I believe you should be able to form a civil partnership or marriage in the UK as foreigners, regardless of it being same-sex or not.
From 29 March 2014, same sex couples can get married in England and Wales. You can only get a civil partnership as a same sex couple.
There’re some differences being made between marriage and civil partnership, but as far as they’re concerning intra-UK regulations they should not concern you. Acceptance of civil partnerships in other countries with the same status as a marriage may or may not be the case and depends on the respective country’s laws – more on this towards the end of this answer. A marriage should be more widely accepted, but I’ve not come across any information on that.
Information on going to the UK to get married is found on the Marriage Visitor Visa page of the UK government. Also their information page on Marriage and Civil Partnerships says the following:
Foreign nationals
You and your partner must go to a ‘designated’ register office if
either of you aren’t from the European Economic Area (EEA) or
Switzerland, and are subject to immigration control.The process is different in Scotland and Northern Ireland.
You’ll need to apply for one of the following if you aren’t already in
the UK:
- a visa to come here as a fiancé(e) or proposed civil partner if your partner is a British citizen or settled in the UK and you intend
to remain in the UK- an EEA family permit if you’re from outside the EEA and the person you’re marrying is from the EEA or Switzerland but not the UK
- a Marriage Visitor visa if you and your partner are from outside the EEA or Switzerland, you want to come to the UK to get married or
register a civil partnership, and you and your partner intend to leave
the country within 6 monthsYou must get married or register your civil partnership within 1 year,
or 3 months if you’re in Scotland.
The third bullet point there should be your case, but do visit the two linked pages and find all the detailed information there.
Recognition abroad:
Recognition of UK civil partnerships in other countries depends on the local laws and no general statement can be made. Overall though it seems in Europe a civil partnership would be accepted as a marriage or (if existing) something equivalent to a civil marriage in most cases – see here for some info. In the US this seems to depend on state law – again the mentioned site has some info.
The following is a list of countries that accept UK civil partnerships in some form or the other – anyone finding more info, feel free to add to the list:
(statements enclosed in “” are embassy statements according to the sources)
Europe
US
Unclear cases/partial recognition:
Cases where civil partnerships are not recognised:
Credit:stackoverflow.com‘
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