Getting Married in the Philippines as a UK National - December 2024

@Marco Grima

Is there anything else I should be aware of in terms of documentation or the marriage process in the Philippines?

How long have you known your bride to be?

@Lotus Eater

Since 2020 but in 2021 ive already brought her to where i was residing in Malta and we have a baby boy .🙂

Now looking to marry in the Philippines.

Hi, it depends on the local registrar. I showed my passport, my international birth certificate, my certificate from the embassy that I can get married and my divorce paper (in German language). This was enough for them from my side.

My partner had to bring her PSA birth certificate (birth certificate from the PSA) and her CENOMAR.

Then you have to attend a 4 hour course (most likely in Tagalog) of what to expect in a marriage.

After 10 days you will get the licence to get married.

The wedding (most likeley with the mayor) takes 10 minutes

As you might know, there is no divorce in the Philippines. An anullment is possible but very expensive (300k PHP).

Never give your wife more money as needed in more than one month. The girls here live from day to day and don't think of the future. If they get money, they spend it.

All the best

Andy from Boracay

@Andy_1963

Hey Andy,

Thanks a bunch for the info. I'll definitely get someone to check with the local registrar to see what they need.

And yeah, I think your advice is solid but in my case my finance is very good with saving and not splurging even if i ask her to treat herself 😅.

All the best,

Marco

@Andy_1963  while your advice is appropriate for many Pinay, some are very resourceful and industrious and like to set some money aside in savings. My fiancée is very responsible that way, but some of her friends and family pressure her a lot for "help" or to borrow money which often does not get paid back. Families tend to take advantage of Pinay with foreign boyfriends or husbands and most Filipina have a hard time saying no to family. It is an interesting dynamic.  I know with my wife-to-be, her family didn't have much use for her until she got a foreign guy, then all of the sudden they always had some excuse to visit and often to ask for loans or help.

@Patient pete the certificate of no impediment to marry is obtained from the British embassy in Manila you have to make an appointment on the Internet, this is strictly enforced giving them photocopies of various documents. Then you have to go to Manila in person to actually receive the certificate. My English birth certificate was accepted no problem. I was told wrongly by a local lawyer that I only need to turn up at the embassy and they would help me. They wouldn’t.

If you are getting married here in the Philippines the requirement can vary from one civil registrar to another. My friend gets married in Cebu and there they want the divorce paper with an Apostille. For my marriage it was enough to give them a copy of the divorce paper in German language.