DFA Passport Troubles

[Bob & Joana 2]

I have already married, and my wife is needing a passport as her I-130 has been approved and is currently being sent to the embassy. I told her she needs the passport before that comes through to avoid delays. We made an appointment online with DFA, and prepared the documents needed to get the passport ready. On appointment day, they told my wife she will need the CFO certificate before she can begin the application process(oops didnt know we needed this). They also however told her there was a problem with her birth certificate and marriage certificate. The middle name for her father is different on her birth certificate than on the marriage certificate. Are they just trying to make things difficult for her to get her passport? Seems like knit-picking such a small unimportant detail from those 2 documents. Any suggestions on how to get around that problem? If she were to tell them that her father changed his middle name sometime after her birth and before our marriage would they simply drop it or are they then going to ask for proof? Any input is appreciated but it really just sounds like the worker that she dealt with was being a crab.

[Hank_ 9,174]

Which document is wrong the birth certificate or the marriage certificate? One of them needs to be corrected. I don't think anyone is being difficult, when doing all the paperwork for the passport they have to make use everything is correct and the father's name is not correct on one of those documents.

[Bob & Joana 2]

Which document is wrong the birth certificate or the marriage certificate? One of them needs to be corrected. I don't think anyone is being difficult, when doing all the paperwork for the passport they have to make use everything is correct and the father's name is not correct on one of those documents.

We arent sure which one is wrong. Her father is not around to ask either unfortunately. We were told to change the documents requires a lawyer and a lot of time...There has got to be a way to process without a change. It just seems a bit much to not allow a passport over something so trivial. They are not even used together for anything in the process. They use the Birth Certificate to ensure her citizenship is Filipino, they use the Marriage certificate to show why she is using a surname that she wasnt born with. And they are using completely different documents(including NBI clearance for both her maiden name and married name) and Digitized ID to confirm she is who she says she is. Sure someone made a mistake on one of the documents, but this is the Philippines where anything that goes before a judge will take months...months that I dont have.

[Mogambi 96]

Welcome to the Philippines. My suggestion, trying to change a marriage certificate might be easier than changing a birth certificate. See if you can get that one changed, and just use the birth certificate middle name, even if it's wrong! My fiancé's birth certificate has her fathers middle name wrong too, but it's impossible to change, so we used the name as it was on the birth certificate on all our forms.

A lawyer might actually be necessary in this case.

As ridiculous as it is, they seem to love finding things like this to make difficult there.

Get a lawyer, the might know how to skirt the system slightly (they might have someone 'in' the system who can help them).

[lierre 224]

Anything minor in a major certificate is still major. Whoever prepared your marriage certificate for you guys should have just followed her name on the birth certificate to the very last letter.

Mistakes such as that cost us a couple of days after our wedding. My wedding coordinator messed it up, so I literally had to go to all of the signatories again and again. Three times.

I'm not sure if they can really help, but perhaps you can ask your wife to contact the main NSO office in Quezon City? They might be able to help you with the inconsistencies in the marriage certificate

Unfortunately, you really have to figure out how to fix all this so she can have a passport.

Edited January 21, 2013 by ivyanddan

[Hank_ 9,174]

Good advice from all the others... correct the marriage certificate to match the birth certificate.

[apple21 953]

Everything has to be consistent. Have the marriage certificate corrected.

[Mogambi 96]

I would imagine having a birth certificate changed is nearly impossible, so yeah, argue that whoever filled in your marriage certificate just made a mistake! There must be an avenue to make a correction like that.

[Bob & Joana 2]

Do any of you know the official way to change a marriage certificate? I havent been able to find the procedure online from a reliable source.

[Bob & Joana 2]

I found through searching a reference to NSO Certificate Republic Act 9048. Does anyone know if this middle name mix-up is covered under "clerical errors"?

[GaryKO 49]

I found through searching a reference to NSO Certificate Republic Act 9048. Does anyone know if this middle name mix-up is covered under "clerical errors"?

Need start at the local civil registry office "where you got your marriage license" and ask them what is required to change the name on the marriage cert.

[lemajeca 5]

hello. i need help. i am really confused. i have a passport that i obtained last 2011 and at that time i was not yet married. so my question is, do i need to change my surname on my passport now that i am already married?