What steps do I do once I get there to marry?

[TheFoxAndHound 0]

Short story is my and my fiance (we are engaged) are ready to marry. I already got a lawyer here in the USA. He gave me all the paperwork and its all done. Except for the fact I still have to go to the Philippines to get married and have her sign papers for the lawyer. So I have a question about going there. I was told we need three things. A marriage certificate (to get married), a paper from the embassy there where I sign to show I am single and marriage counseling. So I have some questions about this:

1. Do I get the "single" paper first from the embassy before anything else. If so how long does it take?

2. Do we get the marriage certificate/counseling from the embassy or from her city/province? How long does this take and does it need to be done before or after #1?

3. I heard it takes about 10 days to get the certificate either way. When its ready do we go back to the embassy? If so should I stay in Manila until then or go 10 hours away to where she lives?

4. I heard this can all be done in under 10 days usually. Is this the case?

5. Lastly when we go to do all this should she call the embassy and set it up?

I am planning to do this all within the 21 days I am there as a visitor. If we don't have enough time (I don't think that will be the case), I will go to the embassy to file a extension. We also plan on booking hotels for Manila, near her city and in Borocay (honeymoon)before we leave. Thanks for any answers! We are so excited to get married but this stuff inbetween is a little stressful to figure out.

Edited January 2, 2013 by mattthecat

[Tahoma 2,292]

Short story is my and my fiance (we are engaged) are ready to marry. I already got a lawyer here in the USA. He gave me all the paperwork and its all done. Except for the fact I still have to go to the Philippines to get married and have her sign papers for the lawyer. So I have a question about going there. I was told we need three things. A marriage certificate (to get married), a paper from the embassy there where I sign to show I am single and marriage counseling. So I have some questions about this:

1. Do I get the "single" paper first from the embassy before anything else. If so how long does it take?

First, you need to get an Affidavit in Lieu of Certificate of Legal Capacity to Marry. You can get it at the U.S. Embassy Manila. It will take an hour or two. Make an appointment.

2. Do we get the marriage certificate/counseling from the embassy or from her city/province? How long does this take and does it need to be done before or after #1?

After you get your Affidavit in Lieu of Certificate of Legal Capacity to Marry from the U.S. Embassy Manila, then you go to the civil registrar's office in the town where your fiancée lives and apply for a marriage license. Getting a marriage license takes at least ten days.

3. I heard it takes about 10 days to get the certificate either way. When its ready do we go back to the embassy? If so should I stay in Manila until then or go 10 hours away to where she lives?

You can chill for ten days anywhere you want to while you are waiting for the local civil registrar to issue your marriage license. You don't need to return to the U. S. Embassy Manila for anything.

4. I heard this can all be done in under 10 days usually. Is this the case?

Not unless you know someone.

5. Lastly when we go to do all this should she call the embassy and set it up?

The only thing you're going to do at the Embassy is get your Affidavit. You can call them yourself and make an appointment.

I am planning to do this all within the 21 days I am there as a visitor. If we don't have enough time (I don't think that will be the case), I will go to the embassy to file a extension. We also plan on booking hotels for Manila, near her city and in Borocay (honeymoon)before we leave. Thanks for any answers! We are so excited to get married but this stuff inbetween is a little stressful to figure out.

The U.S. Embassy cannot extend your visa. The Philippines Bureau of Immigration can extend your visa. Here's their link: Philippines Bureau of Immigration link.

Here's what the U.S. Embassy Manila says about getting married in the Philippines: U.S. Embassy Manila link.

YMMV.

[Artisan 138]

Short story is my and my fiance (we are engaged) are ready to marry.

Congratulations!

4. I heard this can all be done in under 10 days usually. Is this the case?

Try to avoid using fixers or paying 'extra' to expedite the process. Civil registrars, in Manila especially, have been on a anti-fixer kick as of late and it could cause you delays. You may also need to attend a Family Planning seminar. The requirements for this differ based on the testimonials here on this forum. It is best to be prepared to attend. It only takes a couple of hours and my wife and I were able to get it done on the same day we applied for the marriage license. If your fiance is younger than 26 you will need either written permission from her parents (18-21) or a signed document that she was provided parental advice on marriage (22-25).

5. Lastly when we go to do all this should she call the embassy and set it up?

You can schedule your appointment to acquire the Affidavit of Freedom to Marry online at the US Embassy website.

https://evisaforms.state.gov/acs/default.asp?postcode=MNL&appcode=1

I am planning to do this all within the 21 days I am there as a visitor. If we don't have enough time (I don't think that will be the case), I will go to the embassy to file a extension. We also plan on booking hotels for Manila, near her city and in Borocay (honeymoon)before we leave. Thanks for any answers! We are so excited to get married but this stuff inbetween is a little stressful to figure out.

A civil wedding can be done in 21 days but it will be a busy three weeks for you (a Catholic church wedding cannot be done in that amount of time from start to finish). You can just extend your visa at immigration for an additional 38 days (if you are in Manila the immigration office is in Intramuros and you can enjoy some sightseeing after you are done). It will cost you PhP3030 (~$75). Be prepared for travel delays and have alternate plans in case of storms or typhoons. I hope all goes well for you.

[dave01 16]

Even after your married you will have to wait to get your certified copies of the marriage back from the NSO. That could take another month or longer.

[lierre 224]

Everything Tahoma and Artisan said is right.

Additional tips...

Schedule your appointment at the Us Embassy now. They only have a few slots open each day. We scheduled ours like 2 months in advance because he was travelling to Manila at very specific dates and didn't wanna waste time.

The requirements fof the marriage license are specific for each city/town. Tell your fiance to go to the city hall orprovincial hall where they live and get the info on marriage license requirements there. While this regional forum is country-specific, I assure you it is still better to ask the government for info related to govt documents.

If you are getting married in a church, tell your fiance to ask the requirements they have there. It is also specific to the church.

If you are marrying civilly (through a judge), make sure you fulfill all that is needed for the ceremony. And also, find a judge asap.

After getting married, your certificate still needs to undergo NSO processing. Ask the local city/town hall how you can expedite processing with NSO. What was done with ours was that the city hall gave me a letter that I should present to NSO Main Office. An original of our certificate was also sent to the main office via courier. We only paid about a 100 pesos for it but this might be different for each city/town. I got our NSO marriage certificate about a month after our wedding. The usual wait is 3-4 months.

Last tip: DO NOT DEAL WITH FIXERS. You and your fiance can definitely do all this on your own. Just research, ask the right people and do the legwork.

I'm the non-US citizen, by the way. But, me and my husband helped each other out by him researching all he needed to know for the Affidavit in Lieu etc thing, while I took care of figuring out the city-specific requirements for our Christian wedding last June 2012

Good luck!

Edited January 3, 2013 by ivyanddan