Civil Partnerships

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How to Register a Civil Partnership in Scotland

• By law both parties to a proposed civil partnership registration in Scotland are required to submit civil partnership notice forms to the Registrar of the district in which the civil partnership registration is to take place informing him of their intention to form a civil partnership.
• Forms for giving notice can be obtained from any Registration Office in Argyll and Bute, they can be downloaded from below or from the National Records of Scotland Website at http://www.gro-scotland.gov.uk/

• Notice must be given in the three-month period prior to the date of the civil partnership registration and NOT LATER than 15 days before that date.

Who can register a Civil Partnership in Scotland

Any two persons, regardless of where they live, may register a civil partnership in Scotland provided that:

• both persons, are at least 16 years of age on the day they wish to register their civil partnership.
• They are not related to one another in a way that would prevent them registering their civil partnership.
• Each is unmarried and not already registered as a civil partner (any person who has already been married or registered as a civil partner must produce documentary evidence that the previous marriage or civil partnership registration has ended by death, divorce, annulment or dissolution),
• They are the same sex,
• They are capable of understanding the nature of civil partnership

Where to register a civil partnership

A civil partnership can only be registered by a District or Assistant Registrar who has been authorised by the General Registrar for that purpose. It is important that you should contact the registrar for the registration district in which you want to register your civil partnership.

How and when to give notice

• Each of you must complete and submit a civil partnership notice, along with the required documents and the appropriate fee, to the registrar for the district in which you want to register your civil partnership.
• Timing is important. The notices must be submitted early enough to enable the registrar to satisfy himself that you are free to register a civil partnership. Normally notices should with the registrar about 4 weeks before the civil partnership registration but if either of you has been married or in a Civil partnership before, the notices should be with the registrar 6 weeks beforehand. The minimum period is 15 days before the civil partnership, but if you leave things late you could be faced with the need to postpone your civil partnership registration.
• Although both parties do not need to attend personally to hand in your civil partnership notice, at least one of you may be asked to attend personally before the date of the civil partnership registration. This might be necessary to finalise arrangements with the registrar.

Documents to be produced

When giving or sending the civil partnership notice forms to the register each of you must supply the following:

• Your birth certificate
• 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 absolute or final – a decree nisi is not acceptable.
• If your spouse or civil partner is deceased, the death certificate of your former spouse or civil partner.
• If any of these documents is in a language other than English, a certified translation in English must also be provided.
• Do not delay giving notice simply because you are waiting for any of the documents mentioned above to come to hand. If time is getting short it is better to give notice first and then pass the documents to the registrar when they become available; but they must be made available to the registrar before the civil partnership registration. Provided the documents are in order the civil partnership registration can proceed as arranged.

Are you subject to immigration controls?

If you are a national of a country outside the European Economic Area (EEA), and Switzerland such as, for example, Australia, Canada, New Zealand or the United States etc., and you intend to visit Scotland to get married or to register a civil partnership, then you will need an entry clearance.  The application form is available on the UK Border Agency website.

Other arrangements apply if you intend to come to the UK to get married, or have a civil partnership, and settle here - you should check the UK Visas website for more information about that.

If you have any questions, contact the UK Border Agency Immigration Enquiry Bureau (Tel. No. 0870 606 7766).

Registrars have a statutory duty to report any civil partnership they suspect has been registered for the sole purpose of evading statutory immigration controls.

Making arrangements for the civil partnership registration

It is important to make early arrangements with the registrar

• Make advance arrangements with the registrar
• Arrange for 2 persons, aged 16 or over, to be present at your civil partnership registration to act as witnesses
• Be sure to let the registrar know if you make any change to your plans.

The civil partnership schedule

When the registrar is satisfied there is no legal impediment to the civil partnership registration, they will prepare a Civil Partnership Schedule from the information that you have given. The Schedule is a most important document- no civil partnership can proceed without it.

• The registrar will bring the Civil Partnership Schedule with them
• Both parties must confirm that the particulars set out in the Civil Partnership Schedule are correct. The Schedule must be signed by both parties, the registrar and by the 2 witnesses. The registrar will then enter the relevant information onto the Civil Partnership Register
• A fee for the civil partnership registration and, if applicable, for the attendance of the registrar at an agreed authorised place is payable to the registrar in advance.

Civil Partnership Registration Certificate

After the civil partnership registration has been registered you can obtain copies of the civil partnership registration certificate from the registrar on payment of the appropriate fee.

You can download the relevant documents and guidance below:

• Information leaflet RCP1 – Registering a Civil Partnership in Scotland  (42 kB pdf file)
• Questions to be answered by persons who submit foreign dissolution/annulment documents if previously in a registered civil partnership
• Questions to be answered by parties who submit foreign divorce documents if previously married 

Fees

Fee for lodging notice for  Civil Partnership  currently £60.00
Ceremony Fee £55.00
(Accommodation charges may apply if you are having guests at your Civil Partnership)
Official Extract Fee - £10.00 at time of registration or within the calendar month thereafter £15.00

There will be an additional Registrar’s attendance fee and mileage charge to be paid if you wish your Civil Partnership to take place outwith the registration office, the local Registrar will be happy to advise you accordingly.

Registering a civil partnership abroad

You should contact the Consulate/Embassy for the relevant country for advice on what documentation will be required.
For further information you can contact your local registrar.