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How to get married in the Philippines

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Does anyone know how to get married in the Philippines? or have any of you got married there?
13 years ago, July 20th 2010 No: 1 Msg: #116106  
Hi

We plan on getting married when we do our RTW trip. I have been searching for information about how to get married (as UK citizens) in the Philippines. I have found the legal requirements and what documents we will need but I found it all a bit confusing. I do not want a religious ceremony but I can not find any information about a civil cermony or how to arrange this. Ideally I would like it to be on a beach somewhere like Borocay. I also can't find costs except for at the big 5 star resorts where it costs thousands. We just want a simple, quick ceremony and then to go onto a restaurant and maybe stay in a slightly nicer place than the backpacker places we will have been staying at, for 1 night.

If anyone has any info or has done something similar I would really appreciate any advice.

<test edit>
[Edited: 2011 Sep 21 10:18 - Administrator B:102092 - Just testing]
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13 years ago, July 22nd 2010 No: 2 Msg: #116232  
Hello Tina 😊

There is probably a way to get married in most countries, but what makes it complicated is that when you get married in a country, that might be the only country you are officially married in. When you go home, you will not in fact be married in the UK(I think that is where you said you are from?)

What you need, if you dont want to get a bunch of hassle when you live and work in other countries is a marriage service which will provide you with an international marriage certificate.

My sister had to get married twice. Firstly in the US, because her husband is American and they wanted to live there for a while, and secondly in Ireland, when they wanted to live there. If they hadnt got married again in Ireland, they would have had to pay single persons income tax.


Mel Reply to this

13 years ago, July 22nd 2010 No: 3 Msg: #116273  
Hey Tina. It might be a bit more complicated if both of you are foreigners but alot of couples do civil wedding here, but you'd be required permits to wed or something like that.

when you get married in a country, that might be the only country you are officially married in



... I think I have to agree with Mell. My sister married her scottish boyfriend in scotland so they're officially husband & wife there but if I remember it right, they still have to get married here in the Philippines to be also considered as husband & wife here. There no divorce in PI too.

... i don't know much actually. The embassy might be able to help more? Reply to this

13 years ago, July 23rd 2010 No: 4 Msg: #116360  
Hi Tina, civil weddings in the Philippines are handled commonly by the town or city mayor, you may try the city government of Boracay (Aklan town) for that. Try asking the tourist board, maybe they could assist you as well. For costing, maybe you could just ask the city government for any fee that needs to be covered. If I am not mistaken, the Philippines provides marriage certificate that can be accepted internationally, but then again, it would be best to ask information from the city government. I have known of non-citizens marrying Filipinos and their marriage here have been accepted abroad, but then if both foreigners marries here, it might or might not be another case. Have you tried asking the Philippine embassy about this matter?

Anyways, congratulations in advance and best wishes!

~ckatecu Reply to this

13 years ago, July 25th 2010 No: 5 Msg: #116420  


Hi Tina, I am no expert in how to get married in the Philippines but have a friend who is from the Philippines and will get you some information.

However, if you are planning a stop in the Caribbean I can help you with that. We got married on the beach in Barbados and it was wonderful.

MJ Reply to this

13 years ago, July 25th 2010 No: 6 Msg: #116435  
You usually have to be in the country and area you want to marry in for a certain amount of time before the ceremony so you would need to check this out. When getting married abroad I think you need some sort of sworn affadavit from your Embassy in the country you want to marry saying you are free to marry but most Embassies will not give these out anymore - I remember reading about it in passing on the embassy's website when we were looking at passport renewals.

It's definitely not as easy as you think it should be and if you do get married in the Philippines you will be issued with a marriage certificate from the Philippines and not from the UK. The marriage may be accepted in the UK as you can deposit your marriage certificate (you will not be issued with a UK certificate, you would need to get married in the UK for this) but you need to check if there may be problems later on - eg as Tinie says divorce is illegal in the Philippines, so would this mean a British court would have to follow the Philippines law with divorce or British law? Not that I'm thinking badly here, I just think you need to make sure everything is the same as how it would be if you married in the UK. I also remember seeing an article on BBC News a while ago saying that the UK doesn't accept marriage certificates from all countries so it may mean you will have to get married in the UK when you get back anyway.

Take a look at the FCO's website here . I'd say just do it quickly before you leave if you want to and then have some sort of blessing or renewal celebration while you are away, it would probably save a lot of hassles!

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13 years ago, July 26th 2010 No: 7 Msg: #116492  
B Posts: 151
Hi Tina, 😊

To get married in the Philippines, I believe you have to apply for a marriage license at the office of the Philippines local civil registrar of the town where you'll planning to marry. But first, you'll need a "Certificate of Legal Capacity" to contract marriage (proving you're single, at least 18 yrs of age and free to marry) which can be obtained from the embassy. Once all the paperworks are in order, the civil registrar or town's court should be able to refer you to a "wedding officiant", "solemnizing officer" or "civil celebrant" to conduct the wedding ceremony.

And as for divorce, the Philippines version of divorce is called Annulment. I have friends and relatives who got their marriages dissolved in the Philippines through annulment.

A foreigner or non-Filipino-citizen who got married in the Philippines and wish to remarry can simply file for divorce in his/her own country. The decree of divorce filed abroad is legally binding and recognizable by Philippines law.

Filipino citizens, however, have to apply for Annulment which can be a long drawn process.

Hope this helps.

cheers and good luck ! 😱
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12 years ago, September 20th 2011 No: 8 Msg: #143635  
yes u need a cni from your country and then change for cni in phil then u can get marriage license from city hall it takes a bout 10 t0 14 working days to get it u also will need to be in pbil for 21 days i have just got married in phil on the 23 /3/11 it was a great time , wonderfull place phil regards brian &jojo mckenna Reply to this

11 years ago, January 17th 2013 No: 9 Msg: #165221  

11 years ago, February 6th 2013 No: 10 Msg: #166025  
I am an American who wants to get married to a Filipina in her country she lives in MAnila in quezon City what do I need to do? Reply to this

11 years ago, February 7th 2013 No: 11 Msg: #166055  

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