Advice: Getting Married Abroad - Worth Getting Married in the UK too??

[swiss tony]

I am a British citizen who has been living in Central America for the last 8 years. My girlfriend and I have decided to get married in June. She is Honduran and we have decided to get married out here in Honduras as this is where our life is etc.

We then had the idea that we should get married in the UK too but have discovered that to be able to do so we would have to be in the country for at least 3 weeks- you have to be in the country for 7 days before you have the right to "give notice" and then have to wait a minimum of 14 days for the license to be granted.

As we will already be having time off either side of our wedding out here, 3 weeks in the UK is just not doable because of work commitments.

My question is the following: are there any downsides to just getting married abroad?? We can get the local UK embassy to authenticate the marriage certificate from Honduras and the website reassures you that "marriages in Honduras are recognised by the UK government" but I am still anxious to know if we would be unwittingly missing out on any rights by not getting married in the UK. If we decided to go back to the UK to live in the future, would not having got married in the UK in any way affect our rights??

Thanks in advance for anyone willing to share their knowledge on the topic.

 

[Phoenix Arrow]

I wouldn't worry about it too much. Find out more about it if and when you move back to the UK.

 

[W.C.]

Although in the same position I can't give you any practical advice sorry! I just wanted to post in a thread by someone called Swiss Tony about marrying a foreigner. Couldn't you have done it in his voice?

oh and congratulations

 

[KZNSeagull]

The main ones I would check up on is the right of your future wife to live in the UK should you ever wish to return there (ie permanent residency or becoming a citizen) and the citizenry of any children you may have (ie do they automatically become British citizens, if you want them to be British of course!).

The only other thing I can think of is what happens in case of a marital breakdown. Do you have to have a pre-nup in Honduras and if so are they legally binding in the UK, for example. Not that it is particularly pleasant to think of that sort of thing now, but I would imagine it is one area that may differ.

I don't think you would miss out on any rights if the UK government recognises marriages in Honduras. I cannot believe that there would be any need to get married again in the UK.

 

[Stumpy Tim]

I married my wife in the UK when we were living in Australia, and we had to be in the country for just under three weeks for a church wedding. I'm not sure it's the same if it's in a registry office. However, my step-mum, despite being completely not religious, had a good relationship with the local vicar and that allowed us to shave a few days off the process... we also got baptised the week before the wedding too.

If anyone in your family knows the local vicar, I would recommend talking to him.

 

[JONNY TWICKERS]

I believe that if you have a child born outside of UK, then even if she /he has a British passport, if they marry a non- Brit in another country then their own child cannot get a British passport.

You may not care!!

 

[Lady Gull]

I have no idea but congratulations!!!!

 

[Lord Bracknell]

Marriage and civil partnerships

Overseas marriages and civil partnerships : Directgov - Government, citizens and rights

 

[Stumpy Tim]

I believe that if you have a child born outside of UK, then even if she /he has a British passport, if they marry a non- Brit in another country then their own child cannot get a British passport.

You may not care!!

My kids were born in Australia, and have both passports. If either of them have a child outside the UK their kids won't be British - so you're right

 

[SULLY COULDNT SHOOT]

We were married in Turkey although I was living in the UK at the time and she came over straight after the wedding. We went through the banns and registration process in the UK (which can be done in the embassy in Honduras) and got an international marriage certificate when we got married. Youll just register with the embassy and you will be fine. My wife and ı encountered no problems in the three years we were together in the UK.

 

[SULLY COULDNT SHOOT]

My kids were born in Australia, and have both passports. If either of them have a child outside the UK their kids won't be British - so you're right

True... my daughters will be in that position

 

[nwgull]

My understanding (from having once tried this marriage lark) is that UK law recognises legal marriages made in any country. That being the case, you would effectively be committing bigamy if you had another registered marriage ceremony in the UK. I think.

 

[JONNY TWICKERS]

I think if your kids marry a fellow Brit (but not a non Brit) in Australia then then their own kids can get a Brit passport without having to be born in Uk.

 

[Stumpy Tim]

I think if your kids marry a fellow Brit (but not a non Brit) in Australia then then their own kids can get a Brit passport without having to be born in Uk.

That's true too. And then their kids have the same problem. So my kids are going to have marry a Brit basically, or have kids in the UK

 

[Herr Tubthumper]

My kids were born in Australia, and have both passports. If either of them have a child outside the UK their kids won't be British - so you're right

Not a problem though, as we let ANYONE in these days.

 

[Herr Tubthumper]

And congratulations.

 

[sam86]

It's reasons like this why I bloody love NSC. He has posted 98 times in almost 8 years, and yet he comes to NSC to post about marrying a Honduran in Central America and what his rights would be in the UK. Brilliant.

 

[bhaexpress]

It's probably nice for your family but I still had to pay for divorce from my American.

 

[swiss tony]

It's reasons like this why I bloody love NSC. He has posted 98 times in almost 8 years, and yet he comes to NSC to post about marrying a Honduran in Central America and what his rights would be in the UK. Brilliant.

I know! I should add that my 98 posts are not an indicator of my interest in NSC. I am a daily lurker. It's a fantastic way of getting a snapshot about what is going on and what people are talking about in the UK.

 

[swiss tony]

Not a problem though, as we let ANYONE in these days.

Cheers!!