getting married in the PI of a US military personnel

[thelastpetitioner 218]

I know im probably way too late but id just like to share our experience for those who might need help about this topic in the future. My husband is a US Marine and we just got married last aug. We were also worried about that "approval letter" from his CO before he got to PI. He asked a lot of people about it, even went to a legal officer on base, but none of them seemed to know whether he would really need it or not. Then he was finally able to speak to someone with a higher rank and was told that he was good to go. No approval letter, clearance or whatsoever. So we just took his officer's word and he flew to the Phils, bringing only his passport and birth cert as documents. We went to the US Consulate in Cebu (walk in, no appointed needed, way faster than UsEm in manila i guess) for the legal capacity. They knew he was military but was never asked for his CO's approval letter. It took probably around 30mins (depending on the volume of applicants) to get his legal capacity.

My experience was very similar. Maybe it varies from branch to branch ?

My husband is a marine as well, and they never asked for any letter or explanation about his plans to marry a foreigner. Granted his chain of command knew that we were going to get married, but there wasn't many paperwork involved

[marapot 3]

A couple of years back, the so called "permission" from the CO or OIC (or equivalent) was required (by some military units) of junior enlisted personnel more as a counseling tool - this was leadership's way to ensure that their very junior / young servicemembers were financially able to support a wife / family. Units I was with never required permission but leaders did take the opportunity to financially counsel junior members with marriage plans.

The Joint Service Regulations mainly deals with Country and / or Theater Clearances for certain countries. I said "and / or" because not all countries require both. Again, not all units require that you get this clerances but unless you are stationed in that particular foreign country, you are technically supposed to obtain a Country and / or Theater Clearance for the country you are intending to visit (whether it's for marriage, vacation, etc). This mechanism is in place for the military member's safety, tracking, and notification should a terrorism or other adverse incident happen either before or during an intended visit. The official titles may vary but your unit's Physical Security Officer, Anti-Terrorism Officer, Security Officer, S-3, or Personnel Admin section should be able to assist you. In addition to obtaining Country and/or Theater Clerances, at least in my unit, we also require our servicemembers to register at U.S. Department of State's Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP) - again, this is for the servicemember's safety since registration enables the U.S. Embassy or Consulate in the visited country to notify and/or assist you faster during adverse international incidents. What's the chance that an adverse international incident may happen while you are visiting a foreign country on leave or vacation? In most cases, small but why take the risk and not take precautions?

Krispykreme is correct - the U.S. Embassy or Consulate will NOT ask you for any permission, clearance, or registration since the assumption is it is the military service member's and the units responsibility to do so prior to his/her visit.