Getting married at a British embassy, high commission or consulate
How to arrange a consular marriage, including giving notice, what to bring to the ceremony and which countries offer the service.
You can get married at a British embassy, high commission or consulate abroad if:
- local laws do not allow you and your partner to get married
- local authorities have given us permission and we follow their requirements
This is sometimes called a consular marriage.
In some countries you can register a consular civil partnership.
How to arrange a consular marriage
- Make sure you understand all the eligibility requirements of getting married in your chosen country.
- Contact the embassy, high commission or consulate to book an appointment to give notice and set a provisional date for your ceremony.
- Attend your appointment to give notice of your marriage.
- Wait 14 days while your notice is displayed.
- If no one objects, attend your ceremony within 3 months of your first appointment.
Giving notice of your marriage
You’ll need to sign a legal statement at the embassy, high commission or consulate to say you intend to get married. This is known as ‘giving notice’.
You must be living in the country you’re going to get married in for 7 full days before you can give notice.
It costs £50 to give notice and you’ll need to pay with a debit or credit card. If both you and your partner are British nationals, you’ll both need to give notice and pay £50 each.
You need to bring:
- your passport
- your partner’s passport or national identity card
- proof that you’ve been in the country for 7 days (for example, a bank statement, flight or train ticket or passport stamp)
- payment (check with the embassy, high commission or consulate which payment methods they accept)
If your partner is not British, they’ll need to bring documentation from their embassy or government that they’re free to marry.
If you or your partner have been married or in a civil partnership before, you’ll need one of the following:
- your original decree absolute or final order (this could be a printed PDF and covering email from the court) – or the equivalent in your country
- your annulment certificate
- your civil partnership dissolution
- your partner’s death certificate and marriage certificate
Your consular marriage will be registered under the law of England and Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland. You’ll need to say at this appointment which UK country you want to register under.
The embassy, high commission or consulate will display your notice publicly for 14 days. If nobody makes an objection, you can agree a date for your consular marriage within 3 months of your first appointment.
What you’ll need to do for the ceremony
Your marriage ceremony will be at the embassy, high commission or consulate on the date you agreed.
You and your partner will sign a declaration that you’re free to marry.
You’ll need to bring 2 witnesses. You, your partner and your 2 witnesses will sign the marriage register. Your witnesses must:
- bring photo ID
- be 16 or over
- know you or your partner
- know English well enough to follow the ceremony and understand the documents they have to sign
It costs £150 to register your marriage. You’ll need to pay £50 for a marriage certificate.
You can pay when you give notice or when your marriage ceremony takes place. You should check with the embassy, high commission or consulate which payment methods they accept.
Your consular marriage will be officially recognised in the same way as ceremonies that take place in the UK.
Countries that offer consular marriage
Albania
At the British Embassy Tirana you can have a same-sex marriage.
Bolivia
At the British Embassy La Paz you can have a same-sex marriage.
Cambodia
At the British Embassy Phnom Penh you can have a same-sex marriage with a national of any country other than Cambodia.
China
At the British Embassy Beijing you can have a same-sex marriage with a national of any country or an opposite-sex marriage with a national of any country other than China.
Dominican Republic
At the British Embassy Santo Domingo you can have a same-sex marriage.
Hungary
At the British Embassy Budapest you can have a same-sex marriage with a British national.
Japan
At the British Embassy Tokyo you can have a same-sex marriage.
Jordan
At the British Embassy Amman you can have an opposite-sex marriage if you and your partner both live in Jordan and cannot get married at a church or the Sharia Court.
Kosovo
At the British Embassy Pristina you can have a same-sex marriage with a national of any country other than Kosovo.
Laos
At the British Embassy Vientiane you can have an opposite-sex marriage with a British national.
Latvia
At the British Embassy Riga you can have a same-sex marriage with a national of any country other than Latvia.
Lithuania
At the British Embassy Vilnius you can have a same-sex marriage with a British national.
Mongolia
At the British Embassy Ulaanbaatar you can have a same-sex marriage with a British national.
Montenegro
At the British Embassy Podgorica you can have a same-sex marriage with a British national.
Oman
At the British Embassy Muscat you may be able to have an opposite-sex marriage if you both live in Oman and can prove that there are no other suitable facilities to get married.
Panama
At the British Embassy Panama City you can have a same-sex marriage.
Peru
At the British Embassy Lima you can have a same-sex marriage.
Philippines
At the British Embassy Manila you can have a same-sex marriage.
Qatar
At the British Embassy Doha you may be able to have an opposite-sex marriage if you both live in Qatar and can prove that there are no other suitable facilities to get married.
Russia
At the British Embassy Moscow you can have a same-sex marriage with a British national.
Saudi Arabia
At the British Embassy Riyadh you can have an opposite-sex marriage if you live in Saudi Arabia and neither you or your partner is Muslim.
Serbia
At the British Embassy Belgrade you can have a same-sex marriage.
South Korea
At the British Embassy Seoul you can have a same-sex marriage with a national of any country other than South Korea.
Turkey
At the British Consulate General Istanbul you can have a same-sex marriage with a British national.
United Arab Emirates
At the British Embassy Dubai you can have an opposite-sex marriage if you can prove that there are no other suitable facilities to get married in the United Arab Emirates.
Vietnam
At the British Embassy Hanoi you can have a same-sex marriage with a national of any country other than Vietnam.
Updates to this page
Last updated 10 September 2024 + show all updates
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Added Hungary to countries you can have a consular marriage in.
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Removed countries from page because laws have changed. Updated text to reflect policy in some countries.
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Added countries where you can have a consular marriage.
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Added Bolivia and Saudia Arabia to the list of countries you can get married in.
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Added information about which countries offer consular marriage and how to contact them.
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First published.