Procedure in contracting marriage between a foreign national and a filipino
I. ESSENTIAL REQUSITIES:
A. Legal capacity of the contracting parties who must be male and female (a marriage celebrated between both males or females is void and inexistent, a minimum age for marriage is 18);
B. Consent (of the contracting parties) freely given in the presence of the solemnizing officer.
II. FORMAL REQUISITES:
A. Authority of the solemnizing officer;
B. A valid marriage license; and
C. A marriage ceremony
PROCEDURE
A. Prepare the following documents:
1. Foreign National
• Certificate of No Impediment (CNI) to marry – obtainable from the Registrar’s Office in the prospective foreign national's place of residence.
• Original copy or certified true copy of birth certificate.
• Original copy or certified true copy of divorce decree absolute or death certificate of deceased spouse, if applicable.
• A Moral Character Reference, which takes the form of a letter or certificate from a person of authority, a social worker, health or education officer, or a church minister who has direct personal knowledge of the prospective foreign spouse’s character as well as background.
NOTE: All the above specified documents must be submitted to the prospective foreign spouse’s Embassy/Consulate in the Philippines upon arrival thereat. The Embassy/Consulate will then issue a CERTIFICATE OF LEGAL CAPACITY TO MARRY to the prospective foreign spouse.
2. Filipino National
• NSO Authenticated birth certificate
• Certificate of No Marriage (CENOMAR) issued by the NSO
• Community Tax Certificate (Cedula)Recent 1 x 1 Photo
• Affidavit of parental consent (if the bride and/or groom is 18-21 years old)
• Affidavit of parental advice (if the bride and/or groom is 22-25 years old)
NOTE: If the applicant is a widow or widower, death certificate of the deceased spouse is needed.
B. Apply for marriage license
Contracting parties should apply for a marriage license at the Office of the Civil Registrar where the Filipino contracting party habitually resides. The Civil Registrar’s Office, after receiving such application, is required by law to put on public notice the intended marriage for a period of ten (10) consecutive days. During this ten (10)- day public notice, both the contracting parties shall not be allowed to leave the Philippines, as objection to the intended marriage may be raised by any person. No marriage license may be issued until this requirement has been fully satisfied. Both parties are likewise required to attend a pre-marriage counseling (by the priest or minister of the church or religious sect to which the party concerned belongs, or a marriage counselor accredited by the proper government agency, usually from the DSWD) and family planning and responsible parenthood seminar from the Municipal’s Office. The license shall be valid in any part of the Philippines for a period of one hundred twenty days (120) from the date of issue, and shall be deemed automatically cancelled at the expiration of the said period if the contracting parties have not made use of it.
D. Solemnization of Marriage and issuance of marriage certificate thereafter
The contracting parties shall present the marriage license to the church or the entity where they intended to get married as a requirement for the preparation of the marriage contract ready for signing on the scheduled marriage ceremony. No prescribed rite for the solemnization of the marriage is required. It shall be necessary however, for the contracting parties to appear personally before the authorized solemnizing officer and declare in the presence of not less than two witnesses of legal age that they take each other as husband and wife. This declaration shall be contained in the marriage certificate which shall be signed by the contracting parties and their witnesses and attested by the solemnizing officer.
REFERENCES:
The family code of the Philippines
DFA, Philippines
Local Civil Registrar notices
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