Letter of no trace Documents

A Letter of No Trace is similar to a Certificate of No Impediment.  However, Certificates of No Impediment are not available to foreign nationals residing in the UK.  For foreign nationals living in the UK, the General Register Office can issue a Letter of No Trace which will confirm that no marriage has taken place in England and Wales over a specified period of time. 

The General Register Office will require the following information to issue a Letter of No Trace:

1. Date of arrival in the United Kingdom (needs to be over 18 months prior to application)
2. Date of birth
3. Original place and country of birth
4. Father’s name
5. Current address

The process takes approximately one month to complete.  Following this, the letter will contain an official signature from the General Register Office.  This official signature is usually accepted at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and therefore notarisation may not be required in order to get an apostille affixed to the letter.  However, you should check with the receiving party of the letter to see if it still requires notarisation.