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Immigration Act 2014 – Marriage and Civil Partnership Notice Fee Increase

I am pleased to inform the House of an increase in marriage and civil partnership notice fees to support the implementation of the referral and investigation scheme for proposed marriages and civil partnerships and related provisions under the Immigration Act 2014. I announced the revised fees in Parliament on Monday 19 January 2015.

Under the new scheme all proposed marriages and civil partnerships involving a non-European Economic Area national with limited or no immigration status in the UK, or who does not provide specified evidence that they are exempt from the scheme, will be referred to the Home Office.

This introduces additional costs for registration officers, who will be required to ask couples for additional information and evidence. They will also provide relevant couples with information about the scheme and refer them to the Home Office. The marriage and civil partnership notice fee in England and Wales for couples subject to referral to the Home Office under the scheme will be increased from £35 to £47 per person from 2 March 2015, subject to the commencement of the scheme from that date. This will fund the additional administrative costs for the Designated Register Offices required to perform these functions, in line with the New Burdens Doctrine.