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My Fiancé and I are planning to get married in the UK. I am a UK Citizen but he is a Canadian citizen. I know we need a Marriage visitor visa to get married in England. We do not plan to stay there after the marriage and have all the evidence for that.

However I am a little confused about whether we need the visa to give notice of the marriage and whether we can then leave and come back on the same visa to get married after as we can not stay in the UK because of work between giving notice and getting married. We are planning to give notice in May 2023 and get married in August 2023. We have the venue and the registrar booked for the wedding.

Everywhere seems to have different answers and the gov website isn't much help. If anyone can help that would be fantastic.

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whether we need the visa to give notice of the marriage

Yes. You cannot give notice for a marriage or civil partnership without a Marriage Visitor Visa.

(Under a Standard Visitor Visa) You cannot:

...

marry or register a civil partnership, or give notice of marriage or civil partnership - you’ll need to apply for a Marriage Visitor visa

(While your fiancé does not need a Standard Visitor Visa under normal circumstances, the list of permitted activities is the same for visa-exempt visitors.)

come back on the same visa to get married after

Yes, if the MVV is not single entry and both entries are within the validity of the MVV. As an entry clearance or certificate, which has the force of a leave to enter, the MVV authorizes both giving notice and the actual marriage within its validity on UK soil.

It is unlikely for the visa to be single entry for a non-visa national unless there are other significant concerns, but you may want to provide concrete plans and reasoning to explicit ask for a multiple entry visa.

The visa is normally valid for six months, so you may want to apply for it not too early (but also not too late, unless you are prepared to pay the priority processing fee) and clearly outline your plans.

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  • From your answer it is not clear whether you can or can not come back to marry on the same visa. (The text is in conflict with itself.)
    – Willeke ♦
    Commented Nov 18, 2022 at 19:11
  • Any idea how we get a Multi entrance MVV?
    – Rachel Moena
    Commented Nov 18, 2022 at 22:02

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