Friday, September 10, 2010

Filipina Brides - What Do Documents Do You Need To Get Married in the Philippines?

If you've decided to marry your Filipina lady in the Philippines, prepare to take at least one month off from work to work on your marriage documents. Why? Because the many cases of Filipina brides-related scams have forced the Philippine government to make the marriage process complicated. The intention is that only those who are sincerely in love can get married.

However, in a nutshell, getting married in the Philippines is essentially just a two-step process of:
1. Securing a marriage license
2. Booking your wedding


Although it looks simple enough, each process however, has "sub-processes" that are notoriously complicated to complete.

To secure a marriage license, you will need the following documents:

LEGAL CAPACITY TO CONTRACT MARRIAGE for the foreign national, and
Certificate of No Marriage (CENOMAR) for both the would-be husband and wife,
Other documents required by the local civil registry office

Applying for That Marriage License 


When you have copies of the Legal Capacity to Contract Marriage, CENOMAR and all the other documents, you may apply for marriage license at the local government office (city hall or municipal hall) where the Filipina is currently residing in.
Philippine government guidelines require that the couple should both be present at the time of application. A marriage license in the Philippines takes around 11 days to be issued AFTER application. Within the 11-day window, you will need to attend a marriage preparation seminar (again this is something required by the Philippine government).

A Special Note on Catholic Church Weddings 


You can book a Catholic Church wedding at the local Catholic Chancery's office.

Submit your marriage license, plus the same set of legal documents you submitted for the marriage license. You will also have to submit a baptismal and confirmation certificate if you are Catholic.

If one of you is divorced or, secure a certificate of Church annulment if you were previously married through a Catholic wedding. You can get it at the Catholic Archdiocese office in your country.

Click below to find out where you can get copies of the documents listed above:
How To Get Married in the Philppines 





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