If you are a UK or European citizen and your partner is from outside the European Union, civil partnership will entitle her and her dependent children to reside in the UK. If you were born in Northern Ireland and you fit the definition of a worker under European Union law, your non-European partner and dependent children will be entitled to benefits and tax credits immediately and generally ‘have recourse to public funds’, and your partner will be automatically allowed to work.

This stems from the fact that people born in Northern Ireland are entitled to Irish as well as British citizenship and a native of Northern Ireland can elect to be treated under UK immigration law as an Irish rather than a British citizen. It is a complicated issue and you should seek legal advice, but it is an important advantage; other UK citizens have to support their non-European partner and children without recourse to public funds for the first years, and the partner is not automatically entitled to work.

For more help with immigration issues you may want to consult the Law Centre NI. Immigration infomation specific to Northern Ireland is available on their website.

My partner is from overseas – can we register our partnership? 


If you or your partner is subject to UK immigration control, there may be restrictions in terms of you forming a civil partnership, and you may need to gain entry clearance in order to come to the UK and register your partnership. You will be treated just like a straight couple in similar circumstances.

To find out how this may affect you, you should contact the
UK Border Agency

If one partner if based or born in Northern Ireland, contact Law Centre NI. There are specific rights for people born in Northern Ireland and their non European partners and it is recommended that people seek specialist advice before contacting the UK Border Agency, in order to benefit from those rights.  

 Telephone 028 9024 4401 (immigration advice line, weekdays 09:30 - 13:00). 

 We registered our partnership overseas. Will we have to re-register over here? 


For lesbian and gay couples who have already formed a legal relationship in another country, if that relationship meets the requirements of the Civil Partnership Act, they will not need to register in the UK as well. Schedule 20 of the Act sets out which overseas relationships are eligible. If your relationship is not recognised in Schedule 20, it may still meet the general conditions of the Act, which are in Chapter 2 of the Act.

 Again, the Law Centre NI will be able to assist with queries relating to this. 

Guidance on immigration, marriage, civil partnership & cohabitation 

Guidance on civil partnerships  

telephone: 020 7620 6010