CFO and Passport ammendment question

[mr&mrs4ever 0]

Hello Everybody,

My question is simple, here in the Philippines my wife cannot have her passport amended to add my last name until she attends CFO.

If she has her current passport which only has her maiden name stamped with the CFO thing, then won't her new passport not have the CFO thing on it?

Has anyone experienced this? How does this work, is there a stamp they put on the passports or is it just paperwork? I'm confused, any suggestions or advice is more than appreciated. TIA

[reginakrys 33]

After your wife attends the seminar, she will be given a certificate of attendance which she needs to show to DFA in order to have her name changed on her passport. After she gets her visa, she will go back to the CFO office (bringing the same certificate and some other documents) to get the sticker.

[djames95 3]

I guess it depends on what DFA office you go to! My wife just went to the one in General Santos. She renewed her passport, and had it changed to refelct her married name. All they required of her was to show a copy of her NSO marriage contract!

[bigdog 376]

At least you got two good answers, similar in nature. Government is government no matter what country.

[Bron Chase 1]

Hello Everybody,

My question is simple, here in the Philippines my wife cannot have her passport amended to add my last name until she attends CFO.

If she has her current passport which only has her maiden name stamped with the CFO thing, then won't her new passport not have the CFO thing on it?

Has anyone experienced this? How does this work, is there a stamp they put on the passports or is it just paperwork? I'm confused, any suggestions or advice is more than appreciated. TIA

The CFO website says you need to attend the seminar in order to get the married name on the passport, but the DFA website doesn't mention it. Regardless, your wife will have to have that CFO sticker on her passport in order to leave the country with an immigrant visa. Your wife needs to attend the seminar (my wife did it at PRISM across from La Salle on Taft Ave.). They give you a certificate of completion, you photocopy it, then you take it to the CFO building at the corner of Quirino and Osmena hiway. They take the photocopy of your certificate of completion there and tell you to come back when you've updated the passport with the new last name and you've secured your visa. Then they put the CFO stamp in the passport so your wife can leave the country.

- Bron (Makati)

[mr&mrs4ever 0]

Thank you all so much for this information! I get it now, how that part of the process works and I will go to PRISM this week probably in the morning. Thanks so much again everyone.

God Bless!

[Tr. J 0]

Thank you all so much for this information! I get it now, how that part of the process works and I will go to PRISM this week probably in the morning. Thanks so much again everyone.

God Bless!

I just want to share mine. My passport is under my maiden name and it will be expired on 2013. I went to CFO and attended the seminar before my interview and even though your passport is still under your maiden name it's ok because all they need is your marriage certificate from NSO so the last name that they will put on the certificate that you will receive will be your husbands surname already. But if your passport will expire next year and you don't have the interview date yet better get a new one. But in my case I didn't because it will be expired on 2013 and when I had my interview the CO accept it. I hope I help a bit. God bless!!

[easyriders2011 14]

My wife just went through this process last week. She went to St. Mary's in Cebu. Ughhhh!!!! Man these nun's were a bunch of jerk(ette)s. They were hassling everyone trying to convince them not to marry their foreigner bf. In our case we are already married so that horse had already left the barn, but they still singled her out because I have a few divorces in my past. They harassed her for hours and she ended up having to stay in Cebu for an extra day because she ran out of time going back and forth getting all of the documents from me each time they came up with a new demand.

She completed the seminar, then she went to the CFO office where she obtained her GCCertificate.

She then took this document with her to the DFA in Butuan and she was able to get her passport renewed in her married name.

I think you should figure on needing the GCC and not hope your DFA experience is like the person who went to General Santos. After checking on another board I found out this was a hard and fast rule, but I guess there are always lucky exceptions but you just can't count on being one of them.