Why it takes 3 weeks to get married in the PI??

[Rahstyles 10]

Thats weired..

Okay first off.. i applied for my license.. on Jan11 then got my marraige liscense on jan 21 then i got married on jan 21. I returned to the usa on jan 22 then i finaly got info that my marriage certificate was approved at the NSO office and now im waiting for my wifes mom to go pick it up at the city hall where she lives..

It took me about a week and a half for all of that.. why do people keep saying it takes about 3 weeks to get married?

[X Factor 1,112]

Maybe they applied on December 24 that is why it took 3 weeks

[Rahstyles 10]

Maybe they applied on December 24 that is why it took 3 weeks

Why would that matter?

[EAS 45]

Thats weired..

Okay first off.. i applied for my license.. on Jan11 then got my marraige liscense on jan 21 then i got married on jan 21. I returned to the usa on jan 22 then i finaly got info that my marriage certificate was approved at the NSO office and now im waiting for my wifes mom to go pick it up at the city hall where she lives..

It took me about a week and a half for all of that.. why do people keep saying it takes about 3 weeks to get married?

I can't answer why people say that it takes 3 weeks but some things to consider are:

• The shortest and most direct flights from the USA arrive in Manila after "Office hours". So if you count the day of arrival that is one day.
• If you don't have the document from the US Embassy then that is probably at least another day, maybe two.
• 10 day waiting period between application for marriage license and issue of said license.
• A LOT of Filipinas* want a "special ceremony" not just a civil ceremony therefore there is probably at least one or two days between obtaining the marriage license in hand and the date of the actual ceremony.
• Since the shortest and most direct flights back to the USA leave around 6:00 AM, some may prefer not to 'dine and dash' so they spend a least the day following the ceremony with their new spouse.

So, 1+1+10+1+1 = 14 days.

This presumes that everything works out and happens in a timely manner and that no other travel is involved. If one must travel to a provincial town or city then add the travel days. If the Government office is closed or inefficient add that time. If your future spouse isn't the best with organization and planning and you haven't taken care of all needed details then add that time. If you have to attend marriage counseling then add that time. etc.

By taking the right flights it is theoretically possible to get married in exactly 10 days [that is, the legally required wait time] but most people may want [or have] to do it more leisurely.

* This statement is a generalization based on a limited sample.

Edited February 19, 2013 by EAS

[erynaught 43]

After years of conducting business in Manila, let me add that NOTHING happens on time in PI. NOTHING.

[Rahstyles 10]

Well i got a little help..

I applied for my lisence the same day i arrived in the PI .. but i had to travel to manila to get my affidavite 2 days later.. but it was okay for me to appy for the license first and get my affidavite and give it to them later..

[JoBri 548]

It took us 3 days. Arrived in Phils early AM on a Sunday, January 13, 2008, and married in the afternoon on that Tuesday, January 15, 2008.

[carton025 38]

There is a "waiting" period of 10 days between applying for the marriage license and getting married. However, some, like you, don't have to wait the 10 day waiting period and, unlike you, some do have to wait the 10 days.

[Tintin and Mike 127]

There is a "waiting" period of 10 days between applying for the marriage license and getting married. However, some, like you, don't have to wait the 10 day waiting period and, unlike you, some do have to wait the 10 days.

:thumbs:

I don't know why this is even in question when you know you didn't go through the normal process.

[GaryKO 49]

There is a 10 waiting period from the time the marriage license is applied for and the releasing of the license. Some registrars interrupt this 10 days as working days, week ends and holidays don't count.

All these internet guides are wrong about how to apply for a marriage license in the PI. Do you really think the local registrar office requires both Filipinos to appear in person to apply for the license if one lives far away? Travel is expensive in the PI for most people, if one person lives far away and travel would be a problem just to apply for the license then most of the time they will allow only the one of the parties getting married to apply for the license.

If time is a problem and the US citizen cannot be in the PI but a week, then the Fiancee should go to her local civil registrar office, explain the problem and ask if she can apply for the license herself. Most of the time they will allow this, and tell her what documents they need in advance, some registrar offices will not, but it don't hurt to ask.

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

The three weeks is for a Church wedding - the posting on the marriage banns for three consecutive Sundays.

[A and T 82]

It took me a month almost, no idea why by the time we got the official forms in the mail it was about 3 weeks.. or so.

[JoBri 548]

Oh, but we did go through the normal process. We just did a little advance planning. Took a few months of sending the application back and forth to various agencies and back and forth between the US and Philippines, but in the end it saved time on the ground in the Philippines. And they had the application on display for their 10 days as well, I just wasnt in the Philippines yet when they displayed it.

Not sure why it always gets people worked up when they find out that we went through the normal channels and still got married in 3 days.

Edited February 20, 2013 by Brijo

[JoBri 548]

Here is how we got the 10 day wait done in advance.

1. My wife went to City Hall and asked for the application.

2. She filled out her portion and signed it.

3. She sent the application to me in the USA and I filled out my portion, and signed it in front of the notary public at our bank.

4. I hand carried it to the county clerk's office, who validated it.

5. I had to mail it then to the Tennessee Department of State, who authenticated it, and sent it back to me then.

6. I mailed it to the Philippines consulate in Washington, DC, who did their thing with it. They then sent it back to me.

7. I sent it with a photo of me back to my wife in the Philippines, and she took it to Quezon City City Hall, and they displayed it for her the required 10 days.

8. When I arrived in the Philippines, the first thing we did that Monday was go to the embassy, and get that thing done.

9. I called that same day to try to make arrangements for the marriage counseling. I told the woman that we had to get the counseling, but she insisted that since we were older they would not require us to do that. I tried, but they said no, so we went with what we were told there. At any rate, it never proved to be an issue for us, they still married us.

10. That same day, Monday, we went to City Hall in Quezon City, and my wife spoke with the clerk there, showed her all our papers, and the clerk made arrangements on the spot for us to come the next day, Tuesday, to be married.

11. We showed up at City hall at the right time. The judge who married us was also a pastor at a local church he told us. He reviewed our papers, 2 witnesses at City Hall came in, and he married us.

12. A few days later my wife handed me the marriage certificate,

So that was OUR journey... We tried to do it right, but also tried to save time. In the end we were successful, and we are happily married and living in the USA and life is good.

[JoBri 548]

By the way, prior to going the route mentioned above, I called the Philippine consulate in Washington DC and explained our situation to someone there. I told him I was limited in the number of days I could be in the Philippines, and he kindly explained to me, step by step, the procedure we followed, as mentioned in the post above. I took good notes, and did exactly as he told me. This was in the summer of 2007 when I spoke with the Philippines consulate. So it took us several months to get it all done prior to us getting married in January 2008.