Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask His Majesty's Government what is the incidence of polygamy in the United Kingdom.

Polygamous marriages cannot legally be entered into in England and Wales law. We do not hold data on the number of polygamous marriages in England and Wales.

The Immigration Act 2014 extended the marriage notice period from 14 days to 28 days to help prevent sham marriages. The Government has no plans to review this.

The 28-day notice period remains in place not only for administrative reasons but also to support safeguards against sham marriages. While the Law Commission’s 2022 report on weddings law made 57 recommendations for the reform of weddings law, it did not propose changes to the current 28-day duration of the notice period for weddings. As a responsible Government, we need time to consider the Law Commission’s report, and we will set out our position in the coming months.

The Registrar General has a duty to provide an index of all marriages registered in England and Wales, which is available to the public to search and obtain a certified copy of an entry.