That should not be right; however, what they might have meant is that he will need to earn that amount to be able to sponsor your residence permit, so that they you live together in the U.K. Those things should not be confused.--Jeroen.

Thanks for sharing your (sad) story. Sometimes, officials invent all types of documents that are not really required, which is a difficult issue. When not too difficult, it may be easiest to just go with the flow, and provide the documents requested, and only object to such invented requirements when they are impossible to meet. The CNI is required, and can be provided by your embassy in the Philippines. Documents issued abroad (that is outside the Philippines) are not valid, but can be made valid, if these are in English, or accompanied by a certified translation, and legalised by the relevant authorities in the country of origin, and then the Philippine embassy in that country. So, if you need a certificate of single status from your home country, you will have to go through all those steps to get it accepted, a time consuming process. Moving your marriage from Manila to a small provincial town may help, in the sense that officials sometimes understand the rules differently--Jeroen.

Hi Peter and thanks for your story. Sad to hear about your experience, and sad also that many local administrators do not know the rules either, and thus fancy up additional requirements (which can be pretty hard to avoid). For foreigners, what is required (by law) is a certificate of no impediment, issued by the foreigner's country's embassy, and in our case that was similar to yours and also listed both our names. They will also ask for a birth certificate and some certificate specifying your single status. (Nowadays those need to be legalized, normally by the Philippine embassy in the country they come from, which will only legalize documents first legalized by the department of foreign affairs of that same country.) Asking a Cenomar from a foreigner is new to me (but not as crazy as it may sound, as some foreigners play the system and get married in the Philippines multiple times without registering their marriage in their home country; furthermore, it can be obtained with relative ease, if done in-time). With those documents in place and all requirements met, the municipal officer should give you a marriage permit ten days after application.

What this shows is that you need to plan ahead, and be prepared to get some additional paperwork done, even if not strictly required, and a two week schedule is really tight. When we got married, we needed five weeks...--Jeroen

This is a difficult situation that occurs quite regularly. It is unfortunate that Philippine law still provides a "life sentence" on saying "I do" to the wrong person, but that is for the politicians to change (although annulment is one way out, it takes a long time, and is not always successful). However, since you are married with a foreigner, if you are still on relatively reasonable speaking terms, you can ask your husband to file for a divorce in the UK. You can also file for a divorce in the UK yourself, but for that you need to find a UK solicitor who can do that for you (maybe the British consulate or Filipino support groups in the UK can point you to one), but in that case you need to be aware that foreign divorces are only recognized in the Philippines if initiated by the foreign partner. I think Australia will fully recognize a UK divorce.--Jeroen.

I think it will be difficult to get your visa arranged within three months. You need not change your passport if you indicate that you want to keep your own name after marriage, that is now possible under Philippine law, however, getting the marriage certificate to the NSO in Manila alone may take up to three months, and a certified true copy is required to apply for a visa based on partnership. Then, foreign immigration authorities often take several months to process such applications. Assume you will need at least six months to process your papers.--Jeroen.

Unfortunately, it is quite common that emails are not answered. In that case, a phone call can help.--Jeroen.

Somebody in Manila needs to do the legalization, following the route given above. You can ask the Philippine Embassy in Norway what they can do, but probably they can only legalize documents first legalized by the DFA in Manila.--Jeroen.

Legally no. In practice there is no end to the cunning ways people can find to get around such annoying obstacles as the law...--Jeroen

What if both were born and raised in the Phils but now they are both US citizens, what can they do to have a catholic wedding in the Phils? They are civilly married in the US.

Two options: 1. Talk with the priest, show him the documents that proof that you are already civilly married, and ask him to preform only the church wedding, without the civil aspects. 2. Avail of your option to regain Philippine citizenship. (Check first what that implies for your US citizenship with a US immigration lawyer.)--Jeroen.

This is a question that pop's up every once-in-a-while, and I do not know the definitive answer. There is no divorce in the Philippines, and the alternative, nullification of the marriage is only possible in a few cases. A legal separation in the Philippines is possible. Obtaining a divorce in the UK is normally only possible for a foreigner if he or she has been a resident in the UK for a prolonged time. My advice is to discuss all the possible options with a lawyer, both in the UK and the Philippines.--Jeroen.

We get quite some complex questions on this site, and this really is one of them. You best both be in touch with a lawyer in your own country, but the chances that you can do this within the limits of current Philippine law are slim. I cannot give advice on how to "fix" papers or how to do other illegal things, as that would make me an accomplice.--Jeroen.

Considering that you really want to do that, no, unless he divorces first (which is possible in India).--Jeroen.

To clarify this. No you don't need a visa, as you can easily extend your visa waiver period when you arrive by going to Bureau of Immigration (preferably together). If you want to avoid that, get a visa, but normally, it should take you an hour or so. If you arrive in the Philippines together with your wife, you can also ask for a Balikbayan stamp -- however if that is not the case, even if she is waiting for you at the airport, you will get a stamp for 21 days on arrival.--Jeroen.

The CENOMAR is not to take away your boyfriend's doubts, but those of the embassy that need to issue a certificate of no objection against your marriage, so yes, it is probably needed.--Jeroen.

It is supposed to be available at NSO, as provincial courts forwards copies of marriage contracts to NSO, so if nothing went wrong, you should be able to get a copy of it from NSO in your region or in Quezon city.--Jeroen.

I don't think your sponsor being blacklisted in the Philippines is an automatic block on your ability to obtain a US Visa, as the blacklist is a Philippine matter, not a US matter. However, it would make it more difficult to appear for a visa together. The most likely cause of him being blacklisted is overstaying his visa, and in that case he might be able to get such a blacklisting lifted if he politely petitions for it with the Philippine Bureau of Immigration.--Jeroen.

I don't know much about the rules in Thailand, but my own gut-feeling is that this will only complicate matters considerably, and will save you no time whatsoever. At least in the Philippines, documents and laws are in English, so you don't have to deal with official translators to get documents legalized, and at least one of you knows the culture, so might sense when something shaky is going on.--Jeroen.

You cannot send it yourself, however, you can pay the various offices to have it forwarded by express mail to the office next higher in the chain, until it arrives in Manila, where you can collect a certified true copy on NSO security paper. Just waiting for the regular process can take several months.--Jeroen.

No you can't (suppose you mean the Australian embassy in Manila, as there is no such thing as an Australian embassy in Australia). You can only do this with the Australian embassy in Manila, and probably need to appear in person with your future partner.--Jeroen.

I also face this problem when relatives want to come over for a visit. The Dutch ministry of foreign affairs strongly advices against buying tickets before a visa is issued, but still some embassies, including that in Manila, insist on it. My solution to this is to go to a travel agent, and ask them to prepare a confirmed booking with a schedule corresponding with the dates of the visit, print it, and then cancel it again (some will allow you to keep a reservation unpaid for some time, but this is not possible with the lowest fares). This is fairly easy to do. This print-out can then be submitted as requested (and you just make a real booking when you have the ticket. Normally, the embassy will give you a visa for exactly the number of days requested, but you will have some days flexibility, so you can still shop for a good deal).

Another problem is the health insurance. Some Dutch insurance companies know of this problem, and will adjust the policy when the visa is delayed, or refund the premium if visa is denied. I have good experiences with Oom Verzekeringen.--Jeroen.

I don't exactly understand what you are asking, but everybody should be aware that frauds can and do happen. When I married in the Philippines, the municipal clerk accepted a letter from the Dutch Embassy about my eligibility to marry, but I am quite certain he had never seen such a document before. Nowadays foreign documents need to be legalized by the Philippine embassy in the country of origin, which might help a little, but I am afraid it is still fairly easy to "fix" a marriage permit. On the other side, getting a certificate of single status (non-appearance in the national marriage registry, aka CENOMAR) for a Filipina who is actually married is also still possible. The only thing that helps in such cases is to be alert for red flags, inconsistencies, and odd behavior. They say love is blind, and that is often unfortunate... Jeroen.

The twenty-one days seem to be quite normal. I don't know about the Australian Embassy, but most Embassies want to have DFA-legalized documents, which means that the document needs to issued by the NSO in Manila. Getting the Marriage Certificate to NSO Manila can be expedited if you ask the various offices to send the document via express mail to the next office in line (of course at your cost), if I am right, the mayor will have to send it to the regional NSO center, and then the regional NSO will forward it to the national NSO in Manila. If you don't do this, it may take half a year before you can obtain a legalized version of your marriage certificate.--Jeroen.

In the Philippines, divorce is not possible, but foreign (in your case Indian) divorces are recognized. Since you are married under Indian civil rules, you'll have to file for a divorce with an Indian court. I don't know the legal details for India, so consult a local lawyer for those. But why not consider moving to the Philippines? The adaptation might be easier for you than it is for her in India.--Jeroen.

Yes, it is possible, but you just have to wait longer (two months, I believe)--Jeroen.

I don't know the exact categories of visa available for France, but if you are planning to stay for less than three months, a tourist visa (or Schengen visa) is the right choice. Your bf needs to invite you, and probably get some documentation on his income.--Jeroen.

Your friend will have to help you with paperwork, as in the Philippines, same-sex relationships are not recognized. For the UK, the relevant information can be found on Wikipedia.--Jeroen

http://pinoyingermany.blogspot.com/2008/10/marriage-requirements-in-philippines.html

It talks about the marriage requirements in the Philippines between a foreigner and a Filipino. The blog is great because it contains additional details not just a list. Also the blog contains sample and actual faces of the papers. Hope this helps. Thanks!

So this time, we are planning to marry here in the Philippines and hopefully this coming November.

Pls advice me, how long it takes to process the papers needs in our marriage here, and could it be easy to apply in Schengen country to get a visa to visit my boyfriend there in Germany if we get married here? obviously if we're get married here and I'm here and he's in Germany, its not easy that kind of situation... so pls advice me...

Tourist visa are typically denied when the embassy suspects you will overstay, and they tend to assume that will happen when you have a possible partner in the country you are visiting. I am not aware of the exact rules in Germany, but your options are now to apply for non-tourist visa for stay with your fiance or husband (as the case may be). Typical waiting times may be anything between three months, and over a year, depending on the situation. You will have to apply for a German visa, unless your husband lives in another Schengen country. If your husband can arrange to live outside Germany in another EU country for about half a year, EU rules can dramatically shorten that time, otherwise, being married but separated for some time is difficult to avoid.--Jeroen

Please read above, under "Basic Requiremens."--Jeroen.

I would have to say that this site gives a lot of helpful advice. It is worth reading from one article to another..

Now, i hope this site can answer my questions.

I have a Dutch boyfriend for almost a year now. It takes a lot of effort and consumes time to get a Schengen Visa everytime we need to see each other. He is too busy to fly to the Philippines so, I always have to be the one to fly to the Netherlands, and obtaining a visa is a lot stressful. In a few months, we plan to marry in the Netherlands. We are in a same sex relationship. What are the steps needed in order to obtain a legal marriage in the Netherlands? And would the Philippine government issue me a legal capacity to contract marriage knowing that it will be a same sex marriage?

I advise to ask your question in buitenlandsepartner.nl, which is specialized on Dutch-Foreign marriages.--Jeroen

Then we both lived in Sweden. During the time we were married in Sweden, my wife registered our marriage to Philippine embassy in Sweden. Its written in her Philippine passport she is married to me.

We are now divorced according to Swedish law.

I have now met a new woman from Philippines, she is single, never married.

She want us to marry in Philippines in her local church. This is really important to her.

So I called Philippines embassy to get some info, they said since I been married before, I can not marry again in a Philippine church, BUT they said it was ok to have a civil marriage in Philippines.

My new girlfriend got shocked by this bad news since she really want to marry in church.

Why I can marry in Philippine in a civil process but not in the church?

Neither me or my new girlfriend have been married in church before.

Or has the embassy told me wrong information?

The Philippines has (to some degree) separation of state and church, so you should not ask the embassy about a church wedding, but the church in question. However, most likely, a Roman Catholic church will refuse the marriage as it does not recognize divorces, but does recognize marriages performed outside the RC church. Other churches may have different rules. Since the Philippines recognizes foreign divorces, the road to a civil wedding is still open.--Jeroen.

I think most of the details are on this page (especially for Dutch). If he has any specific questions, ask.--Jeroen

He will need the NSO marriage certificate (on security paper) legalized by DFA and the Dutch Embassy, following the same procedure as outlined above. He can then submit this to the municipal office in the Netherlands. If you've married outside Manila, it will take some time for the NSO documents to arrive in Manila, so you will need to expedite this by asking regional NSO offices to forward the documents for you.--Jeroen.

It will be impossible to get her a fiancee visa if you've never met each other, so you will need to show some evidence you've met during the visa application process. My advise is to go to the Philippines and meet once more (if you've never been there). Further information can be obtained from the Mag-Anak group, who have a lot of collective experience in this.--Jeroen.

This is a good suggestion. In the Philippines many documents and legalizations expire after one year, and other governments use terms of three to six months, so it is wise to plan ahead in this respect. If you happen to have 'expired' documents, it never harms to just present them, without bringing that fact to the attention of the official, as they might be accepted anyway.--Jeroen.

I do not have any knowledge about Norwegian immigration law, so cannot help you there. However, there certainly are lawyers or legal advisers who can help you further. Don't always take information given by officials for granted, but get independent legal advice.--Jeroen.

What does this really mean below in order to enter the Philippines? "Nationals who are subjects of deportation/blacklist"

This means that if you have committed a crime in the Philippines or have been deported from the Philippines for some other reason, you may end up on a blacklist, and will be denied entry in future.--Jeroen.

I cannot guess his motives. I don't know about laws in Holland or the Philippines against marrying a foreigner, but what he apparently is thinking about is marrying with a prenuptial agreement ("huwelijkse voorwaarden" in Dutch). In my own opinion, a prenupt needs to be well understood, and, in normal Dutch practice are used when one party has a considerable business interest or inherited wealth. Normally, Dutch couples marry without a prenupt, which implies all property becomes common property (that is "absolute community", which is similar to rule in the Philippines). In the Netherlands you also need to have a prenuptial agreement to exclude claims on sharing old-age pensions.

A prenupt might be reasonable if the person owns a large business, or children from previous relationships he has to take care of, and should be drawn carefully by a lawyer to deal with that specific case. I would strongly advise against a prenuptial agreement where you simply sign away all rights to financial support and inheritance. If you love somebody, you trust somebody, and should be able to discuss such things openly. If you marry a foreigner, you will have to make a huge leap of faith to move to a foreign country and rebuild your life. Nothing wrong, but such a leap of faith must be matched by a similar leap of faith from the other partner.--Jeroen.

P.S. See jlp-law.com, for some discussion on the issue.

I am sorry, but cannot help you, as I don't know the rules the Indian embassy or consulate works under. For your own peace of mind, better not ask why certain rules are in place, but ask where the rules are written, and what you need to do to comply with them.--Jeroen.

This gets close to the edge. The way I read Philippine law, the answer is, yes, you can marry in the Philippines, if you can bring the legal capacity from the Australian embassy, and the final divorce degree, fully legalized. You might encounter some push-back. If the trouble is too big, you can simply circumvent it by marrying in Australia.

Similar discussions sometimes arise when a Filipino, married to a foreigner in the Philippines obtains a divorce abroad. Although the law does not make the distinction explicit, some officials interpret it that the Filipino partner should not have initiated the divorce. (See this FAQ at the Los Angeles Consulate) I believe this interpretation is wrong, as the intention of the relevant section in the law is to recognize the de facto situation as created by the foreign divorce. The relevant section in the family code is article 26 of chapter 1. The reason I believe the official interpretation is wrong because both partners obtain a divorce, regardless of who initiated the proceedings. Note that this article says nothing on the status of the foreign partner in the Philippines, hence article 21 remains in full force.

To avoid complications, I suggest, when a foreigner-Filipino couple wants to divorce, for the foreigner to initiate the official divorce proceedings, if in anyway possible (Even though in most cases I know, it was the Filipina partner who asked for the divorce).--Jeroen.

P.S. I am not a lawyer. This is not legal advice.

This article is about legalization of civil registry documents for legal purposes. You will need to contact the institution requiring the legalized diplomas as to their requirements.--Jeroen.

As long as your money lasts and do not cause trouble, you will probably be able to stay for a very long time, especially if you stay privately with friends, or regularly change resort or hotel. However eventually, you may wish to travel outside the country, or encounter a place where you will be asked for your passport. Then you will get into considerable trouble if you cannot produce a valid entry stamp, visa, or resident permit. My advise is to extend your stay officially at least one week before it ends (it is not difficult but costs some money), and if you want to go for a reason other than tourism or visiting friends, collect sufficient information on residence permits beforehand.--Jeroen.

It depends on your home country, but often you will have to do such things in your home country, sometimes even in your place of residence or birth only.--Jeroen.

As long as he and his former spouse are not both Philippine citizens, and he can produce his divorce papers, yes, he can.--Jeroen.

I don't know. Maybe you can find more information on the Mag Anak website.--Jeroen.

Absolutey great article, so far the only useful info on the net. Well done!

I'm getting married Sept 2008 in the Philippines, I'm from Hungary, I need to get "certificate of legal capacity to marry" also as known "affidavit of singleness". I'm trying to sort this out soon, but I'm worried, if I ger it too early, it might going to get expired before the wedding. Do you know if there is a validition period? For example 30 days? Id would make sense, but I'm probably wrong.

Thanks,

Bela

I am afraid this is a very difficult issue in the Philippines. Since there is no divorce, once married mean married until death of either of the parties, even if the marriage is failed and the partners have been separated for many years. Probably one the requirements of for a fiance visa is a certificate of non-occurrence in the national marriage register, which will be difficult to obtain for married people. An annulment of a marriage in the Philippines is an official observation (by a court of justice) that a marriage was never valid from the beginning. This is only allowed in exceptional cases, such as marriage fraud, mistaken identities, etc.--Jeroen.

I have two questions and I hope you could help me.

I am a Spanish citizen and I will marry a Filipina. Now, I know and I red from your web site that I need to legalize my birth certificate and a certificate that states that I m not married in the department of the foreign affair of my country and then in the Philippines embassy in my country as well.

Since I don't live in Spain for me it would be much more easier to request the above mentioned documents in the Spanish embassy in the country I reside as of the moment where these documents would be even legalized. Is this possible and if it is can I after that when I arrive to the philippines legalize them again in the spanish embassy and after that also in the department of the foreign affair in the philippines?

Another question is related to your statement which is:If you are married to an EU citizen, you should be given a residence permit with minimal procedures in any EU country except that of the EU citizen itself. So if your partner is Dutch, and he lives, or is willing to relocate to Belgium, you can join him much faster than when he would live in the Netherlands. Well actually instead of Spain I wanted to go to live in Austria with my future spouse but apart that it takes longer time for getting the resident permit for her than in Spain there is also another condition: if my wife wants to join me I need to have a job already or I need to provide a bank statement to prove that I have sufficient resources to maintain her until she doesn't find a job and all these I don't need in Spain since I m a Spanish citizen so I m a bit confused by your statement and I m wondering if maybe there is something that I'm not aware of?

Thank you very much for your help!

I can't answer your question on the document legalization bit. Ask the Spanish embassy in Vienna. Note that many documents can be requested on-line in many countries now.

The remark on getting easy residence for your non-EU wife in any EU country but your own is based on EU-treaties, which state that nationals of one EU member state and their relatives, even if not EU citizens can settle in another EU country with minimal paperwork. Technically, not even a visa can be required, although it is normally quicker to apply for a tourist visa than to try to enforce that rule. You should remind the Austrian embassy of this, and if they refuse to cooperate, talk with a competent immigration lawyer in Austria. I know these rules have been enforced by court in Belgium a few times. Note that this EU right to settlement also applies if you now decide to move back to Spain.--Jeroen.

Hi Rosalie, I find it somewhat dubious if somebody from the Netherlands can't get leave from his work to marry. Here we all have at least 22 paid holidays a year (prescribed by law), and many companies have even more. Personally, I would advise any Filipina wishing to marry a foreigner, to first invite the foreigner to visit her in the Philippines, so they have a change to know each other in person. When all paperwork is in order, the application for a tourist visa will take about two weeks, while an MVV (a visa that entitles you to apply for a residence permit in the Netherlands) may take several months.--Jeroen.

Under Philippine law, the second marriage would be null and void, and you, or the public prosecutor can charge your husband with a range of crimes, including fraud. Officially, as far as I know, the Philippines has no certificate of singleness: the thing that comes nearest to it is a certificate of non-appearance in the national marriage index at the NSO, which is only partly reliable, as their can be up to six months delay in marriage registrations arriving at this index, and historical records are often faulty. I think it important in your situation is to decide what you still need from him, such as for example financial support for you and your child, and find a way to obtain that. This may be very difficult, given that he is abroad. The second lady probably is just another victim of this behavior.--Jeroen.

Since the renewal of vows has no legal status at all, this is up to you, and maybe the church where you want to perform a ceremony.--Jeroen.

We are thinking of getting married next year too and i am currently studying the basic Dutch for the civic integration exam since its a requirement before I can get my MVV. If my bf will be based in UK, do I still need to take the civic integration exam? Will my bf be able to sponsor me and bring me to UK so we can get married there? Please advise. Thanks a million again.

A Schengen visa will not give you entry to the UK. You will need a UK visa for that. If you want to join your then Dutch husband in the UK, you need not take the exam. A tourist visa to the UK should be enough, based on EU rules, however, to get your capacity to marry, the Dutch Embassy will probably ask proof that your fiancee is not residing in the Netherlands.--Jeroen.

1. Legalized/registered my marriage in my country (Amsterdam) then file a divorce after legalizing my marriage.

2. File an annulment here in the Philippines.

I have evidence such as pictures and mails that my wife is cheating on me even before we get married. If I registered my marriage in Amsterdam and obtained divorce there, does it mean if I come back here in the Philippines, the Philippine government will honor my divorce paper or do I still need to file annulment here? Thank you very much. Hoping for your answer.

I am not a legal adviser, but suggest you first talk with a lawyer in the Philippines specialized in such cases. I can't go into details on your specific case. Although you cannot obtain a divorce in the Philippines (anymore, since 1946 or so), the Philippines does accept foreign divorces.--Jeroen

It much depends on where you are. If you are still resident in the Philippines, this will probably be a fairly difficult exercise. If you can demonstrate that the intent to cheat was already present at the time of marriage, that can be a ground for annulment, but, as always, demonstrating an intent is extremely difficult. Other cheating is no ground for annulment. If you are resident outside the Philippines, you can file for divorce in your country of residence. This will probably be a costly exercise as well. Note you cannot obtain a divorce in the Philippines, a foreign divorce is recognized in the Philippines. A hint since you are Dutch: your wife is most likely eligible for "rechtsbijstand".--Jeroen.

I don't know the details for Germany, but for many western countries, if you still have to start your paperwork, getting a permanent visa can take more than 3 months. However, the only one who can give an indication about this is the German embassy. Since much of the paperwork you need for a marriage is the same you will need for a visa, it probably doesn't make a big difference whether you marry here or in Germany (although in some countries, notably the U.S., getting married in the Philippines may actually cause further delays.)--Jeroen

Thanks for this site, it helps a lot, especially to those people who are confused about getting married in the Philippines.

I am a Filipino who was planning to get married here in Consulate of the Philippines, Milan, Italy to my Filipina girlfriend this coming December. My girlfriend is currently working in USA, and she will be here before our wedding. We're both single, natural born Filipino and legal age,I would like to ask about the complete requirements needed for that matter so that we have enough time to prepare whatever may be needed. I'm looking forward that you can help me with this.

Thanks and god bless!

Lou

You're most welcome. I don't know about the Consulate in Milan (give them a call!), but the Philippine Embassy in The Netherlands gives some relevant information on marrying abroad.--Jeroen.

What if the foreigner is a Muslim who is about to marry my sister as his second wife? Can this be possible since one of the requirements of the foreigner stated above is not married? Regards, Mike

I strongly advise against such marriages, even if the laws in some countries make this possible.--Jeroen.

Your question is somewhat unclear to me. There is no divorce in the Philippines, so that is out-of-the-question. Normally, people below 25 years will need parental consent to marry, but this requirement can be waived (after a waiting period of three months) if parents refuse consent. If it is not waived, the parents can object to issuing of a marriage permit. If the wedding has already taken place, it may be a ground for an annulment, but that already will be a complicated proceeding.--Jeroen.

At least one partner needs to have Philippine citizenship to be able to marry in the Philippines. Find out through the Philippine consulate in Germany whether you are eligible for re-acquisition of your citizenship. Then double check whether such re-acquisition will not affect your German citizenship with the German authorities (you do not want to loose that, I assume). If both say it is okay, you can re-acquire your Philippine citizenship, and marry following the procedure outlined in this article. If not, you'll have to marry elsewhere, and ask a Philippine church just to bless your wedding...--Jeroen.

I am happy to find your site and finally maybe you can give me some advice about my getting married in Philippines that really confuse my mind.

I am a Filipina who was getting married here in Australia to my Spanish fiance on this month May 25, 2007 which is held in the Australian registry. And of course we will having a legal copy of our marriage certificate and also a certified true copy from them after a week as what they said to us. But after marry here in Australia we're planning to get married in Philippines this coming September 2007 which is church wedding. My question is,

Do we still need to get a marriage license in the City hall?

I am sorry I cannot answer this for you. Since you are already married, I would think not, but it is best to talk with the priest who is going actually perform the ceremony about this. Do this long enough in advance, so you have time to prepare whatever may be needed. Other visitors may have the same question, so please tell us what you find.--Jeroen.

You have two options here. First, your boyfriend can apply for re-acquisition of Philippine citizenship, in which case he can follow the much easier marriage procedures for Filipino citizens. Before he does so, however, he should verify what effect this will have on his Australian citizenship (some countries don't allow dual citizenship). Second, he can not do so, and follow the procedure for foreigners as explained on this page.--Jeroen.

In this case, the Philippine Embassy in Turkey seems to misinterpret Philippine Law. Divorce in the Philippines is not possible, but foreign divorces are fully recognized, as the Philippine Embassy in Malaysia seems to understand. I think the proper approach is to obtain a copy of the relevant part of Philippine Law (Article 26, paragraph (2), of the Family Code, with relevant jurisprudence.), then draft a letter explaining this issue, and re-apply for the legal capacity. If it is refused again, you should ask the exact reason, note the name of the person refusing the legal capacity, and file a complaint against that person for lack of knowledge of relevant law with the Department of Foreign Affairs in Manila, and with the Office of the Ombudsman. Important: in all your correspondence carefully avoid mentioning you initiated the divorce, as the article can be interpreted such that this is only the case if the foreign spouse initiated the divorce, even though the literal text is not explicit about this (Even if you do not ask for a divorce, you still obtain it when the court grants it). Don't lie about this if you are explicitly asked.--Jeroen.

To all of you wanting to get married in the Philippines!!

I got married in just 4 days! I filled out the legal compacity to marry and she picked that up at the Manila embassy 1 week before we were due to marry.

My wife prepared all the paper work before I arrived. 3 days signing papers and seeing people in high places. We got married in a civil wedding and a church wedding the next day.

Yes it was very hard work for three days we would get up at 9am and return home again 11:30 pm.

I would plan for at least 6 weeks to process all things required to get married with a foreigner in the Philippines. All required documentation as outlined in this article will be required when applying for the marriage permit, and the 10 day waiting period cannot be waived. There are several alternatives. 1. Ask your fiance to come twice. During the first trip, you arrange the paperwork and apply for the marriage permit. During the second trip (I believe within 6 months, otherwise the permit will expire, ask about the exact term.) you get married and have a honeymoon. 2. Ask him to help get a fiancee visa, and get married in the US. Overall, this may actually be the quickest way to live together.--Jeroen.

We got married in Manila and we have original certificate from NSO Manila. I am from Nepal and she is from Germany but mom is Filipina. To complete the process what we have to do now. We are in Dubai at the moment and we do not have anybody in Philippines. Is there any agent that can work for us? Could you please help in this matter.

Thank you,

This depends on what you want to do. I do not know any agent in Manila. NSO documents can be obtained via their website, but for legalizations, somebody has to go to the specific offices.--Jeroen.

Lot of questions. Please read both this article and the article on visa. He won't be able to work in the Philippines without a permit, and that will be very hard to obtain before you two are married. Before he leaves the UK, he should get official documents stating his civil status, and his birth certificate, fully legalized by the Philippine Embassy in London. I am not in the position to find out details of immigrating to the UK, but your boyfriend can collect such information before leaving.--Jeroen.

This is always difficult because in the Philippines, divorce is not possible, and obtaining an annulment is a complicated procedure that will not always be successful; you could try this route by locating a lawyer specialized in this field, and a judge that is not to strict in the interpretation of the rules. Besides lobbying for a change of the law in the Philippines, the only way to obtain a divorce is to emigrate to a country that allows divorce, living there long enough for its courts to have jurisdiction, and then filing for divorce. Unfortunately, few countries allow this.--Jeroen.

1. Is there such a thing as spousal visa for Philippine citizen who wishes to join her Dutch husband living in the Netherlands?

2. Is the Philippine citizen required to know the Dutch language and pass the civic integration exam before getting a visa? Thank you so much for any advise you can give. Ciao.

1. Yes, what you need is called an "MVV", with the purpose of "family reunion." (Provided you are already married).

2. Yes, although the level of Dutch language skills required is rather low, this may be a considerable hurdle. This can be avoided, based on EU regulations, if your husband can temporarily relocate (for about 6 months) to Belgium or Germany, in which a tourist visa will be enough. Note that in that case, you may also miss the Dutch language course the Dutch government provides to new-comers, and Dutch you will still need to learn when living in the Netherlands.--Jeroen.

I think this is important for you to added on this site "Art. 26, (par. 2) of the Family Code provides:

Where a marriage between a Filipino citizen and a foreigner is validly celebrated and a divorce is thereafter validly obtained abroad by the alien spouse capacitating him or her to remarry, the Filipino spouse shall likewise have capacity to remarry under Philippine law."

In Opinion that:

“Divorce, as a general rule, is not recognized in the Philippines. However, in the situation contemplated in Article 26 of the Family Code, Supra, and only in that instance, the effect of divorce, which is the severance of the marriage ties, is allowed to benefit the Filipino spouse who is thereby given capacity to remarry under Philippine law.

You can browse all the data on these sites: http://cebuattorney.blogspot.com/ or http://ca.supremecourt.gov.ph/

A lot of cases you can use, as your references. You can share this to all foreigners who wish to get married here in the Philippines. This is good for them so they have the idea, what to do next if the marriage does not work out.

Jory, Thanks for filling in the details. I will integrate this information in the main article later, as it happens quite often that a Filipino-Foreign marriage breaks down. I personally know a number of cases. Some people seem to have a vested interested in spreading myths about the stability of such marriages, but I think in practice it is more difficult to work out than a same-background marriage. I am not opposed to mixed marriages (they can be great), but people better know the pros and cons before they enter into one.--Jeroen.

That is a confusing set of questions. In principle, if you father a child, you should shoulder the consequences, and take care for it and the mother. That is the most important reason marriage was invented. When you get married under Philippine law, you're always both asked whether you want it, so you said at least once you wanted it. You'll have to proof that you have been forced into it somehow to get an annulment. Since your name doesn't sound Filipino or Spanish; if you are not a Filipino you may be able to obtain a divorce in a jurisdiction outside the Philippines. Such a divorce will also be valid in the Philippines, however, that won't relieve you from your (legal and moral) duty to take care of the child and the mother.--Jeroen.

best regards

Ms. Jory H.

You are right, Jory, this happens quite often. Although divorce in the Philippines itself is not possible, the Philippines does recognize foreign divorces. For this it is not relevant whether the marriage took place in the Philippines or abroad. To have a divorce recognized, you'll need to bring the final court decision on the divorce to the Philippine Embassy in the foreign country in question (and if this is not in English, accompanied with a translation by an officially recognized translator). Note that such documents also need to be legalized by the ministry of Foreign Affairs of the country they come from. When these papers have been registered, you can also marry again in the Philippines.

Note that when you get married in the Philippines, your name may change officially to that of your husband. During a divorce, you can have this reversed as well, but this too may take time to have recognised by the Philippine authorities. This is one reason I advise to keep your own name when marrying (this is possible in the Philippines too) Another reason is that having a foreign name may make it slightly more complicated to buy land. Explaining this other reason may help to convince your husband to be that this is a good thing to do...

Note that a divorce will not be recognized by the Catholic Church, so you cannot marry in church again. To be able to do so requires an annulment procedure, which in most cases is not available.--Jeroen.

The most practical solution is probably to let her apply for a tourist visa for the Schengen area. She will still get questions from the Philippine immigration officers in that case, so if she has relatives or Filipino friends in one of these countries, give these as reference for Philippine immigration (only). Note that in your case, the EU rules probably also apply for the UK, as you're a resident of Spain, so the UK has to give her a residence permit with minimal procedure as well. Very positive the Spanish Embassy mentions this. The Dutch Embassy will not even hint about it, and the Dutch government is trying to change the rules (which would require changes in EU treaties). Philippine Immigration officiers have a sample book with all types of residence permits in it, and can recognize which ones are valid. They will let you leave the country if you can show a valid residence permit for the country you are going to, even without a visa.

English is a difficult language, and most foreigners make mistakes (including myself). I've seen Philippine laws being interpreted exactly opposite from what they would mean in (British) English, and suspect that upto one year should be interpreted as at least one year in this case.--Jeroen.