Marriage (Scotland) Act 1977 in England

No person domiciled in Scotland may marry before he attains the age of 16.

A marriage solemnised in Scotland between persons either of whom is under the age of 16 shall be void.

This section applies to a marriage notice submitted to a district registrar in accordance with section 3 if one, or each, of the parties to the proposed marriage is not a relevant national.

But this section does not apply if the parties are in a qualifying civil partnership (within the meaning of section 5(6)) with each other.

For each party to the proposed marriage who is not a relevant national, the notice shall be accompanied by whichever of statements A, B or C is applicable to that person.

Statement A is a statement that the person has the appropriate immigration status.

Statement B is a statement that the person holds a relevant visa in respect of the proposed marriage.

Statement C is a statement that the person neither—

If the notice is accompanied by the statement referred to in the first column of an entry in this table, the notice shall also be accompanied by the information and photographs referred to in the second column of that entry (insofar as that entry is applicable to the parties to the proposed marriage)—

If the notice is accompanied by more than one of statements A, B and C, subsection (7) shall be complied with in relation to each of those statements; but where the notice is accompanied by statements B and C, subsection (7) does not require the notice to be accompanied by more than one specified photograph of each party.

If the notice is accompanied by statement C for a party to the proposed marriage—

In this section and section 3B—

In this section “specified photograph” means a photograph that is in accordance with regulations made by the Secretary of State under section 54(2) of, and paragraph 3 of Schedule 5 to, the 2014 Act (and for this purpose “photograph” includes other kinds of images).

If a marriage notice to which section 3A(1) applies (“the notice”) is accompanied by statement A (referred to in section 3A(4)) and accordingly is also accompanied by details of the particular immigration status which a party to the proposed marriage has, the notice shall also be accompanied by specified evidence of that status.

If the notice is accompanied by statement B (referred to in section 3A(5)), the notice shall also be accompanied by specified evidence of the holding of the relevant visa by the party to the proposed marriage.

If, in accordance with section 3A(7), the notice is accompanied by the usual address of a party to the proposed marriage, the notice shall also be accompanied by specified evidence that it is that party’s usual address.

If the notice is accompanied by statement D (referred to in section 3A(9)), the notice may also be accompanied by evidence of the person’s immigration position in the United Kingdom.

If subsection (1) or (2) applies to the notice, and the notice is not accompanied by the specified evidence required by that subsection, the notice shall be accompanied by—

In this section—

• “relevant entry in section 3A(7)” means the second column of the last entry in the table in section 3A(7);

• “specified evidence” means evidence that is in accordance with regulations made by the Secretary of State under section 54(2) of, and paragraph 3 of Schedule 5 to, the 2014 Act.

information provided in accordance with section 3A, and

information and evidence provided in accordance with section 3B,

A district registrar may reject—

if (in particular) the district registrar has reasonable grounds for suspecting that the information, photograph or evidence is false.

If the district registrar rejects any information, photograph or evidence, the district registrar may proceed under this Act as if the rejected information, photograph or evidence had not been provided.

This section does not limit the powers of district registrars to reject anything provided under any other enactment.

In this section “enactment” includes an enactment comprised in, or an instrument made under, an Act of the Scottish Parliament.

Where any of the requirements mentioned in subsection (2) is applicable but not complied with by either or both parties to the proposed marriage, the parties are to be taken not to have submitted a marriage notice under section 3.

The requirements are—

On every occasion when a marriage notice is submitted under section 3, a district registrar shall decide whether or not each of the parties to the proposed marriage is an exempt person.

But this section does not apply if the parties are in a qualifying civil partnership (within the meaning of section 5(6)) with each other.

In making a decision under subsection (1) about a party to a proposed marriage, a district registrar may rely on any advice given in relation to that decision by the Secretary of State.

In a case where—

the district registrar shall decide that that party to the proposed marriage is not an exempt person.

If the district registrar decides that either of the parties is not an exempt person, or that both of the parties are not exempt persons, the district registrar shall—

The district registrar shall act in accordance with regulations when complying with the duty in subsection (5)(a) to refer a proposed marriage to the Secretary of State.

If the district registrar refers the proposed marriage to the Secretary of State, this Act has effect in relation to the proposed marriage subject to the modifications in Schedule 1A.

In this section—

A district registrar may refuse to complete a Marriage Schedule under section 6 in a case where—

If the district registrar refuses to complete a Marriage Schedule under subsection (1), the parties to the proposed marriage are to be taken not to have submitted a marriage notice under section 3; but that does not prevent criminal proceedings from being brought against either party, or any other person, in relation to the submission of notice.

This section is without prejudice to any other powers of district registrars to refuse to complete a Marriage Schedule.

In this section—

• “evidence” includes a photograph or other image;

• “exempt person” has the same meaning as in section 3F;

• “relevant decision” means a decision of a district registrar that a party to the proposed marriage is an exempt person.

Where after the expiration of 21 days from the date of marriage as entered in the Marriage Schedule that Schedule has not been delivered to the district registrar, he may serve a notice in the prescribed form on either of the parties to the marriage requiring that party within 8 days from the date of service of the notice to deliver the said Schedule, or send it by post, to the district registrar.

If any party on whom a notice has been served in pursuance of subsection (1) above fails to comply with the notice, the district registrar may serve on that party a second notice in the prescribed form requiring that party to attend personally at the registration office of the district registrar, within 8 days from the date of service of the second notice, for the purpose of delivering the Marriage Schedule to the district registrar to enable him to register the marriage.

Where subsection (2) or (3) applies in relation to a marriage solemnised in Scotland, the marriage shall be void.

This subsection applies if at the time of the marriage ceremony a party to the marriage who was capable of consenting to the marriage purported to give consent but did so by reason only of duress or error.

This subsection applies if at the time of the marriage ceremony a party to the marriage was incapable of—

If a party to a marriage purported to give consent to the marriage other than by reason only of duress or error, the marriage shall not be void by reason only of that party's having tacitly withheld consent to the marriage at the time when it was solemnised.

In this section “error” means—

a marriage by cohabitation with habit and repute; or

a marriage contracted before 1st July 1940 by declarationde praesentior by promisesubsequente copula, has been granted in the Court of Session, the principal clerk of Session shall forthwith cause the decree, the names, designations and addresses of the parties, and the date, as determined by the Court, on which the marriage was constituted to be intimated to the Registrar General, and on receipt of such intimation the Registrar General shall cause the marriage to be registered.

Regulations prescribing the form of a document may, unless the document requires to be signed, make provision for the document to be electronic rather than paper-based.

Regulations prescribing the manner in which a document requires to be attested may make different provision for different cases or circumstances.

The enactments set out in Schedule 2 to this act shall have effect subject to the amendments respectively specified in that Schedule, being amendments consequential on the provisions of this Act.

The enactments set out in Schedule 3 to this Act are hereby repealed to the extent specified in coloumn 3 of that Schedule.

This Act may be cited as the Marriage (Scotland) Act 1977.

This Act, except this section, shall come into force on 1st January 1978.

This Act, except this section and, in so far as relating to the M1Marriage with Foreigners Act 1906, the M2Marriage Act 1939, the M3Marriage Act 1949 and the M4Marriage (Scotland) Act 1956, section 28, shall extend to Scotland only.

These are the modifications subject to which this Act has effect if the district registrar refers a proposed marriage to the Secretary of State.

In this Schedule “referred marriage” means the proposed marriage referred to the Secretary of State.

The duty under section 6(1) to complete a Marriage Schedule in respect of the referred marriage does not apply unless and until one of the following events occurs.

Event 1 occurs if—

Event 2 occurs if—

Event 3 occurs if—

Event 4 occurs if—

Event 5 occurs if the Secretary of State gives the district registrar notice that the duty under section 6(1) is applicable.

The Secretary of State may give a notice for that purpose only if—

This paragraph applies in addition to any other requirements applicable to the completion of the Marriage Schedule.

This paragraph is subject to paragraph 4.

In this paragraph—

• “70 day period” has the same meaning as in section 50(11) of the 2014 Act;

• “relevant statutory period” has the same meaning as in section 62 of the 2014 Act;

• “section 48 notice” means notice under section 48(8C) of the 2014 Act;

• “section 50 notice” means notice under section 50(7) of the 2014 Act.

The modifications in this paragraph have effect if the Secretary of State gives the district registrar notice under section 48(8C) of the 2014 Act of a decision to investigate whether the referred marriage is a sham.

Section 6(4)(a) has effect as if—

Section 19(1) has effect as if for the words from “28 days” to “that marriage” there were substituted “the relevant 70 day period”.

In sections 6(4)(a) and 19 (as modified by this paragraph) “relevant 70 day period” means the period—

This paragraph is subject to paragraph 4.

Where—

the duty under section 6(1) to complete the Marriage Schedule arises on the giving of the authorisation, subject to any other requirements applicable to the completion of the Schedule being met.

But the requirements of paragraph 2 are not applicable in such a case.

The Secretary of State is not prevented from deciding to conduct, conducting, or continuing, an investigation if a Marriage Schedule is completed or, as the case may be, issued or the marriage solemnised, as mentioned in sub-paragraph (1).

But in such a case, nothing in the 2014 Act requires the Secretary of State to decide whether to conduct, or to continue, an investigation.

In this paragraph “investigation” means an investigation, conducted following a decision by the Secretary of State under section 48 of the 2014 Act, whether a proposed marriage is a sham.

for paragraph (a) there shall be substituted the following paragraph—

“(a)

the party residing in Scotland may give notice of the intended marriage in accordance with section 7 of the Marriage (Scotland) Act 1977 ;” ;

for paragraph (c) there shall be substituted the following paragraph—

“a certificate issued under section 7(2) of the Marriage (Scotland) Act 1977 to a party shall, for the purpose of that party’s intended marriage, have the like force and effect in all respects as a certificate for marriage issued by a superintendent registrar under this Part of this Act ;”.

for subsections (1) and (2) there shall be substituted the following subsections—

“(1)

Where one party to a marriage intended to be solemnised in Scotland is residing in England and the other is residing in Scotland, the party residing in England may give notice of the intended marriage to the superintendent registrar of the registration district in which he has resided for the period of seven days immediately before the giving of the notice.

(2)

Where both parties to a marriage intended to be solemnised in Scotland are residing in England, whether in the same registration district or in different registration districts, and one of the parties has a parent who has his usual residence in Scotland—

(a)

the other party may give notice of the intended marriage to the superintendent registrar of the registration district in which he has resided for the period of seven days immediately before the giving of the notice ;

(b)

if the parties live in different registration districts, it shall not be necessary for notice of the intended marriage to be given to the superintendent registrar of the other registration district.

(2A)

Section 28(1) of the Marriage Act 1949 (which relates to the declaration to accompany a notice of marriage) shall apply for the purposes of subsections (1) and (2) above as if paragraph (b) of the said section 28(1) required the declaration to state—

(i)

that the person giving the notice has for the period of seven days immediately before the giving of the notice had his usual place of residence within the registration district in which the notice is given ; and

(ii)

that the marriage is intended to be solemnised in Scotland; and

(iii)

that the other party to the intended marriage is resident in Scotland, or has a parent who has his usual residence in Scotland, as the case may be.” ;

in subsection (3), for the words “last preceding subsection” there shall be substituted the words “foregoing provisions of this section”.

after the word “Act” where it first occurs there shall be inserted the words “or the Marriage (Scotland) Act 1977” ;

for the words “this Act” where they occur for the second time there shall be substituted the words “or under this Act or the Marriage (Scotland) Act 1977”.