Non-EU citizen married to EU-citizen with 2 nationalities

[pakita88]

Hi, first of all I think it's great to find a forum like this with great people helping others and with good information I couldn't find anywhere else.

I have a bit of a complicated case here and would appreciate some advise..

I am a non-EU citizen (Mexican) currently living in the UK (not working, not studying, just visiting). I last entered the UK in April (had been here before but this way I haven't overstayed since my leave to enter is for another 6 months).

I came to be with my boyfriend, we've been together for more than 3 years and he came to the UK to work a few months ago. He has 2 nationalities: Italian and Mexican.

We want to get married now, both because we love each other very much and because we would like to stay in Europe for a year or so, and that's the only way I could do so legally.

The "easiest" way to get married is to do it at the Mexican Consulate here in London... but I would like to know if this would be any good for us, given that he has 2 nationalities. Could a mexican marriage be used to "proove" that I am married to an EU-national? (I'm no expert in this, pls correct me if I am mistaken.)

I have read a lot recently. Getting married in a UK Register Office as a EU-national and NON EU-national is a bit too complicated, expensive and takes a LONG time.. I would have to get a certificate from the Home Office that costs around £300 and they can easily just say no, etc.
There's no such thing as getting married at the Italian Consulate because they say we should do it at the UK Register Office.

But if we get married "somewhere" else then I could just apply for a residence card with an EEA 2 form.. right? That's my main question. Can we get married at the Mexican Consulate and then what? Send his both passports and translate the marriage certificate? Would they accept this? Or what would we have to do?

Thanks very much.. =) from a confused girl. Dealing with the laws of 3 different countries is a lot!

PS: We're also considering going to Spain now. If anyone knows about how things work there it would also be helpful. I understand that the UK wouldn't recognize my european rights if I had a residence card issued by any other European Country (right?), but that wouldn't be a problem because we'd be staying there.

[yankeegirl]

Hi,

I can't really answer your question about marrying at the Mexican Consulate; I don't know of anyone personally that has married at a consulate. If, for example, you were to actually marry in Mexico, as long as the marriage was legal in Mexico, it would be considered a valid marriage in the UK. So, you would need to find out if the marriage at the Consulate would be considered valid in the UK.

Now, once you are married... if you are still in the UK, you most certainly can apply for the residence card using the EEA2 form. It won't matter that he is a dual citizen, they will only take into account his Italiean citizenship for the application. If you marry abroad, you'll first have to apply for a family permit to re-enter the UK, and then the residence card.

Also, once you're married, you can move to Spain. They have similar guidelines to provide for the spouse of an EU citizen, though the actual residence card may be called something different. You might want to have a look at the Spanish Embassy's website to get more info on that.

Bienvenidos y buena suerte

[pakita88]

If, for example, you were to actually marry in Mexico, as long as the marriage was legal in Mexico, it would be considered a valid marriage in the UK. So, you would need to find out if the marriage at the Consulate would be considered valid in the UK.

Well I guess I'd have to call because I found this on the Home Office's website and it's a bit contradictory... (pdf file)
http://www.ind.homeoffice.gov.uk/siteco ... iew=Binary
Basically there's a parragraph that says:

"Marriage in a foreign embassy in the UK"
Since the Marriage Act of 1994 it WOULD be possible for an embassy to be listed as an approved building for a civil marriage in the UK. Therefore a foreign embassy, high commission, or consulate in the UK COULD register as anapproved building.
However, no embassy in the UK is currently registered as an approved building, accordingly ANY marriage conducted in a foreign embassy in the UK is not valid.
When a marriage has taken place in foreign embassy in the UK the application is to be refused on the basis that we do not accept that the couple are legally married.
Any case involving a marriage that has taken place in a foreign embassy must be referred to a senior caseworker.


How can I contact a senior caseworker?


The marriage certificate thay they give us at the Mexican Consulate is exaclty the same as the one we would receive back in Mexico. I'm not even sure if it's actually even "issued" in the UK, they might just send some papers to Mexico and then just send us back a certificate issed there (aka made in mexico) that's what they do with passports at least. I'll call them and ask about that.


Mayble I'll just try to do more research about Spanish law (their government websites aren't really the best so this is kind of hard!!), but if I get a residence card there, the UK doesn't recognize it .. but well, at least we could be in Spain for a while.

[thsths]

How can I contact a senior caseworker?

That is not quite what it means. Tricky cases are referred to a senior caseworker, to make sure that the refusal is legally correct. This may be an indication that the casework instructions are legally disputed, and a judge may allow an appeal.

But I would not make it so complicated. You should check whether you can get married in Italy. That should be a lot easier, and it would solve your problem.

Tom