Non-EU citizen marrying a Romanian (EU citizen) working in the UK

Question

I would like to ask for your help, advice, input or recommendations about our situation with my fiance. Here are some our questions:

Background:

I am a Filipina working in the Philippines and my boyfriend is Romanian, working in England. Our plan is to get married soon and live together in England.

Questions:

1. When is the best time to get married, considering the possible changes for EU citizens because of Brexit (UK leaving EU: March 29, 2019)?

2. Where is the best place to get married?

   • In the Philippines? What kind of visa/permit do I need to join my future husband in England after a civil marriage?
   • England/UK? How can I go there and what are the documents needed for me to be there and get married?
   • Other possible options/place?

3. What are the possibilities of approval/refusal that I can be with my future husband in the UK? And what are the tips to make this love story successful by way of being together and build a family?

Please we need your thoughts and advices, we know this is real love and we know from the start that this is going to be a rough and long road to take, but we have strong faith and hope. We will appreciate very much your response.

Edit for phoog's answer

1. Does it means it's better to get married here in the Philippines as soon as possible and immediately process the family permit for me before Brexit?

2. Does the marriage visitor visa (if we want to marry in the UK) cover also other EU citizens (I mean not British)? Because mostly they refer to a British citizen wanting to marry a non-EU fiancee in the UK. How about a non-EU and an EU, non-UK, citizen wanting to marry in the UK? Is it the same visa?

Answer 1

When is the best time to get married, considering of the possible changes for EU Citizen because of the Brexit (UK leaving EU: March 29, 2019).

As soon as possible.

[If we marry in the Philippines,] what kind of visa/permit do I need to process for me to join my future husband in England after a civil marriage?

In that case you will need an EEA family permit if the UK is still in the EU. The process after the UK leaves the EU is not yet known, but is likely to be significantly more difficult and expensive (the EEA family permit is free of charge).

What are the possibility of approval/disapproval that I can be with my future husband in UK?

Before Brexit, the only real obstacle to your approval would be overcoming the almost certain suspicion that yours is a marriage of convenience. If you can document to the satisfaction of the "entry clearance officer" processing your application that your relationship is genuine, approval is theoretically automatic. However, the UK has a history of refusing EEA family permits for trivial reasons, and I would expect this to persist in the months before the UK leaves the EU, if not increase. You should therefore prepare yourself for the possibility of a difficult process.

I have not addressed your question about the procedure for marrying in the UK because I do not know much about it. There's no provision in the EEA family permit scheme for this, except for the fact that you can qualify for an EEA family permit before you get married if you are in a "durable" relationship. The UK's interpretation of that term currently requires you to have lived with your partner for at least two years; I guess from the tone of your question that you have not yet done so.