Getting Signature for ROM

[Vegamanx7 12]

So I’ve lurked here for about a year and never posted until now. I apologize if this is the wrong place to ask this as I don’t post on forums pretty much ever so please forgive my cluelessness.

 

Anyways, I’m looking over the requirements for the Report of Marriage for the Philippines and was curious how others have gotten their spouse’s signature for this and other paperwork. It says it needs to be notarized as well. Are there notary publics in the Philippines? My wife is in Dinagat and I’m trying to figure things out. Thanks in advance for taking time to help!

[Adventine 3,201]

***Moved to the Philippines regional forum because this is a country-specific question***

 

FedEx and DHL work very well for sending documents to/from the Philippines. Do NOT use USPS because they partner with the PH post office, which loses packages regularly.

 

Notary publics exist in the Philippines. Your wife can easily find them near her local city hall.

 

Did you get married through Zoom? If yes, you may find this guide helpful:

 

 

Edited December 5, 2021 by Adventine

[Vegamanx7 12]

2 hours ago, Adventine said:

***Moved to the Philippines regional forum because this is a country-specific question***

 

FedEx and DHL work very well for sending documents to/from the Philippines. Do NOT use USPS because they partner with the PH post office, which loses packages regularly.

 

Notary publics exist in the Philippines. Your wife can easily find them near her local city hall.

 

Did you get married through Zoom? If yes, you may find this guide helpful:

 

 

Thank you very much for the info! Curious but my wife wants to know if she can file the ROM locally in the Philippines or if I have to do it through the consulate

[Adventine 3,201]

ROM is a consulate/embassy-specific process for people who get married abroad.

 

If you guys had gotten married the traditional way (in person in the Philippines), your marriage certificate would have had the usual Philippine format and filed in the usual way. I highly doubt any PH civil servant is going to know what to do with your foreign marriage certificate, especially if it was through Zoom.

[Vegamanx7 12]

1 minute ago, Adventine said:

ROM is a consulate/embassy-specific process for people who get married abroad.

 

If you guys had gotten married the traditional way (in person in the Philippines), your marriage certificate would have had the usual Philippine format and filed in the usual way. I highly doubt any PH civil servant is going to know what to do with your foreign marriage certificate, especially if it was through Zoom.

Thank you. That clears a few things up. I thought as well that it would have to go through the consulate. She just wanted to make sure she couldn’t do it easier in her country. Do you have any recommendations for posts about these topics on here? 

[Adventine 3,201]

Sure, the Philippines forum has a wealth of information on PH-specific topics, including ROM: https://www.visajourney.com/forums/forum/129-philippines/

 

VJ's search function is also great. Chances are, whatever issue you're facing has been asked and answered already.

[Chancy 6,241]

1 hour ago, Vegamanx7 said:

Curious but my wife wants to know if she can file the ROM locally in the Philippines or if I have to do it through the consulate

 

Your wife can actually file ROM through the DFA Aseana office in Metro Manila, but there is little/no benefit to do so.  Your wife will need to submit the paperwork via in-person appointment, whereas filing ROM through the consulate in the US can be done via mail.  DFA Aseana will just accept the ROM paperwork, then send it to the consulate that has jurisdiction.  It will still be the consulate in the US that will process the ROM.  Filing through DFA Aseana will only delay the process.

 

[Adventine 3,201]

Thanks for clarifying, @Chancy, I didn't know that. Sounds like the DFA Aseana option is even longer and more inconvenient than just filing the ROM at a consulate.

[Chancy 6,241]

4 minutes ago, Adventine said:

Sounds like the DFA Aseana option is even longer and more inconvenient than just filing the ROM at a consulate.

 

Exactly.  Why wait for DFA Aseana to send the ROM to the US when applicants can mail their paperwork to the consulate directly?  Maybe the option was made available by DFA for Metro Manila residents who are afraid of their ROM paperwork getting lost in the mail?

 

[Adventine 3,201]

As an edge use case scenario, the DFA Aseana option would work for two Filipinos whose permanent residence is in the Philippines but who had a destination wedding abroad and now need to file their marriage certificate. Still an extremely roundabout way to do it, though.

[Vegamanx7 12]

Thank you for the great info! I really appreciate it!