Me and my Fiance plan to get married here, where I've lived since I
was born, in England. We wish to do this as a civil wedding. My fiance
is a resident of Israel and is currently serving in the army as part
of her national service. For her to get married the army allow her to
legally leave the country for 8 days to get married, once after she
must return to them and prove the marriage by showing the
certificate...

My question is this, is it possible for us to get married by a civil
service in England, by the limit time of 8 days?

Thanks in advance

Hi nickomahoney,

Unfortunately, from the information gathered from General Register
Office, it appears that 8 consecutive days will not prove to be enough
time.

Before you can get married you must give notice of marriage and then
wait at least 16 days before the marriage can take place:

?It is a legal requirement to give notice of marriage and, once given,
your notices of marriage are displayed on the notice board at the
register office for a period of fifteen days. A legal document covered
by the Perjury Act 1911, a notice of marriage states the names of the
people to be married, age, marital status, address, occupation,
nationality and the intended venue for the marriage.
After giving notice you must then wait a further sixteen days before
the marriage can take place - for example, if notice is given on 1
July, the ceremony can take place on or after 17 July. Once given,
your notice is valid for 12 months.?
Source: http://www.gro.gov.uk/gro/content/marriages/acivilmarriage/


Before you can give notice, you and your fiancée must have lived in a
registration district for at least seven days:
?You can get married in England and Wales as long as you have both
lived in a registration district for at least seven days immediately
before giving notice of marriage. This applies to all couples,
including those travelling from overseas to marry in England and
Wales?
Source: http://www.gro.gov.uk/gro/content/marriages/acivilmarriage/marriagec2a3.asp


More detailed information on civil marriages is available on the
following official government web site:
General Register Office - Marriages
http://www.gro.gov.uk/gro/content/marriages/

=============================================================================

Search Strategry:
Civil Marriage UK
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&ie=UTF-8&q=civil+marriage+uk

=============================================================================

I wish you all the best in getting married. If you require any
clarification please do not hesitate to ask.

Kind regards,
lotd

Thanks for the feedback, we're are gonna request for an extention
leave from the army to accomdate the laws.... Cheers.

I wonder if you could get married somewhere else?

Possibly Scotland?

Could you not go to Israel?

Or Las Vegas?

There must be a way!

Another thought!

Gretna Green in Scotland used to be a favourite for couples eloping from England.

Well, Gretna Green does look a possibility:

http://www.gretnaweddings.com/

We cant marry in Israel because I'm not Jewish... we can't really
afford las vegas.... Gretna Green sounds promising.... anybody know if
thats possible to do in the 8 day time limit???

Why don't you give them a call?

Hello again,

Based upon information on the Scottish General Register Office web
site it appears that even though you must give notice at least 15 days
before the ceremony, there are no rules stipulating that you or your
fiancee must live in the registration district prior to giving notice.

The following information (which I believe is useful to your
situtation) has been extracted from the information leaflet RM1 (
http://www.gro-scotland.gov.uk/grosweb/grosweb.nsf/pages/file3/$file/rm1text.pdf
)
found on the General Register Office for Scotland web site -
http://www.gro-scotland.gov.uk/grosweb/grosweb.nsf/pages/gromar

"Any two persons, regardless of where they live, may marry in Scotland
provided that:
? both persons are at least 16 years of age on the day of their marriage.
? they are not related to one another in a way which would prevent
their marrying (see the
list at the end of this leaflet).
? they are unmarried (any person who has already been married must
produce documentary
evidence that the previous marriage has been ended by death, divorce or annulment).
? they are not of the same sex.
? they are capable of understanding the nature of a marriage ceremony
and of consenting to
marrying.
? the marriage would be regarded as valid in any foreign country to
which either party
belongs.

IF YOU ARE DOMICILED OUTSIDE THE UNITED KINGDOM
The normal procedure of giving notice to the registrar in Scotland
must be followed but as
previously mentioned an additional requirement is placed upon you.
? If, being, domiciled in a country outside the UK, you are subject to
the marriage laws of
that country you should obtain if practicable, a certificate issued by
the competent
authority (usually the civil authority) to the effect that there is no
impediment to your
proposed marriage. If the certificate is in a language other than
English you should also
produce a certified translation.
? In the absence of such a certificate without good reason being
shown, it may not be
possible for you to marry in Scotland."

The information leaflet contains a lot more information which you may find useful. 

Regards,
lotd

Oh and I forgot to mention, thanks for the 5-stars!
lotd

Ahh, more problems for me and my fiance.

It sounds like she wont be even allow to leave her country afterall!!!

Any ideas what to do now?

I know most marriages in Israel are Jewish but surely they must be a
'civil' option, maybe even possible via Israel's British Consulars?

Please Help!!!

I believe that British citizens can and do get married overseas (using
British facilities) and, I understand, that Captains of ships used to
be able to do the necessary.

Maybe Consular officials can also do likewise.

It's certainly worth investigating.

I assume that, if necessary, you would be prepared to go to Israel?

I hope it all works out and, if it does, What a Movie!

I can see all the women in the audience getting out their hankies as
Hugh Jackman leads Reese Witherspoon up the steps of the Consulate.

Well, you have to be prepared for a bit of artistic licence when
Hollywood is doing the casting.

Not good news ... as far as I can see.

You can certainly register a marriage at Consul Offices overseas but
there's no mention of contracting marriage in a Consul Office.

Sorry!

Maybe someone else will be able to find some better news for you.

See if you qualify for marriage by Special Licence. This may overcome
your problems. You  get a licence from the Archbishop of Canterbury's
Office. This can overcome the residency requirements and arrangements
for banns.
See
http://www.facultyoffice.org.uk/marriage.html
May you both be happy with each other.
Amber