Annulment in the Philippines

[Lane O 38]

Hello all, 

 

I have been a member of this forum since 2011 when I started my IR-1 visa journey. With help from Filipino members of this forum, my journey was fun besides from the frustration of waiting. 

 

Anyway, I'm divorced from my original petitioner (ex-husband) long story. I'm currently waiting for my interview for my Naturalization.I maybe divorced here in US, but my understanding is I'm still married in the Philippines. (correct me if I'm wrong).  I want to annul my marriage in the Philippines, we were married in our country.

 

Anyone here with the same situation or experienced in annulment process? If so, please share. 

 

Appreciate all the input. 

[JE57 239]

As I understand it... You may not need an Annulment...  If your original petitioner was not a citizen of the Philippines *and* he petitioned you for the divorce then you can use the divorce degree to petition the court in the Philippines to recognize the divorce.  There is no divorce in the Philippines but divorce under the specific circumstances above can be recognized in the Philippines.  If you want/require an Annulment then the process is very expensive (200,000+ Pesos) and requires multiple trips to the Philippines..  Essentially you have to prove to the satisfaction of the court that the marriage was never valid in the first place...   From what I understand Infidelity, abuse, sexual abandonment etc do not make for grounds for Annulment.  It seems annulments typically go thru the process of proving that one of the partners to the union was physiologically unable to consent to the Marriage in the first place.  You would have to consult a lawyer in the Philippines.  With the proper amount of money, time and patience it does seem possible.     

[Lane O 38]

Thank you JE57. 

 

I will consult a lawyer when I get home this year. 

[Greenbaum 12,259]

JE57 is correct and if you had your husband file against you then you take your final divorce papers and file in the Philippines.  You don't need a lawyer to do this. You can do it yourself. 

[Hank_ 9,174]

On 3/13/2017 at 7:33 PM, Lane O said:

Hello all, 

 

I have been a member of this forum since 2011 when I started my IR-1 visa journey. With help from Filipino members of this forum, my journey was fun besides from the frustration of waiting. 

 

Anyway, I'm divorced from my original petitioner (ex-husband) long story. I'm currently waiting for my interview for my Naturalization.I maybe divorced here in US, but my understanding is I'm still married in the Philippines. (correct me if I'm wrong).  I want to annul my marriage in the Philippines, we were married in our country.

 

Anyone here with the same situation or experienced in annulment process? If so, please share. 

 

Appreciate all the input. 

 

If you USC husband filed the divorce, then take the divorce decree to DFA for authentication, then take that over to PSA and you will get a notated marriage certificate.  If you filed the divorce.. it is the long haul of anullment.

[Lane O 38]

Thank you Hank but what is PSA? 

 

I heard about this before that it was easy if the USC is the one filling the divorce. 

[Sagot 1,548]

14 hours ago, Lane O said:

Thank you Hank but what is PSA? 

 

I heard about this before that it was easy if the USC is the one filling the divorce. 

PSA (was NSO)  Philippines Statistics Authority 

[waraywarayako 4]

In my own understanding, when you get to Philippines bring your divorce decree to the Clerk of Court before seeing a lawyer. And that they can help you find a suitable one for your case rather than looking for one.  Sometimes whom they know matters when it comes to this kind of case.  My friend that works locally in the trial court suggested one of her client that it would be easier for petitioner to publicize the dissolution in public and you don't need to file an annulment which will take more time to process. The best way to deal with, is to publish it in the local newspaper that your marriage was dissolved in other country and that publication for couple of weeks is enough evidence to inform the world that you are in the process of dissolving your marriage in the Philippine system.

Edited April 6, 2017 by waraywarayako

[Sagot 1,548]

If the divorce was initiated by the foreigner, then the divorce decree should be take to DFA for authentication, once that is completed take all the documents to PSA.   

 

Not sure what the Clerk of Court or a lawyer has in this process.

[JISnJRS 22]

My fiance and I are still waiting for her annulment to be registered in Manila. The Annulment was done in 01/2015 in her locality, but somebody "dropped the ball" getting the paperwork forwarded on. Any help and or suggestions?

[Chris Duffy 1,257]

On ‎1‎/‎26‎/‎2018 at 6:22 PM, Luk Dit Mo said:

My fiance and I are still waiting for her annulment to be registered in Manila. The Annulment was done in 01/2015 in her locality, but somebody "dropped the ball" getting the paperwork forwarded on. Any help and or suggestions?

Did you use a lawyer?

 

I have found that money make things go faster in Philippines.

[John & Rose 7,239]

7 hours ago, Chris Duffy said:

Did you use a lawyer?

 

I have found that money make things go faster in Philippines.

Yes!  Under the table "gifts" make a huge difference!  Rose's annulment cost 220,000 php with another 80,000 as "gifts".  She was done in just over a year.  This was before my time so I was lucky to find a "free and clear" fiancee!

[JISnJRS 22]

12 hours ago, Chris Duffy said:

Did you use a lawyer?

 

I have found that money make things go faster in Philippines.

Yes, she used a lawyer

5 hours ago, John & Rose said:

Yes!  Under the table "gifts" make a huge difference!  Rose's annulment cost 220,000 php with another 80,000 as "gifts".  She was done in just over a year.  This was before my time so I was lucky to find a "free and clear" fiancee!

From what Im told, gifts are a thing of the past with the new Duterte admin. Believe me, Id be more than willing to make a donation to speed things up.

[John & Rose 7,239]

15 minutes ago, Luk Dit Mo said:

Yes, she used a lawyer

From what Im told, gifts are a thing of the past with the new Duterte admin. Believe me, Id be more than willing to make a donation to speed things up.

We will see.  I friend of Rose's just started the process.  I will let you know how it goes for her.  She paid 250,000 upfront just last week.

[Chris Duffy 1,257]

1 hour ago, Luk Dit Mo said:

Yes, she used a lawyer

From what Im told, gifts are a thing of the past with the new Duterte admin. Believe me, Id be more than willing to make a donation to speed things up.

I hope it didn't change, that was one of the great thing about the Philippines. Money talks