Filipina wife, now USC; HKG divorce; risk in traveling to Phils?

[Bdh408 0]

What do you mean "have it registered"?

Thanks.

If the marriage occurred in the Philippines, and the Filipino wants to marry again in the Philippines or any where else and she will have it registered, she will have to get the HK based divorce authenticated by the Phil Consulate serving the HK area where the divorce occurred, then have the divorce go through a court review process in the Philippines.

You may want look into the process further to make your marriage legal.

NOTE: I am not an attorney, nor do I practice as one on TV or any other medium. Your mileage may vary.

[Hank_ 9,173]

What do you mean "have it registered"?

Thanks.

If the foreign citizen filed for the divorce the Philippines will recognize the divorce, there is a process for doing this of course.

[Greenbaum 12,258]

What do you mean "have it registered"?

Thanks.

It is a process that needs to be completed to be register in the Philippines so that in the event that any Filipino wants to remarry they can legally under Philippine Law . BUT!!! First off all bets are off if the couple are both Filipino's unless one has attained a foreign citizenship and initiates the divorce in another country and upon the other who wants to remarry (like in the case that we are reviewing now). If she never divorced legally from her first marriage then in the eyes of the Filipino government she is still married and hence committing bigamy. I am not an attorney and therefor your case may need a family lawyer. I would seek out the professional help of an attorney who is well versed in Filipino marriage laws.

[VOL 425]

If the foreign citizen filed for the divorce the Philippines will recognize the divorce, there is a process for doing this of course.

This is how I understand it works.

And

If the divorce is filed by the person from Philippines and then then the divorce would not be recognized in Philippines

[Hank_ 9,173]

This is how I understand it works.

And

If the divorce is filed by the person from Philippines and then then the divorce would not be recognized in Philippines

also... I have heard that if SHE was a USC when she filed the divorce at that time they will accept it also, but don't know that for fact

[Al422 221]

Maybe it is as simple as the Phil govt not recognizing her second marriage. so they don't see bigamy here. Instead they simply see it as she is still married to her first husband and you are a nullity. If that is the case, I don't see a problem as they can think whatever they like.

I am not saying this is the case; it is just a possibility. The dovorce happened outside of Phil, so they don't recognize it. If her marriage to you also happened outside of Phil, they should not recognize that either.

[Hank_ 9,173]

Maybe it is as simple as the Phil govt not recognizing her second marriage. so they don't see bigamy here. Instead they simply see it as she is still married to her first husband and you are a nullity. If that is the case, I don't see a problem as they can think whatever they like.

I am not saying this is the case; it is just a possibility. The dovorce happened outside of Phil, so they don't recognize it. If her marriage to you also happened outside of Phil, they should not recognize that either.

Depends on who petitioned the divorce as to whether it will be recognized in the Philippines.

[manilaraf 28]

In my years here in a PHL, and from what I've seen from the law. I think bigamy will only be an issue if the first husband files a case against the OP's wife for bigamy. I don't think the PHL Gov't will go out of its way to prosecute for bigamy, particularly if she's solely a USC now.

Not a lawyer though. And I guess in this case, being a Dual Citizen would complicate the issue.

[Greenbaum 12,258]

Maybe it is as simple as the Phil govt not recognizing her second marriage. so they don't see bigamy here. Instead they simply see it as she is still married to her first husband and you are a nullity. If that is the case, I don't see a problem as they can think whatever they like.

I am not saying this is the case; it is just a possibility. The divorce happened outside of Phil, so they don't recognize it. If her marriage to you also happened outside of Phil, they should not recognize that either.

Hank is right and therein lies the problem. Any other place in the world would accept their HK divorce as the real deal. But, the Philippines does not recognize a divorce to a Filipino Citizen unless the divorce is filed against the Filipino by the foreigner. Once the Filipino has the final divorce decree then they must send it through a control set of steps to render it registered and recognized by the Philippines enabling the Filipino to remarry again. But if a Filipino married a Filipino in the Philippines they cannot legally divorce in another country but must invoke the process to avail themselves to an annulment which is the only document that the Philippine government will accept. It can be confusing because you have the Filipino law and then you have the World law (country dependent).

Here are those steps.

Once you attain the divorce you will need the decision of the divorce (works also for an annulment), entry of judgment, then the decree of divorce (annulment). Then you’ll need to secure copy of the marriage contract with the divorce (annulment) annotated on it. A total of four documents. You’ll need to wait 20 days from receipt of the Solicitor General of copy of the decision before you can secure the Entry of Judgment. After securing the Entry of Judgment, you will have to register the same to the Local Civil Registrar where the marriage took place or Filipino’s hometown. The said office will transmit the same to the NSO. You will show the Court what date the LCR transmitted the documents to the NSO. With the proof of receipt of the NSO, the Court will then issue the Decree of Divorce (Annulment). After 15 days from receipt of the NSO of your documents, you can now request a copy of the marriage contract with the annotated divorce (annulment) proceedings. You need to request at least 4 certified copies for future use.

A122, if the parties in the first marriage didn't record their marriage then the Philippine government would have no record and would not "see anything" different about this couple that was married somewhere else. But, if the marriage was recorded (I believe this is to Filipino citizens that originally married in the Philippines hence it would be registered) then there is a record of that first marriage. But, entering the Philippines on a foreign passport in your new name is not going to set off any red lights or sirens. But once known by the government of their "real status", then they would be considered in a bigamy relationship and could be charged with a crime of Bigamy and penalized under Article 349 of the Revised Penal Code. There is a double standard here as I pointed out in my first paragraph.

So on one hand they can enter and be the "new" couple without concern but once she is trying to avail herself of a new Filipino passport or any government related programs she will find she needs to prove she has a clean marriage path.

Depends on who petitioned the divorce as to whether it will be recognized in the Philippines.

You are right.

Edited March 10, 2015 by Greenbaum

[Al422 221]

I suppose if you really want to do things right and can afford it, hiring a lawyer in the Philippines is the way to go.

[Greenbaum 12,258]

I suppose if you really want to do things right and can afford it, hiring a lawyer in the Philippines is the way to go.

Your right. When they "divorced" in HK and remarried without doing the proper protocol, they just put 10 layers of paperwork and expenses just to get themselves out of this mess.

It won't bite them till they need to have documents renewed from a Philippine Government entity. This is what she gave up if they don't straighten this out:

What are the rights and privileges of dual citizens?

1.Securing a Philippine passport. It is suggested that Filipino migrants in new Zealand who have re-acquired Filipino citizenship apply for a Philippine passport immediately after their oath-taking. Please click here for passport application procedures.

2.The right to vote during Philippine National Elections through the Overseas Absentee Voting Act of 2003;

3.Ownership of real properties in the Philippines;

4.Engaging in business in the Philippines;

5.Practicing one’s profession, with license from the Professional Regulation Commission;

6.Unlimited period of stay in the Philippines. Residency in the Philippines is not a requirement for those who have re-acquired their Philippine citizenship;

7.Balikbayan privilege allowing the foreign spouse and children below 18 years old holding foreign passports to stay in the Philippines for one year, provided that they are travelling with the Filipino citizen;

8.Holding public office, provided that those seeking elective office meet the qualifications as required by the Philippine Constitution and existing laws, and at the time of the filing of the certificate of candidacy, make a personal and sworn renunciation of any and all foreign citizenship before a public officer authorized to administer an oath;

9.Other rights and privileges accorded to Filipino citizenship, such as application of local rates for school fees, business licenses, etc.

If the benefits of reacquiring Filipino Citizenship is not important then they can live out their life as a naturalized USC. If in say, 30 years he dies and she wants to return back to the Philippines then she will have to get on the merry-go-around of getting an ACR card and jump through the hoops just like regular expats from the US must do.

[Pitaya 2,576]

~Rather than attempt to hijack a rather dated thread, new thread started~

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/573454-hk-divorce-lawyer-split-thread/

Edited October 29, 2015 by Pitaya