{
  "url": "https://openlegislation.uk/foreign-marriage-order-1970/article-3",
  "json_url": "https://openlegislation.uk/foreign-marriage-order-1970/article-3.json",
  "legislation": "uksi/1970/1539",
  "legislation_title": "The Foreign Marriage Order 1970",
  "legislation_url": "https://openlegislation.uk/foreign-marriage-order-1970",
  "path": "article/3",
  "kind": "article",
  "number": "3",
  "heading": null,
  "text": "(1) Before a marriage is solemnised in a foreign country under the Foreign Marriage Acts 1892 to 1947, the marriage officer must be satisfied:\n(a) that at least one of the parties is a United Kingdom national; and\n(b) that the authorities of that country will not object to the solemnisation of the marriage; and\n(c) that insufficient facilities exist for the marriage of the parties under the law of that country; and\n(d) that the parties will be regarded as validly married by the law of the part of the United Kingdom which has been jointly elected by the parties.\n(2) If a marriage officer, by reason of anything in this Article, refuses to solemnise or allow to be solemnised in his presence the marriage of any person requiring such marriage to be solemnised, that person shall have the same right to appeal to the Secretary of State as is given by section 5 of the Foreign Marriage Act 1892.",
  "extent": "E+W+S+N.I.",
  "status": null,
  "version": "current",
  "annotations": [
    {
      "type": "F",
      "label": "F1",
      "text": "Order revoked (E.W.S.) (3.6.2014) by The Consular Marriages and Marriages under Foreign Law Order 2014 (S.I. 2014/1110), arts. 1(1), 17"
    },
    {
      "type": "F",
      "label": "F2",
      "text": "Words in art. 3(1)(a) substituted (12.4.1990) by The Foreign Marriage (Amendment) Order 1990 (S.I. 1990/598), arts. 1(1), 2"
    },
    {
      "type": "F",
      "label": "F3",
      "text": "Words in art. 3(1)(d) substituted (1.1.2014) by The Foreign Marriage (Amendment) Order 2013 (S.I. 2013/2875), arts. 1(3), 3"
    },
    {
      "type": "I",
      "label": "I1",
      "text": "Art. 3 in force at 1.1.1971, see art. 1"
    },
    {
      "type": "footnote",
      "label": "f1",
      "text": "1892 c. 23; 1934 c. 13; 1947 c. 33."
    }
  ],
  "outstanding_effects": [],
  "provenance": {
    "source": "legislation.gov.uk",
    "source_url": "https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/1970/1539/article/3",
    "retrieved_at": "2026-10-29T22:54:06.108168+00:00"
  },
  "licence": "Open Government Licence v3.0",
  "licence_url": "https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/",
  "attribution": "Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives."
}