan to live together.
- Have met each other
- Be able to support themselves entirely without recourse to public funds
Age
Candidates must be at least 21 years of age or over before a Home Office Certificate of Approval can be granted. The partner with settled status in Britain must be 21 years of age or over.
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