How & When To Give Notice Of A Civil Partnership Registration
By law, each party must each complete a Form CP10| (Civil Partnership Notice) along with the required documents (see below) and the appropriate fee|.
The Civil Partnership Notice Forms must be submitted to the registrar for the district in which the Civil Partnership is to be registered.
From 01 January 2004 the six Registration Offices within Falkirk Council amalgamated to form one single district. Therefore, if your Civil Partnership Registration is taking place within the Falkirk Council area you may now submit your Civil Partnership Notice Forms to any of their Registration Offices|.
Notice must be submitted no more than three months and not less than 15 clear days before the date of the Civil Partnership Registration. Ideally, you should return your notices about 6 weeks prior to the registration, if you leave it until the last 16 days you could be faced with the need to postpone your Civil Partnership Registration.
Full details can be found in the leaflet RCP1| (Registering a Civil Partnership in Scotland).
In addition, the registrar will require to see the following documents:
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Birth certificates of the persons giving notice.
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If you have been married or in a registered Civil Partnership before and the marriage or Civil Partnership has been dissolved or annulled, a decree of divorce or dissolution or annulment or a certified copy decree. A decree of divorce or dissolution granted outwith Scotland must be made absolute or final – a decree nisi is not acceptable.
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The death certificate of a former spouse or Civil Partner, if applicable.
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If you and the person you are entering into the Civil Partnership are related in any of the ways mentioned in paragraph 2(b) of the RCP1 Form, death certificates are required.
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If you were born in the UK prior to 1st January 1983 you must also produce evidence that you are a British Citizen. The easiest way to do this is to produce a full British passport. If you do not have a passport, evidence of the nationality of one of your parents will be required.
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If you were born outside the UK but have acquired British Citizenship, you must produce your naturalisation/registration certificate or a full British passport.
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If any of these documents is in a language other than English, a certified translation in English must also be provided.
The original certified certificates must be produced, photocopies are not acceptable.
Persons subject to immigration controls
You will not be able to give notice of your intention to register a civil partnership unless:
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you have an entry clearance granted expressly for the purpose of registering a civil partnership in the UK
Entry clearance is the granting of permission to enter the UK by an Entry Clearance Officer in the British Embassy/High Commission in the person's country. It will usually be shown as a visa in the person's passport or travel document.
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Or you have the written permission of the Home Secretary to register a civil partnership in the UK – this will take the form of a certificate of approval, which can be obtained, from the Immigration and Nationality Department.
This will usually be issued where the person has been granted leave to enter or remain for over six months from the date on which they entered the UK and that leave is still in force. The certificate of approval will have to be surrendered to the registrar when notice is given.
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Or you fall within a class of persons specified by the Home Secretary.
Further information on immigration controls can be found here|.
Arrangements for the Civil Partnership Registration
It is important to make early arrangements for the date and time of your Civil Partnership Registration.
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To make a booking with Falkirk Council contact the Ceremonies Co-ordinator.
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You will also have to arrange for two persons aged 16 years of age or over to act as witnesses to your Civil Partnership Registration.
A Civil Partnership Registration may take place in a registration office| or an approved venue|.