If I married outside England, is the marriage valid and recognised in England?
People are often concerned that, if they married outside England, their marriage may not be recognised here.
There have been cases where both parties believe that they are married (as they went through what they thought was a marriage ceremony) but when they try to divorce they discover that, in the eyes of the law in England, they have never been married.
Marriages that took place outside England are, by and large, valid under English law provided that:
- both people had the capacity to marry under the law of their domicile; and
- the marriage ceremony that the parties undertook complies with the law of the country in which they married.