In December 2017, I got married to my partner of four years. As she was Malaysian, we decided to return to her homeland in order to marry, and then apply for a Visa for her return to the UK. The process of getting married there is complex, and subject to a lot of errors. There are steps to do in the UK beforehand for the British citizen, and your visit to Malaysia should be planned out fully to avoid any issues.
1. Steps in the UK
Obtain Single Status Declaration from Notary Public. This is a declaration, signed by the British citizen which states that you are single and free to marry.
Have the Declaration sent to the Foreign Commonwealth Office in the UK for certification.
Have the Declaration certified by the Malaysian High Commission in the UK.
Wait for these Declaration to be returned, fully certified.
2. Documents to take to Malaysia
British National:
Passport
Birth certificate
Single Status Declaration
Malaysian National:
IC
Passport
Both:
Passport photos – about 4-6 of each person. Must have same colour background, either blue or white.
3. When you have booked a flight
Email the British High Commission in Malaysia (Kuala Lumpur) at consular.mail@fco.gov.uk to make an appointment for just after you arrive. You MUST obtain a letter which states that the UK does not issue Certificates of no Impediment (CNI) for Commonwealth countries from the British High Commission. They are only open on Monday, Wednesday and Friday mornings, so book this appointment for the first few days of your visit.
In the email, include scans of the Single Status Declaration, showing the additional certifications.
Your partner can accompany you to the appointment; if they do not, you should take a colour photocopy of their IC (front and back).
There are details about this here: https://www.gov.uk/marriage-abroad/y/malaysia/uk/partner_local/opposite_sex
If your passport and birth certificate name are different, the letter that the British High Commission produces must also include details of this. When you email them, be sure to include this information so that both the names stated on your passport along with your birth certificate are added to this letter.
If this information is not on the letter, your marriage application will be rejected at JPN in Putrajaya, and you will have to obtain a corrected letter from the British High Commission (as we found out by experience).
4. First days in Malaysia
You must be in the country for seven days before you can register to marry. There’s a lot of legwork still to do, so this is fine.
You can visit the JPN office of the district where you plan to marry beforehand, and I would recommend doing so (if it is not too far from Kuala Lumpur). There, you can speak to the officer to confirm the requirements – if required, show them the Declaration you have. The one we spoke to gave us a leaflet which detailed the steps, and also gave us the form JPN.KC02 (which is the marriage application).
5. British High Commission
Obtain the Declaration letter from the British High Commission in Kuala Lumpur. This takes about 45 minutes, and costs RM290.
Security at the British High Commission means that you can only take in the documents required, along with the payment means. Bags and phones are prohibited, and must be left at the security checkpoint, just before entering the BHC offices.
6. Putrajaya
Once you have the letter from the British High Commission, take a trip to Putrajaya, the federal administrative capital of Malaysia. It’s a huge place, with hundreds of buildings.
Your first stop is the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
At the security gate, you give your ID (either passport or IC) in exchange for a pass.
At the Consulate reception, give the documents that need to be certified, which is the BHC letter and Single Status Declaration from the UK. They will attach a bulldog clip with a number to the letters.
In the waiting room, wait for your number to be called and go to the counter specified. Hand over your documents – you will get the number slip back.
Wait for your number to be called a second time (for collecting the documents, they normally call about 8-10 numbers at the same time). It takes about 45 minutes to get the documents back.
Go to the other desk specified to collect your certified documents. There’s a charge of RM20 for one document, or RM30 for two.
Go to the security gate, return your pass to get your ID back.
Secondly, take these documents to the JPN building. There is a small shop on the first level which does photocopies – this is a good thing, as you need photocopies of the following documents:
- British person’s passport: Details page, along with the visa stamp from immigration.
- British person’s birth certificate.
- Malaysian person’s IC: Front and back
- British High Commission letter
- Declaration: Front and back
The section for marriages is on Level 1. Go to the reception there, and show your documents along with the photocopies.
They will give you a short form where you and your partner need to enter names and ID details (passport and IC numbers). You will also get another ticket for your place in the queue. It can take a couple of hours before you are called if they are busy.
When you are called, you need to hand over:
- British person’s passport
- British person’s birth certificate.
- Malaysian person’s IC
- BHC letter
- Single Status Declaration letter
- All of the photocopies of the above
The officer will inspect all of the documents before giving the final approval. Once they are happy, and have entered your details, they will take the documents and ask you to take a seat in the waiting area again.
After about 15 minutes, you will be called by name to collect the documents:
- The passport, IC and birth certificate
- A sealed letter addressed to the JPN office of your marriage district. This will be stapled to the original BHC letter and Single Status Declaration.
You are then finished in Putrajaya.
All government offices close at 16:00.
7. Complete the form JPN.KC02
During the time you are there, you can fill in the form received from the JPN officer. It is in Malay, so needs to be translated for you (assuming your partner cannot assist).
There is a section which requires a signature and stamp from an official court translator (Commissioner of Oaths). Take the form to the High Court of your district to get this done. Both of you need to be present.
They will read out the relevant section in English to both you and your partner. It’s just the declaration that you’re both over 21, not currently married, etc. Once you both have agreed to this, they will sign and stamp the relevant section.
Make sure that they sign and stamp it correctly (the officer we spoke to at JPN says they have seen forms which miss one or the other, and hence the people cannot marry until this is done).
8. Registering the marriage
After you have been in the country for seven days, you may register. You need to do this at the JPN office which in the same district as the address shown on your partner’s IC.
For example, my wife’s IC has an address in Ipoh, so we registered at the JPN office in Ipoh.
Take the following documents:
British National:
Passport
Another photocopy of the passport (ID page and visa stamp page).
Malaysian National:
IC
Both:
Completed form JPN.KC02
Colour passport photos (same colour background)
The letter received from JPN in Putrajaya, stapled to the BHC and Single Status Declarations
Get another queue slip, and wait for your number to be called.
You should have no problems at this point, and should be able to complete the registration. You will be asked to book a date there and then, but it has to be the day after three weeks has elapsed. For example, if you register on a Monday, count off the next three Mondays – you can get married from the Tuesday after this onwards, to a maximum of six months in the future. Our office stated that the ceremonies happen between 08:30 and 10:30 each day.
The section of the completed form showing your names, address and passport photos will be displayed in a cabinet at the JPN office. This is in case anyone has any objections to the wedding, they can register a complaint.
9. Between registration and wedding day
You can fly back to the UK if needed – you don’t have to be in Malaysia after the marriage is registered.
10. Wedding day
Weddings are done on a first-come, first-served basis. The earlier you arrive, the more chance you have of leaving early.
After a short service, you will be married.