What is a certificate of approval?
Repayment of fees paid for certificates of approval
If you applied for a certificate of approval for marriage or civil partnership between 2005 and 2009, you may be eligible for the repayment of the fee you paid.
This page contains advice on certificates of approval for marriage (COA), following both the judgement of the High Court on 10 April 2006 and the Court of Appeal on 23 May 2007. If you plan to get married in the United Kingdom and think you may require a COA, you should read the Important information regarding Certificate of Approval for marriage or civil partnership application (PDF 162K opens in a new window).
If you plan to get married or register your civil partnership in the United Kingdom and you are subject to immigration control while in the United Kingdom, you may need to apply for a certificate of approval.
The rules on certificate of approval do not apply to you if you:
- are a British citizen; or
- are a national of a country in the European Economic Area (EEA); or
- are the family member of an EEA national and have right of residence in the United Kingdom but are not yourself an EEA national; or
- have in your passport a certificate of entitlement giving you right of abode in the United Kingdom; or
- are not subject to immigration control.
If you are coming to the United Kingdom from overseas to get married or register your civil partnership, before you can give a registrar notice to marry or register your civil partnership you must have in your passport:
- fiancé(e) entry clearance; or
- proposed civil partner entry clearance; or
- marriage visitor entry clearance; or
- civil partnership visitor entry clearance.
If you are already in the United Kingdom, before giving a registrar notice to marry or register your civil partnership you will need to:
- have settled status in the United Kingdom; or
- obtain a certificate of approval.
Whether you are overseas or already in the United Kingdom, you will need to give a registrar at a designated register office notice to marry or register your civil partnership.
If you think you may need to apply for a certificate of approval, you should read the Important information regarding Certificate of Approval for marriage or civil partnership applications (PDF 162K opens in new window) before making your application.
If you are applying for a certificate of approval in the United Kingdom, you will need to complete the application form for a certificate. You can download the form and the related guidance from the right side of this page.
It is not possible to apply for a certificate of approval if you are outside the United Kingdom.
Our service standards set out how quickly we aim to decide applications for certificates of approval. The service standard is that we will decide 65 per cent of applications within four weeks.
With effect from 9 April 2009, the UK Border Agency has suspended the application fee for certificates of approval. This means that you do not need to pay a fee if you are applying for a certificate of approval.
The fee has been suspended in order to comply with the House of Lords judgment in the case of Baiai v the Secretary of State for the Home Department.
Application forms
Certificate of approval for marriage or civil partnership in the United Kingdom
- Form COA PDF 50KB opens in a new window
- Guide COA PDF 50KB opens in a new window
- Photo guidance (new)PDF 325KB opens in a new window
Terms explained
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British citizen
British citizens have the right to live in the United Kingdom permanently and are free to leave and re-enter the country at any time. British citizenship is given to people who have a close connection with the United Kingdom, which includes the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man. A close connection may be by birth, adoption, descent, marriage, registration or naturalisation.
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European Economic Area
Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Irish Republic, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, United Kingdom. Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway are not members of the European Union (EU) but citizens of these countries have the same rights to enter, live in and work in the United Kingdom as EU citizens.
Policy & Law
Internet links
Contact
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Visa services
Visa Customer Services, Visa Services Directorate, International Group, UK Border Agency, c/o Lunar House, 40 Wellesley Road, Croydon, CR9 2BY If you are outside the United Kingdom, you should contact your nearest British diplomatic post.