The Marriage and Civil Partnership (Northern Ireland) (No. 2) Regulations 2020

Conversion procedure

7.—(1) A conversion under this Part must follow one of the procedures described in this regulation.

(2) Each procedure has two parts.

(3) The first part is—

(a) the provision of the required information and evidence to a registrar, and

(b) where the signing of the conversion declaration is to take place after the year beginning with the day these Regulations come into force, the payment of the fee prescribed under regulation 17(1)(a).

(4) The second part is the signing of the conversion declaration.

(5) Under the standard procedure, the couple attend together before a registrar at a registrar’s office and both parts of the procedure take place there on that occasion.

(6) Under the two-stage procedure—

(a) the couple attend together before a registrar at a registrar’s office, and the first part of the procedure takes place there on that occasion,

(b) the second part of the procedure is to take place on the date specified under regulation 8(3)(a) or 9(3), which must be in the year beginning with the date of the first part of the procedure, and

(c) the second part of the procedure takes place when, on that specified date, the couple attend together—

(i) before a registrar at a registrar’s office,

(ii) before a registrar at an approved place,

(iii) before an officiant at a place in Northern Ireland, except that this third option is available only if the conversion is from a civil partnership into a marriage, or

(iv) before a registrar at a place specified in a direction given by the Registrar General.

(7) The special procedure is for use where—

(a) by reason of serious illness or serious bodily injury, a party ought not to move or be moved from the place where that party is, and

(b) the signing of the conversion declaration is, with the approval of the Registrar General, to take place at the place where that party is,

but the procedure may not be used where that party (“the immovable party”) is detained in a prison or as a patient in a hospital.

(8) Under the special procedure—

(a) the first part of the procedure takes place when—

(i) a party attends before a registrar at a registrar’s office, or

(ii) a registrar attends the couple together at the place where the immovable party is, and

(b) the second part of the procedure takes place later the same day, or on a later day, when—

(i) a registrar attends the couple together at the place where the immovable party is, or

(ii) an officiant attends the couple together at the place where the immovable party is, except that this second option is available only if the conversion is from a civil partnership into a marriage.

(9) The procedure for detained persons is for use where—

(a) a party is detained in a prison or as a patient in a hospital, and

(b) the signing of the conversion declaration is to take place in the prison or hospital.

(10) Under the procedure for detained persons—

(a) the first part of the procedure take place when—

(i) a party attends before a registrar at a registrar’s office, or

(ii) a registrar attends the couple together at the prison or hospital, and

(b) the second part of the procedure takes place later the same day, or on a later day, when—

(i) a registrar attends the couple together at the prison or hospital, or

(ii) an officiant attends the couple together at the prison or hospital, except that this second option is available only if the conversion is from a civil partnership into a marriage.

(11) Where the signing of the conversion declaration takes place before a registrar, no religious service is to be used while the registrar is officiating at the signing.

(12) In paragraph (6)(c)(ii) “approved place”—

(a) in relation to a conversion under this Part of a civil partnership into a marriage, means a place approved under Article 18(2) of the Marriage (Northern Ireland) Order 2003, and

(b) in relation to a conversion under this Part of a marriage into a civil partnership, means a place approved under section 144(3) of the Civil Partnership Act 2004.