peace of mind: marriage visa/passport expiry date

[Caroline-CC]

Hello all,

I am British, my fiance is Russian, Canadian resident. We are getting married in the UK in November. We have all the paperwork sorted out. His 'visit for marriage visa' was issued last December and is valid for a year. We reqeusted it be valid for a year so he could come over last Christmas and give notice and then he would be able to come over just a week before the wedding. We now have all the necessary permissions.
My worry is this:
His passport expires in December of this year. The visa is valid till the end of November of this year. This all gives us enough time, I was just wondering if there'd be any trouble at immigration seeing as his passport isn't valid for 3 months after the expiry of the visa. Seeing as the visa has already been issued, I'm hoping there'll be no queries as he enters the UK this November.

Has anyone entered the UK on a visa whose expiry date falls less than 3 months away from the expiry date of the passport? Perhaps I'm worrying unnecessarily...

Thank you!

[Wanderer]

You say he used his Marriage Visit Visa already and didn't get married on it? Is this type of visa a multi-entry?

Visitor for Marriage

To obtain entry clearance as a visitor-for-marriage, you must meet the normal requirements of the UK Immigration Rules for entry as a visitor:

-you are genuinely seeking entry as a visitor for up to six months
-you intend to leave the UK at the end of your visit
-you do not intend to take employment in the UK
-you have enough money to support and accommodate yourself without recourse to public funds or taking employment
-you can meet the cost of a return or onward journey.

In addition you must show that:

-you are free to marry
-you intend to marry during your visit to the UK
-you can be supported without working or having recourse to public funds during your visit
-you intend to depart the UK before the expiry date of your visa.

[Caroline-CC]

yes -- that's right. So he used it once to give notice of the marriage last December and can use it to come back and getting married this November

[vinny]

Border force operational manuals > Travel documents

6.2 Expired or soon to expire travel documents

Where a travel document or return visa has expired or will do so within one month in circumstances not covered by the guidance in paragraph 6.1-6.2 above and paragraph 7 below, the passenger should not normally be granted leave to enter without reference to BCPI. This procedure should be followed even if the passenger holds an activated visa and is returning from a visit abroad. See below regarding work permit holders.

where BCPI is Border Control Policy Implementation.

[Caroline-CC]

Thanks vinny, could you give me a link to that text you quote as I guess I need to see the other points it refers to.

[Caroline-CC]

ignore my last message -- I see the source, thanks

[Caroline-CC]

Hello vinny,

do you think that according to the provision you sourced my fianc'e will be ok, seeing as he plans to arrive on 25th October 2008 and his passport expires on 10th December 2008. i.e. when entering the UK there will be more than 1 month's validity on his passport?
Other details: his visa expires on 6 December 2008, we're getting married on 1 November and leaving the UK on 16 November.

Thanks for any thoughts on this. In any case I will send a fax to the embassy and post any results here in case it's useful in the future for anyone.