# American in UK marrying Italian in Italy



## Piscean (Apr 12, 2014)

Greetings!

Nice to 'meet' you all! I am an American currently a student living in the UK with a tier 4 visa. My visa will expire in January 2015.

My question is, my Italian boyfriend and I would like to get married in Italy. Am I allowed to travel directly to Italy from the UK after (or before) my visa expires to get married? I would be allowed the 90 day Schengen stay, correct? Or do I have to travel back to the US first? 

Thanks so much!


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## Bevdeforges (Nov 16, 2007)

You can enter Italy on a Schengen visa (i.e. the 90 day stamp in the passport) no problem - and with no relationship to your visa status in the UK. (That's between the UK and you.)

If you're planning on settling in Italy after the wedding, you may need to return to the US to apply for the appropriate spouse visa. (Some EU countries won't issue a long-stay visa within the country. Not sure about Italy.)

But check the website for the US Consulate in Rome - they normally have information about getting married for Americans. Oh, here it is: Getting Married in Italy | United States Diplomatic Mission to Italy
Cheers,
Bev


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## Piscean (Apr 12, 2014)

Thanks so much Bev, that helps a lot! 

Cheers!


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## BBCWatcher (Dec 28, 2012)

Bevdeforges said:


> If you're planning on settling in Italy after the wedding, you may need to return to the US to apply for the appropriate spouse visa. (Some EU countries won't issue a long-stay visa within the country. Not sure about Italy.)


EU countries doing that are acting illegally. _Legal entry_ is the only requirement for legal, co-resident spouses of EU citizens registered as residents. Period. The only exception is for countries that have additional requirements imposed on their own citizens. Italy does not, though the U.K. (as an example) does. That is, if you're a U.K. citizen looking to bring your foreign (non-EU) spouse to the U.K., the U.K. is permitted to impose additional requirements on the spouses of its own citizens (and it does). Once again, Italy does not.

No, you do not need to return to the United States. If you want to settle in Italy with your Italian spouse after you marry in Italy, feel free, and just follow registration formalities in country per normal. No visa is required. Yes, you can enter Italy legally under your Schengen visa waiver privileges as a U.S. citizen.


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## Bevdeforges (Nov 16, 2007)

BBCWatcher said:


> EU countries doing that are acting illegally. _Legal entry_ is the only requirement for legal, co-resident spouses of EU citizens registered as residents. Period. The only exception is for countries that have additional requirements imposed on their own citizens. Italy does not, though the U.K. (as an example) does. That is, if you're a U.K. citizen looking to bring your foreign (non-EU) spouse to the U.K., the U.K. is permitted to impose additional requirements on the spouses of its own citizens (and it does). Once again, Italy does not.
> 
> No, you do not need to return to the United States. If you want to settle in Italy with your Italian spouse after you marry in Italy, feel free, and just follow registration formalities in country per normal. No visa is required. Yes, you can enter Italy legally under your Schengen visa waiver privileges as a U.S. citizen.


I think you'll find that the "simplified" procedure for the spouses of EU nationals applies only to EU nationals bringing a non-EU spouse to a country other than their own. The EU has always avoided getting into immigration procedures for a member country when their own nationals are involved. Thus, if Piscean is going to Italy to marry an Italian, she is subject to whatever rules Italy has concerning a spouse visa. 
Cheers,
Bev


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## BBCWatcher (Dec 28, 2012)

Yes, and Italy does not impose additional burdens on its own citizens than those it can legally impose on other EU citizens with respect to foreign spouse settlement. (Indeed it's a tiny bit easier, actually.) The U.K. does (with U.K. citizens), but that's not the original poster's situation.


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## Piscean (Apr 12, 2014)

Thank you both for this information! 

So, if we went to Italy to be married and then wanted to come back to live and work in the UK, would there be additional stipulations that you may know of?

Thanks again, I really appreciate it!


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## Bevdeforges (Nov 16, 2007)

To go back to the UK, you'd need to get an EEA family permit. Check with the British section here for more on that.
Cheers,
Bev


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## Piscean (Apr 12, 2014)

Thanks Bev!


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## BBCWatcher (Dec 28, 2012)

Whoa, let's be a little more careful here.

To get back into the U.K. you have at least a couple options:

1. You could reenter the U.K. provided your current immigration status is still valid. To resume your studies under your existing student status, for example. Your visit to Italy is thus the equivalent of a vacation -- a very special one. Plenty of foreign students studying in the U.K. on U.K. visas hop over to Italy (or elsewhere in Europe) during their term breaks. Most of them don't get married during their term breaks, but that's perfectly fine.

2. You and your Italian spouse could settle together in the U.K., in which case Bev's advice about an EEA family permit -- the U.K.'s EU right of abode documentation for foreign spouses and other eligible family members of non-U.K. EU citizens -- applies. If your Italian spouse is not settling in the U.K., then Bev's advice doesn't apply.

3. You can settle with your Italian spouse in Italy (or in another EU country). In Italy, for example, you'd apply for a Permesso di Soggiorno (residence permit) on the basis of marriage to an (opposite sex) Italian citizen that you're residing with. (Same sex marriage hasn't come to Italy yet.) Your PdS then permits you entry into the U.K. for short stays. Though that's not too special since your U.S. passport does, too. (Your U.S. passport might even be a bit better than an Italian PdS since U.S. citizens are routinely granted 6 month stay permission in the U.K. Nonetheless, if you need to return to the U.K. at some point after the marriage to spend a relatively short time finishing up your studies, you could get the PdS application done first and arrive in the U.K. with both your U.S. passport and PdS (or the PdS receipt at least), then spend several weeks finishing up your studies if that's all you need to do. In other words, having the PdS in hand doesn't hurt, so if you've got time and won't be away from Italy all that long, you might as well apply. That'll also mean you should have time to get enrolled in the Italian public health system, and that isn't a bad idea either, time permitting.

Anyway, options #1 and #2 are the primary options. Option #3 is really the same as option #1 except that you've handled a bit of the Italian bureaucratic steps before you return to the U.K. for a relatively brief period to finish your studies before finally settling with your new spouse in Italy.

In bocca al lupo, e congratulazioni.


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## Bevdeforges (Nov 16, 2007)

On re-reading the original question, the possibilities of marrying in Italy both before and after the expiration of the OP's student visa were raised. I kind of read past the parens, I guess.

The basic question is: where are you planning on settling after the marriage takes place. That's the country whose laws you'll have to satisfy.
Cheers,
Bev


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## Piscean (Apr 12, 2014)

Thanks so much BBCWatcher! What a wealth of information, I'm so grateful!

I had so many questions, as it's all quite complicated, and you laid out the options beautifully.

Grazie mille!


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