Foreign Marriage Recognition in England and Pakistan

Inner Temple Library Current Awareness

Filed November 25th, 2025

Detected March 26th, 2026

Summary

The High Court of Justice (Family Division) ruled that marriages not validly solemnized in England cannot be made valid by subsequent registration in Pakistan. The court refused declarations of marital status for two applications where ceremonies were conducted in England but not compliant with the Marriage Act 1949, and later registered in Pakistan. A third application was dismissed.

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What changed

The judgment in MA v WK (2025 EWFC 499) clarifies the recognition of foreign marriages in England and Wales. The court refused to grant declarations of marital status for two cases where couples underwent non-qualifying ceremonies in England, which were subsequently registered in Pakistan. The court affirmed that the lex loci celebrationis (the law of the place where the marriage was celebrated) determines formal validity, not the place of later registration. Therefore, marriages not validly solemnized in England cannot be retrospectively validated by registration abroad, even if that foreign jurisdiction permits such registration (like Pakistan's nikkah). The presumption of marriage was also deemed inapplicable due to the parties' admissions of non-compliance with English marriage laws.

This ruling has significant implications for individuals who have undergone unregistered or non-qualifying marriage ceremonies in England and subsequently registered them abroad, particularly in jurisdictions like Pakistan. Compliance officers and legal professionals advising clients on marital status or financial remedies should note that such marriages will likely not be recognised as valid in England and Wales. The court emphasized that subsequent registration does not cure defects in the original ceremony's compliance with English law, and such attempts to validate marriages could lead to "procedural and litigation chaos." The decision reinforces the principle that a marriage is only "good all over the world" if it is valid where it was celebrated.

What to do next

Advise clients that registration of a non-qualifying English ceremony in Pakistan does not create a valid marriage in England and Wales.
Refuse applications for declarations of marital status based on unregistered or non-qualifying English ceremonies subsequently registered abroad.
Ensure all marriage ceremonies conducted in England comply with the Marriage Act 1949 to be recognised.

Source document (simplified)

Judgment date: 25 November 2025

https://caselaw.nationalarchives.gov.uk/ewfc/2025/499

Cusworth J.

Overview

Can a non-marriage entered into in England and Wales obtain validity by being registered in a country which permits nikkah marriage, so that it is recognised in England and Wales as a valid foreign marriage?

Background

Three linked applications for declarations of marital status pursuant to s 55(1) Family Law Act 1986. Each involved a nikkah ceremony in England. It was accepted that these were ‘non qualifying ceremonies’ that did not comply with the Marriage Act 1949.

In two cases, the marriage was registered in Pakistan. The key issues were whether the registration of the marriage ceremonies in Pakistan meant that the marriage was capable of being recognised as a valid foreign marriage in England. The third application had not been registered, and was effectively abandoned and the application dismissed.

Lex loci celebrationis

There is a comprehensive summary of the law on this issue within the judgment. In summary:

The law of the place where the marriage was celebrated (the lex loci celebrationis) determines the formal validity of the marriage, and not the place of later registration. See, inter alia, Berthiaume v Dastous in which Viscount Dunedin, giving the judgment of the Privy Council, said:

'If there is one question better settled than any other in international law, it is that as regards marriage … locus regit actum … If the so-called marriage is no marriage in the place where it is celebrated, there is no marriage anywhere, although the ceremony or proceeding if conducted in the place of the parties' domicile would be considered a good marriage.’
The principle that a marriage is ‘good all over the world’ is true only if it is valid in the place where it is celebrated. If it were permitted for there to be some recognition of ceremonies of this nature being registered in another jurisdiction many years later this ‘would be a recipe for procedural and litigation chaos’.

There is no authority to support the proposition that registration is the point of solemnisation of a marriage. In Pakistan it is the ceremony of marriage not registration that creates the valid marriage: Rana v Manan [2011] EWHC 2132 (Fam). Registration in Pakistan has not made the marriages valid.

Presumption of marriage

Where there is positive evidence that the statutory requirements were not complied with, the presumption cannot be relied upon to establish that they were. Here, the presumption of marriages does not apply as the parties’ admissions:

‘constitute positive evidence that the requirements were not complied with … the court cannot presume that a qualifying marriage ceremony has taken place in circumstances where the parties themselves acknowledge that one has not.’

Conclusion

The lex loci of these marriages was England. The parties in these different cases have gone through non-qualifying ceremonies in this jurisdiction, which registration abroad cannot convert into a valid foreign marriage. Declarations sought under s 55(1) of the Family Law Act 1986 were refused. Despite having considerable sympathy with the applicants, the law was and is settled on the issue.