Moral Character Statement

[mick foreman]

Hi all
I fly out to Phili in 14 days time to get married i have all the paperwork sorted out my local uk C.N.I etc .... But have just been told i may need a character statement from someone in authority who knows me well to take along to the embassy when my other papers are submitted for Phili C.N.I.

Is this required i have not heard this mentioned before on here ?????

many thx in advance

[RickyR]

I've never heard of this and it's not on the Embassy list of requirements. Is there anything different about your circumstances?

Marriage in a Catholic Church in the Philippines requires a statement.

[andy222]

As Ricky says there is no need for a character reference for your CNI.

[stevewool]

never heard of it too, but why dont you get your boss to write something

[mick foreman]

It is under the thread of
next step after applying for cni ..
sorry tried to paste the pdf file but no luck .. i am a bit of a numpty on the pc :doh

[joebloggs]

http://ukinthephilippines.fco.gov.uk/resources/en/word/consular/2010/cni-2012-august
no mention here ..

MARRIAGE IN THE PHILIPPINES
Explanatory Notice to British Nationals Contemplating Marriage in the Philippines

If you are a British National and wish to marry in the Philippines, the Philippine authorities require that you present a local Certificate of No Impediment (CNI), also known as legal capacity to marry, stating that you are indeed free to marry. This can only be obtained from the British Embassy in Manila or from the British Honorary Consulate in Cebu.

The CNI is an indispensable requirement of Philippine law and in March 1993, the Civil Registrar General ruled that any marriage which takes place without such a Certificate having been issued will be null and void. However, a CNI does not confirm that a particular marriage is recognized under UK law, nor does it give confirmation that no impediment actually exists. There is no central register of marriages in the UK, nor is there any facility for overseas marriages to be registered in the UK.


HOW TO APPLY FOR A CERTIFICATE OF NO IMPEDIMENT (CNI)

1. How to proceed if you already have a CNI issued by a Registrar of Marriages in the United Kingdom, or a British Embassy/Consulate Overseas

The Registrar in the UK, or the Consular Official at the British Embassy/Consulate overseas, will require you to appear personally before him. Your Notice of Marriage will have to be posted on his notice board for 21 days before he can issue your CNI. When the procedure is completed, the Registrar in the UK will give you a CNI, which you must present to the British Embassy Manila or to the British Honorary Consul in Cebu.

The local CNI will be available after your appointment if all the documents are in order and there will be no requirement for you to re-visit the Embassy.

If you have applied at another Embassy/Consulate overseas, the Embassy/Consulate will forward a copy of the Notice of Marriage (NOM), properly endorsed, to the British Embassy in Manila or Honorary Consulate in Cebu. Once this is received, a local CNI can be issued. You will need to make an appointment to collect the local CNI and will need to produce other documents.

See ANNEXES A and either C or D for requirements.

2. How to proceed if you have not obtained a CNI issued by a Registrar of Marriages in the United Kingdom, or a British Embassy/Consulate Overseas

If you do not already have a CNI issued from a UK registrar, you will have to comply with the Marriage with Foreigners Act 1906. This requires that you reside in the Philippines for twenty-one (21) clear days before giving notice of your intended marriage and this period of residence must be immediately prior to acceptance of the Notice. Twenty-one (21) clear days means that the latest (arrival date) stamped in your passport and the day you submit your Notice of Intention to Marry will not be counted. Once we have received the notice, you no longer have to remain in the Philippines.

The requirement for 21-day period residency is waived if you can present any of the following: a valid ACR-I card, Permanent Resident-I Card, or a Retiree Visa.

When you give notice of your intended marriage:
 you will be required to swear an Affidavit before a Consular Officer/Honorary Consul to the effect that you are not aware of any impediment to the marriage (including previous marriages)
 your Notice of Marriage will then be displayed in a public place in the Embassy/Consulate for a further twenty-one (21) clear days (excluding the day you swear the Affidavit).

The local CNI will be issued the day after the twenty-one (21) clear day period has elapsed. This whole process takes 42 days.

If you are resident in another foreign country (not Commonwealth country), please contact the local British Embassy/Consulate for details of how to give notice of your marriage in the Philippines.

See ANNEXES B and either C or D for requirements.

3. How to proceed if you are a resident of a Commonwealth country

Separate procedures apply if you are resident in a Commonwealth country. You should seek advice from your nearest British High Commission, who should then contact the British Embassy Manila for guidance.

We would suggest that you advertise your notice of marriage in a leading English newspaper. Notify the British High Commission, who in turn will notify the British Embassy Manila. We will then be in a position to issue a local CNI. You must make an appointment by sending an e-mail to Manila.ConsAppointment@fco.gov.uk

Below is a sample of a newspaper advertisement:

I, (FULL NAME), British National currently residing at (FULL ADDRESS), hereby give notice of my intention to marry (FULL NAME OF FIANCEE/FIANCE), a (CITIZENSHIP OF FIANCEE) in (PROPOSED PLACE OF MARRIAGE) on (PROPOSED DATE OF MARRIAGE). I hereby give notice that if anyone raises legal objection to the proposed marriage on the grounds of incapacity of either party of other lawful impediment, then such objection must be communicated with the British High Commission in (COMMONWEALTH COUNTRY), or the British Embassy, Manila (Tel No: 00632.858.2200), within 21 days from the date of this publication.

Note: Please include the address and the telephone number of the British High Commission.

See ANNEXES A and either C or D for requirements.


IMPORTANT

 We are unable to issue a CNI if you have been married, whether in the Philippines or another country.

 If a wedding ceremony has already taken place in the Philippines, and you did not obtain a local CNI from either the Embassy or Cebu Consulate we may, in some circumstances, be able to issue you a CNI, but only three (3) months after the ceremony date, and certificates of no marriage (CENOMARs) must be produced for both parties.

 Once the local CNI has been issued by the Embassy/Consulate, you should apply for a marriage licence from the Philippine local civil registrar who will then post the notice of application for a period of 10 days, after which the marriage may take place. Should a marriage licence be issued without compliance with the 10-day publication rule, the local Registrar will be held liable – civilly, criminally and administratively.

 The Philippine authorities will only consider a Philippine marriage dissolved if it was the foreigner spouse who filed the divorce petition. In this case, the Filipino must, first of all, have the divorce certificate which was handed down by a foreign court, accepted by a court in the Philippines and would need to file a special proceeding for the recognition of a foreign court granted divorce before a regional trial court in the Philippines, BEFORE he/she can remarry in the Philippines. We will need to see evidence of this.


What can hold up the issue of a local certificate of no impediment (CNI)?

 If either the British applicant or the fiancée/fiancé has been married before, and fails to declare this to the Embassy
 Submission of fake/forged documents - this may also lead to your arrest
 Submission of copies rather than original documents
 The non-filing of a special proceeding for the recognition of a foreign court granted Divorce, before a regional trial court in the Philippines, by the Filipino partner holding a foreign divorce certificate
 Submission of Philippine birth and death certificates issued by a local registrar

NOTE: British immigration law requires a person seeking entry to the United Kingdom for settlement as the spouse of a British subject to hold a current entry clearance (visa) granted for that purpose. The spouse of a British national does not automatically acquire British citizenship on marriage, nor does he/she have the automatic right to settle in the United Kingdom. The Consular Section of the British Embassy and the Honorary Consulate in Cebu are both unable to answer any questions relating to the issue of visas. Please contact info.ukph@vfshelpline.com for visa-related queries.







• CNI fee (£ 65 for the issue of the CNI) payable only in Philippine pesos, in cash, calculated at the current Consular rate of exchange.

1. For British National applicant born in the UK:

• Original UK passport. If applicant is overseas, a certified copy of the data page; a photostatic or electronic copy of the certified page is not acceptable.
• Original UK-issued CNI, or original Notice of Marriage, issued by the British Embassy abroad. Please note that a CNI issued in Scotland should be presented to the British Embassy Manila within 3 months of it being issued.
• CENOMAR with details matching those on the passport.
• If widow/widower, present original death certificate of deceased spouse, or a certified copy. If spouse died in the Philippines, present
O death certificate of deceased spouse
O Advisory on Marriage (CRS Form 5) in lieu of a CENOMAR
O Marriage certificate with proper annotation declaring, if applicable, the presumptive death of spouse
• If divorced/annulled, present original divorce decree absolute/annulment papers, or a certified copy. If annulled in the Philippines, please present the following documents:
O Advisory of Marriage Record (CRS Form 5) in lieu of a CENOMAR
O Certificate of Finality and full court documents, including decision
O Marriage certificate, with proper annotation declaring the marriage null and void
• If you have previously obtained a local CNI from the British Embassy Manila or Honorary Consulate Cebu, you must then obtain an Advisory of Marriage (CRS Form 5) from the NSO in lieu of a CENOMAR.



2. For British applicant who is naturalized and was born in the Philippines:

• All of the above plus:
• birth certificate







• CNI fees (£65 for the posting of notice, and £65 for the issue of the CNI) payable only in Philippine pesos, in cash, calculated at the current Consular rate of exchange.

1. For British National applicant born in the UK:

• Original UK passport: The passport MUST show that you have been in the Philippines for 21 days, since your last arrival. You can submit your application on the 22nd day of your stay.
• CENOMAR with details matching those on the passport.
• If widow/widower, present original death certificate of deceased spouse, or a certified copy. If spouse died in the Philippines, present
O death certificate of deceased spouse
O Advisory on Marriage (CRS Form 5) in lieu of a CENOMAR
O Marriage certificate with proper annotation declaring, if applicable, the presumptive death of spouse
• If divorced/annulled, present original divorce decree absolute/annulment papers, or a certified copy. If annulled in the Philippines, please present the following documents:
O Advisory of Marriage Record (CRS Form 5) in lieu of a CENOMAR
O Certificate of Finality and full court documents, including decision
O Marriage certificate, with proper annotation declaring the marriage null and void
• If you have previously obtained a local CNI from the British Embassy Manila or Honorary Consulate Cebu, you must then obtain an Advisory of Marriage (CRS Form 5) in lieu of a CENOMAR.

2. For British applicant who is naturalized and was born in the Philippines:

• All of the above plus:
• birth certificate
• Naturalisation certificate






• birth certificate
• CENOMAR with details matching those on birth certificate and, if name/etc on birth certificate differs from passport, another CENOMAR matching the details on the passport. This will not be required for widowed/annulled applicant
• If applicable, original passport
• If divorced, present the original divorce decree absolute
• If annulled, please present the following documents:
O Advisory of Marriage Record (CRS Form 5) in lieu of a CENOMAR
O Certificate of Finality and full court documents, including decision
O Marriage certificate, with proper annotation declaring the marriage null and void
• If widow/widower, present death certificate of deceased spouse, and include the following documents:
O Advisory of Marriage Record (CRS Form 5) in lieu of a CENOMAR
O Marriage certificate with proper annotation declaring, if applicable, the presumptive death of spouse






• Valid original passport

[hawk]

i was married in may i didnt need anything but the money to pay for cni and the wedding and was never asked for it at any time

[Arthur Little]

Hi all
I fly out to Phili in 14 days time to get married i have all the paperwork sorted out my local uk C.N.I etc ....

... congratulations on your upcoming :wedtoss:

[Arthur Little]

... But have just been told i may need a character statement from someone in authority who knows me well to take along to the embassy when my other papers are submitted for Phili C.N.I.

Is this required i have not heard this mentioned before on here ?????

many thx in advance

Never heard of it either :nono-1-1: ... THEY (the British Embassy) take your :REGamblMoney01HL1: ... YOU take your chances.