Getting married or registering a civil partnership abroad: Information based on your answers

Marriage in Cyprus

Before you start

Contact the local authorities in Cyprus to find out about local marriage laws, including what documents you’ll need.

You might be able to form an opposite sex civil partnership. Check the rules with the local authorities.

Prove you’re free to get married

Check with the Cypriot authorities whether you’ll need a ‘no trace letter’. This is a letter issued by the General Register Office to prove you’re not married.

‘No trace letters’ cost £50 for each 10 year period from age 16 or when you entered the UK.

Specify how many years you need the search to cover and quote reference ‘SEARCH 123’. It can take up to 3 weeks for a ‘no trace letter’ to be issued.

General Register Office
Telephone: +44 (0)300 123 1837 - quote ‘SEARCH 123’
Monday to Friday, 8am to 8pm
Saturday, 9am to 4pm
Find out about call charges

If you are in Scotland, you can get a ’to whom it may concern’ letter from the National Records of Scotland.

If you are in Northern Ireland, you can get a ‘certificate of legal capacity to marry’ or a ‘marriage index search’ from nidirect.

If you’re asked for a certificate of no impediment (CNI)

The UK doesn’t issue certificates of no impediment (CNI) for marriages in Commonwealth countries. You’ll need to explain this if you’re asked to provide a CNI to prove you’re allowed to marry.

After you get married

Your marriage will be recognised in the UK if:

you follow the correct process according to the law in Cyprus it
would be allowed under UK law

You do not need to register your marriage in the UK.

If your partner is not a British citizen, they can apply for British citizenship once they’ve lived in the UK for 3 years.