# How to meet 7 day residency requirement for marriage of US and French Citizen



## ummkhalil22 (Jan 22, 2011)

I am trying to figure out how it is possible for my mate and I to meet thet 7 residency requirement for marriage in the UK. I am still living in America, and he is in France. The plan was to meet there to get married, and he will continue to live there after the marriage and I will come back in 2 months. Are there anyways around this? What kind of documentation is needed as proof of residency in the area you plan to marry in? How is it possible for me to get that proof? Do both of our names need to be on the documentation? I hope someone can help because I am looking to have my baby there and be with my mate.


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## Joppa (Sep 7, 2009)

ummkhalil22 said:


> I am trying to figure out how it is possible for my mate and I to meet thet 7 residency requirement for marriage in the UK. I am still living in America, and he is in France. The plan was to meet there to get married, and he will continue to live there after the marriage and I will come back in 2 months. Are there anyways around this? What kind of documentation is needed as proof of residency in the area you plan to marry in? How is it possible for me to get that proof? Do both of our names need to be on the documentation? I hope someone can help because I am looking to have my baby there and be with my mate.


You need to produce your passport, and as you are returning to US, you need to obtain a marriage visitor visa at a UK consulate before coming over. Without it you won't be able to give notice. Clear 7 days must have elapsed since arriving in UK, so if you arrived on a Monday, you cannot give notice until the following Tuesday. You don't need any document to prove where you have been staying. For a civil marriage involving a non-EEA citizen, notice can only be given at one of designated register offices in England and Wales, not necessarily the nearest. List of designated offices: http://www.direct.gov.uk/prod_consu.../@dg/@en/documents/digitalasset/dg_176374.pdf. You can give notice at any Scottish register office if marrying in Scotland. Your French fiancé just needs his passport or ID card as proof of name, date of birth etc. If either of you have been divorced or widowed, you need docummentary evidence for it, such as decree absolute or death certificate. 
See Marriage and civil partnership: your legal obligations : Directgov - Government, citizens and rights


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## ummkhalil22 (Jan 22, 2011)

Thanks so much for the reply. I have been searching for this infomation since this morning, and I keep seeing the same thing about the 7 day resident requirement..It just threw me for a loop. So if you dont mind me asking, why wouldn't I have to have to residency requirement..? Does the marriage visitor visa take the place of that? Just curious...thanks again


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## Joppa (Sep 7, 2009)

ummkhalil22 said:


> Thanks so much for the reply. I have been searching for this infomation since this morning, and I keep seeing the same thing about the 7 day resident requirement..It just threw me for a loop. So if you dont mind me asking, why wouldn't I have to have to residency requirement..? Does the marriage visitor visa take the place of that? Just curious...thanks again


Residency requirement of 7 days applies to everyone, including British citizens living in UK. But you don't need 'residency' as such - just staying in a hotel for 7 days will do. All they check, apart from your visa, is the entry stamp - if that is clear 7 days ago, all is well. Your marriage visitor visa is something different. It gives you permission to be married in UK while on a visit.


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## ummkhalil22 (Jan 22, 2011)

Can you help me one more time..plzzz. After me and my mate get married, as I said earlier, he will stay in UK and I will come back to the US until my children finish the semester in May. I was told after doing the civil marriage he can apply for eea family permit, which would probably take 6 months. So my question is this. While I am waiting on the permit, can I go to the UK and have my baby? Which is due in July. Would I be returning to the UK on my on a visitor's visa for this since I wil be married awaiting a response for eea permit? or under another condition...finally, about the coverage, can I NHS coverage for the birth or do I need to find another way to cover the baby?


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## beegee (Jan 31, 2011)

ummkhalil22 said:


> I am trying to figure out how it is possible for my mate and I to meet thet 7 residency requirement for marriage in the UK.


I've just been through this exact process, we're both British citizens and passport holders but now ex-pat in the US. Here are some key points:

For England (and Wales?):
- You need a full seven days and seven nights, the day you arrive does not count.
- You will need a letter of proof of the residency from someone or some other mechanism. We both stayed at our respective parents homes and had them write a letter affirming we'd been present from date x to date y, a hotel bill should provide the same proof.
- Residency just allows you to file for the permit, there's a further 15 days required before you receive the license and permission to marry, in the absolute best case it will take 22 days from arrival before you can actually get married.
- You don't have to be resident during the 15 day waiting period, but depending on what questions come up, if any, you may have to attend the office in person again.

For Scotland (based on similar research):
- Turn up the day before, register, get married next day, pretty much a two day process.

We were shocked how hard it was to get married in England considering we're both UK nationals, many conversations with local consulate and registry offices (plural) confirmed similar surprise but sadly confirmed the rules. The concept of a vacation wedding is completely lost on England.

B.


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