delete The Proposed Marriages and Civil Partnerships (Meaning of Exempt Persons and Notice) Regulations 2015
These Regulations define 'exempt persons' for immigration control purposes in the context of proposed marriages and civil partnerships, and specify the procedural requirements for how the Secretary of State must deliver notices to parties, representatives, superintendent registrars, and registration authorities. They establish 9 different permitted methods of notice delivery (hand, fax, recorded delivery, ordinary post, email, document exchange, courier) and create legal presumptions about when notices are received.
These regulations impose excessive administrative burden on what should be a straightforward personal matter. The 9 different prescribed methods of notice delivery (regulations 5-6) reflect bureaucratic over-engineering rather than practical necessity. Regulation 3's definitional work for immigration exemptions could be incorporated into primary legislation or consolidated guidance. The legal presumptions about receipt (regulation 7) add unnecessary complexity when modern electronic methods provide their own delivery confirmation. Overall, these procedural requirements create compliance costs for the Home Office, local authorities, and couples without commensurate benefit — they specify HOW notices must be delivered rather than focusing on the outcome (that notice actually reaches recipients). A simpler, principle-based approach would reduce burden while achieving the same result.