Name differs from passport

[smokeface 17]

My fiancee used to be married to a Japanese citizen and was divorced there in Japan. Her Philippine passport has her married name on it. All her other IDs have her maiden name on them. Keep in mind she is still married in PI, so I guess her name there is still her married name, she just doesn't use it. Is this going to cause any issues? When she told me this I immediately thought this could be a problem but wanted to check here and see what you guys said.

[Rc123rc 528]

First things first. Certificate of Divorce. Without that nothing goes forward. Chances are she is not on the the Koseki Tohan (Family Record of Births/Marriage/Divorce/Death) Most foreign nationals are not. So, find out if she can get a copy of the Koseki, her name is actually on it and it is translated to English. If that fails, then you need to talk to the Philippine forum to see what can be done there. If her marriage was recorded in the Philippines then she has to follow the procedure for that country. If I remember, they don't have divorce records but do annulment procedures. Good Luck

[smokeface 17]

First things first. Certificate of Divorce. Without that nothing goes forward. Chances are she is not on the the Koseki Tohan (Family Record of Births/Marriage/Divorce/Death) Most foreign nationals are not. So, find out if she can get a copy of the Koseki, her name is actually on it and it is translated to English. If that fails, then you need to talk to the Philippine forum to see what can be done there. If her marriage was recorded in the Philippines then she has to follow the procedure for that country. If I remember, they don't have divorce records but do annulment procedures. Good Luck

Yes I know. She has the divorce decree which is enough for USEM she does not need to get the annulment in PI. Since you went through Japan I actually have a separate question for you. You may have some knowledge about the Koseki Tohon and could help me out. We think it is possible her ex husband has passed away(old age) by now. She checked PI records and they didn't find anything. They were asking about location and things but she didn't know because she hasn't spoken to him in almost 10 years. If when she goes to Japan to obtain the Koseki Tohon and he has passed away somewhere in Japan and it was reported will that be on his Koseki Tohon even if he passed somewhere other than where it is registered? If not, how can she go about finding out if he has passed away or not? This would make things somewhat easier if he has because she will be free to marry in the Philippines. Even though to the rest of the world she is already free to marry because she was divorced in Japan, I feel it would help.

Edited August 29, 2016 by smokeface

[Greenbaum 12,259]

Yes I know. She has the divorce decree which is enough for USEM she does not need to get the annulment in PI. Since you went through Japan I actually have a separate question for you. You may have some knowledge about the Koseki Tohon and could help me out. We think it is possible her ex husband has passed away(old age) by now. She checked PI records and they didn't find anything. They were asking about location and things but she didn't know because she hasn't spoken to him in almost 10 years. If when she goes to Japan to obtain the Koseki Tohon and he has passed away somewhere in Japan and it was reported will that be on his Koseki Tohon even if he passed somewhere other than where it is registered? If not, how can she go about finding out if he has passed away or not? This would make things somewhat easier if he has because she will be free to marry in the Philippines. Even though to the rest of the world she is already free to marry because she was divorced in Japan, I feel it would help.

Why go through all the work to find out if he is dead as like you said she has the divorce. I can see if it is something that is easily verified then yes having that finality trumps everything else.

Please return and let us know how things went. This topic has been talked about lately so I'm sure, like you they to would like to know.

Good luck

Edited August 29, 2016 by Greenbaum

[Greenbaum 12,259]

First things first. Certificate of Divorce. Without that nothing goes forward. Chances are she is not on the the Koseki Tohan (Family Record of Births/Marriage/Divorce/Death) Most foreign nationals are not. So, find out if she can get a copy of the Koseki, her name is actually on it and it is translated to English. If that fails, then you need to talk to the Philippine forum to see what can be done there. If her marriage was recorded in the Philippines then she has to follow the procedure for that country. If I remember, they don't have divorce records but do annulment procedures. Good Luck

There is a divorce process in the PI but only "Muslims" are able to avail themselves. For non-Muslims it's Tha annulment route as you have stated.

[smokeface 17]

Why go through all the work to find out if he is dead as like you said she has the divorce. I can see if it is something that is easily verified then yes having that finality trumps everything else.

Please return and let us know how things went. This topic has been talked about lately so I'm sure, like you they to would like to know.

Good luck

It is only because I feel there is still a possibility for things to be difficult with her still married in PI. If we find out he has passed then that goes away because she can present a death certificate in PI and be free to marry there. I'm still worried about her travelling back to PI being married to me and to her ex there. I don't know if there will be any problems, but it seems like they could crop up. This way we would be 100% safe.

[Rc123rc 528]

Unfortunately, the Koseki Tohan is a hit or miss kind of thing. It's up to family members to make sure the recordings are done properly. It's ripe for fraud like collecting pension checks from family members that have died but not recorded. It's not like in the states where the government forces the issue to make sure things are recorded. Japan Government is more of a records caretaker versus enforcer. However, the consequences of not getting something recorded can be substantial. You have to start with the last known ward office of the prefecture that he lived in and go from there. There may be a forwarding residential address since you're supposed to file documents when you move from place to place with the government office.

[smokeface 17]

Unfortunately, the Koseki Tohan is a hit or miss kind of thing. It's up to family members to make sure the recordings are done properly. It's ripe for fraud like collecting pension checks from family members that have died but not recorded. It's not like in the states where the government forces the issue to make sure things are recorded. Japan Government is more of a records caretaker versus enforcer. However, the consequences of not getting something recorded can be substantial. You have to start with the last known ward office of the prefecture that he lived in and go from there. There may be a forwarding residential address since you're supposed to file documents when you move from place to place with the government office.

I see thank you for that information.