Getting Married in Philippines

[dkbronco 0]

Hey yall Darren from North Carolina here, first time poster but a long time lurker... so here's what is goin on...

Me and my fiance have been engaged for over a year now, we plan on getting married in Manila, Philippines. I'll be taking my 3rd trip over there.. I'll be landing on may 2nd at 9pm ... And I will be leaving May 15th at 6am ... Wishing I could stay longer but I can't because of work. We are just wanting to do a simple civil wedding, I don't have enough time for a church wedding I know that...

Ok so, I already made a appointment at the us embassy there for may 3rd for my Affidavit in lieu thing.

So here is my list of questions for you guys and I hope yall can help me with this because im stressing out! lol

ok so, I know there is like a 10 day wait to get married ... I will have a timeframe from may 3rd until the 14th because im leaving early on the 15th, So im estimateing that we can marry on the 13th? does that sound right to you guys? Will I have enough time? I'm really worried about this.

Also i'm 22 and my fiance is 19, i've been reading around and I seen some stuff regarding something about semonar's because she is under 21? Is this true even tho we are gonna be having a civil wedding?

Next question, I know it is phillipines law that 21-25 must have a parental consent, does that include me also? should i bring along a written consent from my parents? well its no problem but im just curious ..

Next question .. I read this on another post somewhere... *****A couple who chooses to be married in a civil ceremony will need to apply for a marriage license. Once the license is obtained, they need to go to a judge or a mayor to administer the solemnization of the marriage. There is a ten-day waiting period from the date of the civil wedding before the issuance of the marriage contract.****.........So is this saying I must wait a extra 10 days after the wedding to receive the marriage contract or am I reading this wrong?

I also know it's alot simpler to do a K-1 Visa, but my fiance does prefer to marry there, and also my job does not have the best pay so I dunno about the whole poverty rate thing and I read we don't have to pay the 1,000usd aos fee if we marry there, so we both decided it's more simpler...

[Artisan 138]

Hey yall Darren from North Carolina here, first time poster but a long time lurker... so here's what is goin on...

Welcome to VJ!

Ok so, I already made a appointment at the us embassy there for may 3rd for my Affidavit in lieu thing.

Great planning.

Also i'm 22 and my fiance is 19, i've been reading around and I seen some stuff regarding something about semonar's because she is under 21? Is this true even tho we are gonna be having a civil wedding?

Next question, I know it is phillipines law that 21-25 must have a parental consent, does that include me also? should i bring along a written consent from my parents? well its no problem but im just curious ..

You will both need to attend a Family Planning Seminar. When My wife and I married in February we got my affidavit on a Friday morning, took a taxi to Manila City Hall, took the family planning seminar, and then applied for our marriage license all on the same day. We even had the afternoon free to do some shopping at SM Manila just across the street. Have your fiance call Manila City Hall and check the times for the seminar.

Yes, your fiance will need her parent's permission to marry. Have her parents come with you to apply for the license and they can sign the paperwork there. You will not need it as far as I know, but if you want to dot your i's and cross your t's you can bring a signed letter of permission from your parents. It couldn't hurt and if, for whatever reason, the registrar asks for it you won't be stuck.

Next question .. I read this on another post somewhere... *****A couple who chooses to be married in a civil ceremony will need to apply for a marriage license. Once the license is obtained, they need to go to a judge or a mayor to administer the solemnization of the marriage. There is a ten-day waiting period from the date of the civil wedding before the issuance of the marriage contract.****.........So is this saying I must wait a extra 10 days after the wedding to receive the marriage contract or am I reading this wrong?

I also know it's alot simpler to do a K-1 Visa, but my fiance does prefer to marry there, and also my job does not have the best pay so I dunno about the whole poverty rate thing and I read we don't have to pay the 1,000usd aos fee if we marry there, so we both decided it's more simpler...

There is a 10 day waiting period after you apply for the wedding license before it may be released. Some people here have had experience skirting that requirement, but it is illegal and Manila City Hall has been going hard on people using fixers and bribes to reduce wait times. You have plenty of time to get it all done properly so I wouldn't risk anything trying to take a shortcut.

After you are married (you shouldn't have any trouble finding someone to perform your marriage the same day you get your license) you will have to wait two to three weeks for the NSO to register your marriage. After that is completed your wife can pick up a copy of your certified marriage certificate and send you a copy for the I-130.

Congratulations and good luck with your visa journey.

Edited January 15, 2013 by Artisan

[jameugiekaxavilon 25]

Best thing to secure parental consent encase they will ask. Once you get to Manila get your certificate of free to marry in US embassy. Then get marriage license. Requirement for this :

1) certificate of free to marry (US citizen)

2) Birth Certificate of both parties

3) Certificate of No marriage of both parties (you can get this in NSO - both are required to submit this to determined neither were married before) 3) payments

4) seminars (some requires you to attend seminars.)

Note : Made extra copy of the certificate of free to marry (xerox copy is okay) and other documents.

Once you get married to the civil its okay for the US citizen not to wait for the marriage contract to come because some instance it will take time to get a copy certified from NSO. Your wife can work to get the marriage contract from NSO and advice her to send it to you via dhl or any courier of your choice.

I wish you good luck!! and GOD bless!!!

[lierre 224]

They all have great answers to your questions.

I'm Filipino. We got married in Manila. While I can tell you alll about how we got married... The best resource for all this is your fiancee's city or town hall where you will apply for marriage license and for certificate, etc. Visajourney isn't the place for that.

Tell your fiancee NOW to ask ALL your questions in the Philippines, where she lives. Not to burst your bubble, but everything in the Philippines can delay your timeline if you don't research on the process well. Engage her in all your planning. Work your May 3rd schedule into it, of course.

Edited January 15, 2013 by ivyanddan

[rhein 451]

Not to burst your bubble, but everything in the Philippines can delay your timeline if you don't research on the process well. Engage her in all your planning.

Quoted for truth. I have read countless crazy stories about, for example, foreign paying hundreds of dollars for a marriage license/judge/etc. and I am not talking about to skirt anything, but just to get married. My wife handled all of this for us, with me tagging along and waiting hopefully somewhat patiently, and paid, I believe, 300 pesos for the marriage license. The judge was an acquaintance - not even a friend mind you - of a friend of my wife's, and married us for free. Indeed, he refused to accept any gift, monetary or otherwise, for his time.

Off topic, for all that I've read over the years of everyone in the Philippines trying to ripoff foreigners, I've never had anyone even try to rip me of. I have lived there on several occasions for periods ranging from 4 months to 7 months. With anything big ticket, I always ask my wife to handle it, since she is a gifted negotiator.

[Artisan 138]

With anything big ticket, I always ask my wife to handle it,since she is a gifted negotiator.

I always thought of myself as a great negotiator until I saw my wife in action.

We recently went jewelry shopping along Ongpin (an area near Divisoria known for some of the best jewelers in Manila). I wanted to buy a nice ruby earring set for my wife to match the engagement ring I had purchased for her nearly a year ago. I tracked down a wonderful set with some top quality natural rubies set in 18k gold with diamonds surrounding the rubies. The jeweler was asking P12.5k (~$310) which was a reasonable price. Jewelry, in case you didn't know, is severely marked up over the raw costs of materials so it is always something for which you should negotiate and I figured if I could talk the jeweler down to P8k I would be happy with the purchase.

My wife however took over negotiations immediately and when the jeweler eventually came down to 5k Michelle brooded on it for a moment then grabbed my arm and started walking me out of the shop telling the jeweler she would have to think about it. We left the shop and went down the street to window shop a bit and on our way back Michelle stepped back into the shop we had left, grabbed the attention of the jeweler and told her we would pay P4.5k (~$110) for the earrings. The lady took a few moments to think about it and when Michelle was starting to look displeased with the delay the jeweler folded and sold us the earrings at a third of the price she'd been asking. After returning to the US I had the earrings appraised by my jeweler and her gemologist for insurance purposes and the actual value was just over $500 (~P20k).

Edited January 18, 2013 by Artisan

[lierre 224]

Artisan, that's a funny story! I wish I had the tenacity of your wife in these negotiations.

Jon and Sol, the only times my husband and I have been ripped off was by those taxis at the airport. Everything went smoothly when we got married in Manila.

[mex 0]

In philippine law under age of 21 for (Men) who are likely to intent to marriage he should be accompany by his parents for him to register for Married License. with his parent/ guardian consent they should understand that you(child under 21)giving you permission to get into prior for married. Unless Your parent is away from you and that you need to have a letter consent from your parent and that had been signed completed by them(parent) to present them (Municipality registered office) That is one of the question will be asked.

[dkbronco 0]

In philippine law under age of 21 for (Men) who are likely to intent to marriage he should be accompany by his parents for him to register for Married License. with his parent/ guardian consent they should understand that you(child under 21)giving you permission to get into prior for married. Unless Your parent is away from you and that you need to have a letter consent from your parent and that had been signed completed by them(parent) to present them (Municipality registered office) That is one of the question will be asked.

But i'm not a citizen of the Philippines... and also i'm 22, neither of my parents have even been on a plane before so I know for sure they will never go to the Philippines... Will just a written letter signed by them be good enough?

[Artisan 138]

But i'm not a citizen of the Philippines... and also i'm 22, neither of my parents have even been on a plane before so I know for sure they will never go to the Philippines... Will just a written letter signed by them be good enough?

You shouldn't need anything as a foreigner but it would be best to have on hand a signed letter detailing that your parents have advised you about the marriage (the requirement for anyone between 22 and 25).

[dkbronco 0]

You shouldn't need anything as a foreigner but it would be best to have on hand a signed letter detailing that your parents have advised you about the marriage (the requirement for anyone between 22 and 25).

Gotcha.... Hey! thank all you guys for your replies... Fingers crossed all goes according to plan

[actob99 156]

But i'm not a citizen of the Philippines... and also i'm 22, neither of my parents have even been on a plane before so I know for sure they will never go to the Philippines... Will just a written letter signed by them be good enough?

You are getting married under Philippines law, it's up to them. Just like the weather there, everything changes from day to day, person to person. Would be a bummer if your trip fell short over a concent letter. I would absolutely have a letter with, definitely notorized. And copy of your parents identification( drivers licenses would work). That is PI law so I would make sure to have everything possible.

Good luck and Congrat's..

[Bron Chase 1]

Hey yall Darren from North Carolina here, first time poster but a long time lurker... so here's what is goin on...

Me and my fiance have been engaged for over a year now, we plan on getting married in Manila, Philippines. I'll be taking my 3rd trip over there.. I'll be landing on may 2nd at 9pm ... And I will be leaving May 15th at 6am ... Wishing I could stay longer but I can't because of work. We are just wanting to do a simple civil wedding, I don't have enough time for a church wedding I know that...

Ok so, I already made a appointment at the us embassy there for may 3rd for my Affidavit in lieu thing.

So here is my list of questions for you guys and I hope yall can help me with this because im stressing out! lol

ok so, I know there is like a 10 day wait to get married ... I will have a timeframe from may 3rd until the 14th because im leaving early on the 15th, So im estimateing that we can marry on the 13th? does that sound right to you guys? Will I have enough time? I'm really worried about this.

Also i'm 22 and my fiance is 19, i've been reading around and I seen some stuff regarding something about semonar's because she is under 21? Is this true even tho we are gonna be having a civil wedding?

Next question, I know it is phillipines law that 21-25 must have a parental consent, does that include me also? should i bring along a written consent from my parents? well its no problem but im just curious ..

Next question .. I read this on another post somewhere... *****A couple who chooses to be married in a civil ceremony will need to apply for a marriage license. Once the license is obtained, they need to go to a judge or a mayor to administer the solemnization of the marriage. There is a ten-day waiting period from the date of the civil wedding before the issuance of the marriage contract.****.........So is this saying I must wait a extra 10 days after the wedding to receive the marriage contract or am I reading this wrong?

I also know it's alot simpler to do a K-1 Visa, but my fiance does prefer to marry there, and also my job does not have the best pay so I dunno about the whole poverty rate thing and I read we don't have to pay the 1,000usd aos fee if we marry there, so we both decided it's more simpler...

Good luck Darren, getting married in the Philippines was by far the most amazing experience of my life. I too had plans of getting everything done in about 15 days and we were able to accomplish this. There was little room to spare though so I'm glad you're thinking ahead. My sister-in-law sells bridal packages for a living so by the time I got there they had the whole wedding ready to go, bridesmaid's dresses, catering, venue, invitations, etc. My wife even had the honeymoon to Boracay booked before I got there lol. I was only going to stay for 21 days and then go back to the states, but 2 years later and I'm still in Manila. Best wishes on the incredible experience that you have before you

- Bron (Makati/Utah)