A COUPLE who feared red tape would get in the way of their wedding are husband and wife at last.

Jim McLean and Maria Cecilia Alvarez, who hails from Brazil, were married at Worcester Register Office on Saturday, April 7.

The couple, of Stanley Road, off Wyld's Lane, Worcester, had encountered a bureaucratic nightmare when they got engaged last year and for a while feared the marriage would never go ahead.

They were granted a certificate of approval for marriage in October, but their application for an extended tourist visa to allow Miss Alvares to stay in the country was later refused by the Home Office.

At the time Mr McLean said he was angry with the system because they had not been told about the no-switching policy, which means a person cannot be in the UK on one kind of visa and then swap and stay on another. The policy meant that there was never any chance that their application, which cost £365, was going to be successful.

Despite booking a venue and setting the date for their wedding, Miss Alvares was forced to leave the country and the couple had to spend the new year apart.

However, the couple, who met on the internet six years ago and three years later started going out, never gave up and, after returning to her home country, Miss Alvarez re-applied for the visa and it was granted.

"The day was wonderful," said Mr McLean, "and everything went according to plan. I even managed to do my speech in English and Portuguese without getting tongue tied."

After the ceremony, the couple enjoyed a reception at Sixways, home of the Worcester Warriors rugby team, and then honeymooned in London.

Miss Alvarez will now apply for a visa to live and work in this country. In two years, if still married and living together, the couple can apply for her to stay permanently.