5 Procedures in Getting Married in the Philippines

Getting married in the PhilippinesYou’ve found a nice Filipina (a woman from the Philippines) to settle down with and now you’re cooking up plans for getting married in the Philippines. However you want to be married, either through church wedding or civil wedding, there are 5 marriage procedures in the Philippine law that you need to be aware of. You can also consider these as steps in processing your marriage in her country:

Application of Marriage License

You need to prepare the following documents:

  • Application Form
  • NSO Authenticated Birth certificate
  • Certificate of No Marriage (CENOMAR)
  • Community Tax Certificate
  • Recent 1 x 1 Photo
  • Affidavit of Parental consent (if the bride and/or groom is 18-21 years old)
  • Affidavit of parental advice (if the bride and/or groom is 22-25 years old)

Once you’ve secured everything, head down to the Local Civil Registrar Office of the Municipal and pass all your requirements/documents. Make sure that all of the information filled out is accurate to avoid future difficulties with your papers when getting married in the Philippines.

Attending Required Seminars and Counseling

There are 2 counseling sessions/seminars that you need to attend. You (and your future spouse) need a certificate of attendance from both for the release of your marriage license.

  • Pre-marriage counseling from the Church (anyone authorized by the church for Counseling) or DSWD (Department of Social Welfare and Development) for civil marriages.
  • Family Planning and Responsible Parenthood Seminar from your Municipal’s Office.

Celebration of Wedding or Solemnization of marriage

This is the fun part when getting married in the Philippines because it involves a lot of marry-making. It’s up to you on how big you want the celebration to be but a few things are for certain: almost all of your wife’s family are going to be there and there’s going to be a lot of eating and drinking involved.

There’s no set rule in the Philippine law on HOW you want to solemnize your marriage. It’s up to you as the couple. Just remember that it is every Filipina’s dream to walk down the isle when getting married in the Philippines.

Release of Marriage License

Get your certificates of attendance ready from the 2 seminars we mentioned earlier. Present these to the Local Civil Registrar’s Office. File for registration 15 days after your marriage ceremony. Wait for about 10 days from the time you applied.

Getting the Official NSO Marriage Certificate

After the waiting periods, you can officially get your NSO marriage certificate. This is merely paperwork but it is required for most transactions in the Philippines. Just go to any NSO office and then secure a copy. You can even go to the official NSO website and obtain an official copy from there. You can have it mailed right to your doorstep which minimizes the hassle of standing in queues.

Ready, Set, I Do

When you’re a foreigner, additional requirements are needed like proof of citizenship which may include a U.S. passport. Nonetheless, marriage processes, in general, are easy just to enumerate but executing the steps may require time and effort. Make no mistake, planning a wedding can be crazy but if you are your spouse can get through the experience and actually emerge stronger as a couple, then congratulations!

For more information about the Philippines, dating in the Philippines and dating tips for getting a Philippine woman’s attention, check back in soon!