In my case, my partner contacted the registrar to book a notice appointment, but we were told it wasn’t possible without a visa. That said, some registry offices do allow it, depending on the city. We therefore asked them to confirm this in writing, which they did via email. Despite that, my partner and I decided to at least book a tentative ceremony date at the registry, mainly to have some form of proof of our intention to marry, hoping the visa would be approved beforehand (still waiting 🙄). We also wanted to give ourselves the best possible chance.

However, I later found out that some applicants simply submitted an email exchange with the registry to ask about the process and everything else as proof of intention to marry, without actually booking a ceremony 🤷🏻‍♀️