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Suggestion Marrying your Filipina outside the RP

Discussion in 'Expat Section' started by ChMacQueen, Mar 10, 2016.

  1. ChMacQueen

    ChMacQueen DI Forum Patron Highly Rated Poster Showcase Reviewer Veteran Army

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    Hope someone has some current experience or knowledge on this. I'm trying to find out where is the easiest, cheapest, and still acceptable legal marriage outside the Philippines for a Filipina and a foreigner (American). For various reasons it can be troublesome to get married in the Philippines as there is no divorce and returning home to do it is expensive along with those of us who have already been divorced from a Filipina in the past and willing to give it another shot but don't want to deal with the expensive *recognition of foreign divorce* here.

    I was looking into Thailand and HK and not sure where else may be feasible for a week vacation and getting married. I keep running into the same issue where countries want a 30 day wait after you file and you must file yourself in person which makes it unfeasible especially in cases where a Filipino can't stay more then 14 days. What is tricky is most sites only talk of a foreigner marrying a local but really don't talk about 2 foreigners wanting to marry which could have a different set of standards.

    Anyways, does anyone have any suggestions, experience, or knowledge on the issue? Its either this or dump 60kp to finish the *recognition of foreign divorce* here and wait 3-6 months.

    Thanks

     
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    Post #13 by ChMacQueen, Apr 3, 2016 (5 points)
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  3. Mikala

    Mikala DI Member Blood Donor Veteran Navy

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    I just got married in Bangkok, Thailand at the end of September. There were surprises that we weren't prepared for. The first surprise was that all documentation on her part needed to be DFA certified. That necessitated her going back to Manila to take care of that issue. Then we found out that the Philippine embassy would not issue her the certified letter for her ability to marry until after a 10 day wait. That was painful! Due to these 2 issues, it took 3 trips to Thailand to get everything settled. After that, we found out that getting an NSO certified marriage license in the Philippines will probably take several months. If I had to do it over again, I'd just get married in the Philippines!

    1. Affirmation of Freedom to Marry in Thailand from embassies. There are forms available on the USA and Philippine embassy websites to perform this. Fill them out ahead of time. Go to the Philippine embassy website and find out their hours of operation and which holidays that they’re closed. USA embassy is by appointment only and they have a separate building across the street from the actual embassy to process minor paperwork like this. Make an appointment and follow the guidelines on the embassy website.

    2. Bring multiple photocopies of your passports.

    3. Have the Affirmation translated to Thai. Several agencies that do this around Sukhumvit wanted 3 days to perform the translation. We ended up using a guy nearby the Philippine embassy that soaked us on the fee, but got it done quickly.

    4. Go to the Department of Consular Affairs for authentication. If you pay an extra fee and get there before 11:30 am, you can get the authentication the next day.

    5. Register the marriage at the Amphur. To do this, you’ll need 2 copies of passports, Letter of Affirmation of Freedom to Marry (more copies), 2 witnesses. We did it on Sukhumvit and hired the witnesses.

    6. Have the marriage certificate translated to English. Recommend getting 2-3 certified copies of this.

    7. Register the marriage at the Philippine Embassy.

    Note: we went through so much trouble to get this stuff done (due mainly to the Philippine Embassy ridiculous requirements) that we ended up hiring an agent to take over the steps for us. Cost me about 9,000p overall, but it was worth having the guy pick up documents without us being involved. If needed, I can provide the guys phone number and email via PM.

    Note 2: the USA embassy was very professional and easy to get things done. Took me about 45 minutes each time I had to go there to complete my task. The Philippine embassy was a pain in the butt. Allow more time for those folks than you'd imagine. Take a cold drink with you.
     
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  4. robert k

    robert k DI Forum Patron Highly Rated Poster Veteran Army

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    The OP poses a good question here. The Philippines has to recognize any legal marriage from another country. Now to find an accessable foreign country where the bar is set low to get married. Mexico or Las Vegas in the US would be easy but too hard to get to. Maybe you could get the captain of a ship to marry you? There are cruise ships. Hit international waters and just do it! Would that work? Might be worth a try if nothing better shows up.
     
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  5. AlwaysRt

    AlwaysRt DI Forum Patron Highly Rated Poster Blood Donor Veteran Air Force Marines

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    A friend of mine got married on a cruise ship. Had to have the ceremony while still in port (Miami jurisdiction) for it to be recognised as a legal marriage. There is no international waters country to have a marriage license registered in so nothing for the Philippines to recognize.
     
  6. robert k

    robert k DI Forum Patron Highly Rated Poster Veteran Army

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    I was hoping it might be the country in which the vessel was flagged. Possibly your friend fell afoul of the cruise lines regulations and not the nations? I don't doubt your friend had to get married in port, I'm just not absolutely certain of the reason that was so. I will do some research. I always thought the captains power to marry people was due to his status of master after God of a ship on the high seas. If anything I would think his civil powers would be stripped in port.

    Found something.

    However, the option of a legal shipboard marriage has become tantalizingly real outside the territorial waters of the United States. Princess Cruises, whose Pacific Princess ship was the one piloted by Mr. MacLeod in the show, turned fantasy into reality in 1998, arranging for its captains to perform legal marriages on the high seas, with Bermuda, where its ships are registered, providing the marriage licenses. Celebrity, which is flagged in Malta, joined the party in 2008, offering legal weddings on some sailings. More recently the Bermuda-flagged Cunard followed suit, as did Royal Caribbean, whose ships are registered in the Bahamas, and which began offering legal marriages with captains as officiants on some sailings.
     
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    Last edited: Mar 10, 2016
  7. AlwaysRt

    AlwaysRt DI Forum Patron Highly Rated Poster Blood Donor Veteran Air Force Marines

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    OK, he got married on a Carnival Ship, sounds like it may have been Carnival's rule then. Although Carnival owns Princess and Cunard. Guess the best thing to do is pick a cruise and check the rules for that particular ship.
     
  8. robert k

    robert k DI Forum Patron Highly Rated Poster Veteran Army

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    That's life. I like to remember that what you don't know may not hurt you, but the things that you do "know" that aren't true can bite you in the a55. Nobody has time to google everything. We just do the best we can and stay on top of the financials. With your personal experience I would have said the same. I just had no personal experience.
     
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  9. AlwaysRt

    AlwaysRt DI Forum Patron Highly Rated Poster Blood Donor Veteran Air Force Marines

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    Yup and life is really funny sometimes. I find it hilarious the I have first hand experience and "knew" the wrong answer. You don't have first hand experience and googled the right answer. Has me :2rofl:
     
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  10. AlwaysRt

    AlwaysRt DI Forum Patron Highly Rated Poster Blood Donor Veteran Air Force Marines

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    Hey, are you making any progress on this? I knew about the proving divorce requirement but had no idea about the "little fee" to process it.
     
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    ChMacQueen

    ChMacQueen DI Forum Patron Highly Rated Poster Showcase Reviewer Veteran Army

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    I started just processing the recognition of foreign divorce as to many issues getting married abroad over the last 5-10 years so many countries have made it difficult to come for a week or two on vacation and get married even when its just 2 foreigners. I've been suggested currently it may take about 3 months but it all depends on how long it takes to get a court date with a judge.

    However one must understand the before process. For me I was divorced in Nevada per Nevada law. I was required to get the state to authenticate the divorce then the US consulate in the US then the Philippine Embassy in the US to certify it. Its an apostille certification that is needed. It cost be about $1,000 US to do that which was done through a service but the cheapest I could find as things have to be done in person and its quite complicated. Add on the Philippines *recognition* after you have the apostille done requires a court hearing with a judge and I was quoted multiple times at 50-60k to have it done but I found a lawyer (family friend) who is doing it much cheaper as I have everything in order.

    Now of course the same nonsense Philippine government nonsense may come into play. Their ONLY job is to acknowledge that my divorce is completely legal at the place it was received from and aren't allowed to question reasons and so forth. Yet they are going to require from what I have been told a posting in a local paper for my ex (but if you say she is elsewhere they will do the posting there, so better to say you don't know and the last you heard from her years ago she was around here. If you say she is overseas they will require the posting their upping the cost greatly). The judge shouldn't be able to play games based on if they like or dislike divorces but here you just never know.
     
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