Leaving the UK

[Terry P]

Hi Johnny

Tourist visa and it's extensions have been explained to me here in detail

I've got that crystal clear now

Furthermore I'm clear on getting married out there

Moving on from that I ultimately want to gain residency to be able to work there

This is where my confusion lies as to what information I should supply

And can what I need be obtained while I'm in the Philippines

[graham59]

What visa are you intending to apply for ?

It can't be a 13A (which enables you to be involved in a business or to work)...because you're not MARRIED to your partner.

A normal tourist visa ? (Working not permitted).

Sure you can take the risk of working , but be clear on this. It is against the law in the Philippines.

On the subject of annulment... normally takes 2-3 years, and the cost runs into the 100s of 1,000s of pesos...especially if hubby finds out that 'rich' poriner is involved.  Adultery laws still hold sway in the Phils also, so hubby could have your partner put in jail. 

Personally, apart from my humble dwelling, I wouldn't invest a brass farthing in this place... but you may be on to a good thing. Who knows ? 

[Huggybearman]

1 hour ago, TerryP said:

There is obviously my passport

I have my birth certificate

At what stage do I consider things like financial status ( bank statements)

Will I need a UK police check certificate

Do I need a medical report from the UK

As I said I have read conflicting information on just about everything to do with visas

Whether some of it is incorrect or out of date I'm not sure

Hi Terry

If your questions are regarding getting married in the Philippines, this is my experience getting married here last year.

I would say that if you are waiting for your future wife’s annulment, it is quite a long winded, and expensive, process which can take years. 
Getting married here is quite straightforward once you know what’s expected, it just takes time to arrange and jump through the many hoops!

If you have been married before you will need an original (not photocopy) of your divorce decree. If you were divorced in the UK then you can get that from the County Court where you got divorced.  Cost £10.

I also got a copy of my birth certificate at the same time which I included with the marriage application. Not sure if the birth certificate was strictly necessary, but it’s always better to have these documents. If you don’t have it, Soddes law dictates some official will want it! And getting one to the Philippines would be a right PITA!

You will also need photocopies of your UK passport.

You will then need to go online at the British Embassy website in Manila and fill out an ‘Affidavit of Marital Status’ and make an appointment with them in Manila to swear the Affidavit. You will also need to take your Decree Absolute with you. Cost peso equivalent of £50 payable at the embassy. You will be issued the Certificate immediately.

Your fiancé will require an official copy of her birth certificate and eventually her proof of annulment, or possibly even a certificate of no marriage (Cenomar).  Both birth certificate and Cenomar are obtainable online from the PSA. (Philippine Stastics Authority)

You and your fiancé will have to attend a Pre- Marriage Orientation session at your fiancés local town hall. Once completed you will get a Certificate of Compliance. You will need that before you can get your marriage license.

That session can last around 4 hours, if it is a communal session, but in our case was just a 20 minute chat with a town hall official. 

Your fiancé will also require to obtain a Community Tax Certificate, also from her local town hall, before they will issue the marriage license.  That shows she doesn’t owe any local taxes to the town hall.

Then you just fill out the marriage certificate application form at your fiancés local town hall and present the various forms which they will keep. So it’s best to keep lots of copies of everything.

The town hall will then issue the Marriage Licence, usually within 10 days, and you are good to go!

One unexpected hurdle we encountered with the Affidavit issued by the British Embassy was with the disclaimer they print on the bottom of the Affidavit. Basically saying that they cannot guarantee the veracity of the content. We had planned on a local judge to perform the wedding but that disclaimer meant, to them, that the Affidavit, and therefor the Marriage Licence, was worthless. This was also confirmed by the senior judge at the family court and they could not conduct the ceremony. Our wedding was then conducted by the City Mayor. If you are having a church wedding then that problem shouldn’t arise.
Only in the Philippines!

I would plan on being in the Philippines about a month before the wedding to complete all this BS! Things always take longer than you anticipate.

As for a visa, this can all be done on the standard tourist visa, or just the normal extension of stay you will get following your initial entry stamp. I would think as you will be waiting for an annulment you will be very experienced in the extension of stay process by the time you get around to your marriage. 

You don’t need any bank statements, medical check or police clearance from the UK.

Once you are married, there are several options available to you regarding staying in the country. The usual one is to get a 13A permanent residence visa based on your marriage. Another option is to leave the country with your wife and when you return, TOGETHER, you get a one year Balikbayan stamp. Leaving with your wife is not mandatory, but returning with her is!
Or you can continue doing the regular tourist  extensions, or get what is known as an SRRV visa, which is quite costly and probably not appropriate. Plenty of advice here if you use the search function.

I believe, once you are married and on a permanent resident status, such as 13A, then you can work, so advising on your wife’s business would be legal. But best seek professional advice first. Whether technically you could offer advice prior to that, I am not so sure. That might be construed as working, even if you are only in an advisory capacity. Others here might know the answer to that.

Edited June 10, 2020 by Huggybearman

[Terry P]

14 minutes ago, Huggybearman said:

Hi Terry

If your questions are regarding getting married in the Philippines, this is my experience getting married here last year.

I would say that if you are waiting for your future wife’s annulment, it is quite a long winded, and expensive, process which can take years. 
Getting married here is quite straightforward once you know what’s expected, it just takes time to arrange and jump through the many hoops!

If you have been married before you will need an original (not photocopy) of your divorce decree. If you were divorced in the UK then you can get that from the County Court where you got divorced.  Cost £10.

I also got a copy of my birth certificate at the same time which I included with the marriage application. Not sure if the birth certificate was strictly necessary, but it’s always better to have these documents. If you don’t have it, Soddes law dictates some official will want it! And getting one to the Philippines would be a right PITA!

You will also need photocopies of your UK passport.

You will then need to go online at the British Embassy website in Manila and fill out an ‘Affidavit of Marital Status’ and make an appointment with them in Manila to swear the Affidavit. You will also need to take your Decree Absolute with you. Cost peso equivalent of £50 payable at the embassy. You will be issued the Certificate immediately.

Your fiancé will require an official copy of her birth certificate and eventually her proof of annulment, or possibly even a certificate of no marriage (Cenomar).  Both birth certificate and Cenomar are obtainable online from the PSA. (Philippine Stastics Authority)

You and your fiancé will have to attend a Pre- Marriage Orientation session at your fiancés local town hall. Once completed you will get a Certificate of Compliance. You will need that before you can get your marriage license.

That session can last around 4 hours, if it is a communal session, but in our case was just a 20 minute chat with a town hall official. 

Your fiancé will also require to obtain a Community Tax Certificate, also from her local town hall, before they will issue the marriage license.  That shows she doesn’t owe any local taxes to the town hall.

Then you just fill out the marriage certificate application form at your fiancés local town hall and present the various forms which they will keep. So it’s best to keep lots of copies of everything.

The town hall will then issue the Marriage Licence, usually within 10 days, and you are good to go!

One unexpected hurdle we encountered with the Affidavit issued by the British Embassy was with the disclaimer they print on the bottom of the Affidavit. Basically saying that they cannot guarantee the veracity of the content. We had planned on a local judge to perform the wedding but that disclaimer meant, to them, that the Affidavit, and therefor the Marriage Licence, was worthless. This was also confirmed by the senior judge at the family court and they could not conduct the ceremony. Our wedding was then conducted by the City Mayor. If you are having a church wedding then that problem shouldn’t arise.
Only in the Philippines!

I would plan on being in the Philippines about a month before the wedding to complete all this BS! Things always take longer than you anticipate.

As for a visa, this can all be done on the standard tourist visa, or just the normal extension of stay you will get following your initial entry stamp. I would think as you will be waiting for an annulment you will be very experienced in the extension of stay process by the time you get around to your marriage. 

You don’t need any bank statements, medical check or police clearance from the UK.

Once you are married, there are several options available to you regarding staying in the country. The usual one is to get a 13A permanent residence visa based on your marriage. Another option is to leave the country with your wife and when you return, TOGETHER, you get a one year Balikbayan stamp. Leaving with your wife is not mandatory, but returning with her is!
Or you can continue doing the regular tourist  extensions, or get what is known as an SRRV visa, which is quite costly and probably not appropriate. Plenty of advice here if you use the search function.

I believe, once you are married and on a permanent resident status, such as 13A, then you can work, so advising on your wife’s business would be legal. But best seek professional advice first. Whether technically you could offer advice prior to that, I am not so sure. That might be construed as working, even if you are only in an advisory capacity. Others here might know the answer to that.

Very informative huggybearman

Thank you

I'm exploring the possibility of obtaining a special work permit to get me legally working I'll be a project manager on construction projects for the family till we get all the hoops jumped through

There'll be no official income to declare if needs be just expenses

Don't know if that'll work with my skillset as opposed to being a Circus performer or ageing rockstar

 

[Terry P]

29 minutes ago, graham59 said:

What visa are you intending to apply for ?

It can't be a 13A (which enables you to be involved in a business or to work)...because you're not MARRIED to your partner.

A normal tourist visa ? (Working not permitted).

Sure you can take the risk of working , but be clear on this. It is against the law in the Philippines.

On the subject of annulment... normally takes 2-3 years, and the cost runs into the 100s of 1,000s of pesos...especially if hubby finds out that 'rich' poriner is involved.  Adultery laws still hold sway in the Phils also, so hubby could have your partner put in jail. 

Personally, apart from my humble dwelling, I wouldn't invest a brass farthing in this place... but you may be on to a good thing. Who knows ? 

SWP seems to be the only option initially if it is viable

Sort out a 13a when everything else is in place otherwise I'll have to wing it

My partner assures me he's bricking it that she's going to report him for adultery

Which is easily proven the woman who has his child can't stand him either

I can only take that one on trust

I expected the 2/3 year wait but that cost is a big sting

There has been talk of legalising divorce there

Has anyone got updates on this

[BrettGC]

Hi Terry, 

I guess we're all just used to the bunch of old farts that have nothing better to do than scan these forums - you lot know me well enough to know that statement is very tongue in cheek .

You have some major challenges ahead of you and if you persist I'm sure you'll overcome them.  To my mind, until the annulment is finalised, do nothing.  It really does depend on that.  PI is a staunchly catholic country where not only the lines between church and state a blurred, they're almost non-existent.  El Presidente (Duterte) is trying to change this but he's not an autocrat, despite appearances, and has a mostly practising catholic legislature to contend with.  It's not unusual for an annulment to take 5 years or more on the secular side, and then the Vatican has to approve it if both parties want to be married in the catholic church.  Unfortunately, that rules you out of a 13A visa as you can't be married if she's not had her previous marriage annulled. A Spouse visa is marriage in PI, no other options, unlike many other countries that recognise de facto or common law relationships for immigration purposes.  Australia for example, sees any co-dependant relationship the same as being married as long as it's proven, and the onus of proof is the same whether you have a marriage certificate or not. Basically in law in Australia, a piece of paper means nothing, it's the relationship and proof of it that counts. 

I wish you the best of luck mate, it's going to be a long and challenging road for you.    

[Jollygoodfellow]

34 minutes ago, TerryP said:

Sort out a 13a when everything else is in place otherwise I'll have to wing it

One of the SRRV might suit you, https://pra.gov.ph/srrv/

[Terry P]

6 hours ago, BrettGC said:

Hi Terry, 

I guess we're all just used to the bunch of old farts that have nothing better to do than scan these forums - you lot know me well enough to know that statement is very tongue in cheek .

You have some major challenges ahead of you and if you persist I'm sure you'll overcome them.  To my mind, until the annulment is finalised, do nothing.  It really does depend on that.  PI is a staunchly catholic country where not only the lines between church and state a blurred, they're almost non-existent.  El Presidente (Duterte) is trying to change this but he's not an autocrat, despite appearances, and has a mostly practising catholic legislature to contend with.  It's not unusual for an annulment to take 5 years or more on the secular side, and then the Vatican has to approve it if both parties want to be married in the catholic church.  Unfortunately, that rules you out of a 13A visa as you can't be married if she's not had her previous marriage annulled. A Spouse visa is marriage in PI, no other options, unlike many other countries that recognise de facto or common law relationships for immigration purposes.  Australia for example, sees any co-dependant relationship the same as being married as long as it's proven, and the onus of proof is the same whether you have a marriage certificate or not. Basically in law in Australia, a piece of paper means nothing, it's the relationship and proof of it that counts. 

I wish you the best of luck mate, it's going to be a long and challenging road for you.    

Thank you

It's worth the road

You guys have given me a lot of tools to stop me breaking down

[scott h]

14 minutes ago, TerryP said:

stop me breaking down

Not to worry, you will have plenty of opportunities to break down once you move here and start dealing with the Philippine bureaucracy 

[Snowy79]

Hi TerryP welcome to the forum.  Good luck with your future endevours but take things slowly and one step at a time.  The Philippines at times defies logic to freshly landed Westerners and even some of the more seasoned veterans.

There's legal law and laws of probability here. Each one can be interpretated depending on what day of the week, what side of the bed those involved in get out of and who is connected to who.

Deal with the annulment first before spending  a single peso in any business, write this out one thousand times and place it on the fridge, CR and above the TV.

I had a partner for two years who is married with a daughter and abandoned by her partner, he is/was an Overseas Foreign Worker who only has enough contact with the daughter to keep his head above water.  There are laws that fathers must pay maintenance and he pays the bare minimum as his visa depends on it.  It's true that you can go to jail for adultery even though the husband has abandoned his wife but there are family courts the wife can go to where she can get a certificate of abandonment.  This will give you and her some protection in law from accusations of adultery. It could save you in 99% of cases but if you get a religious judge you could still do time. Ensure your partner seeks advice on this, not being funny but get concrete evidence that she does it as many will say they will do something here but doing it is a whole new ball game. 

The reason why you "MUST" get an annulment before spending a peso is you are a foreigner ripe for the picking.  You spend your Worldly savings on a business which won't be in your name and the husband appears crying adultery, or his family or a greedy family member get involved and you get reported, at best your visa will be cancelled, you blacklisted and kicked out of the country, never to return.  Goodbye savings.  

Edited June 11, 2020 by Snowy79