Correct documents required to get the CNI from the embassy [Archive]

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RicIre

23rd July 2013, 03:46

Terpe

23rd July 2013, 11:16

Hi everyone

Im new here but have been lurking since last year trying to learn everything I needed to know to bring my mahal to UK. Now that Im ready to get married so I have decided to join this wonderful forum :biggrin:

Ok so I fall under the "For British applicant who is naturalized and was born in the Philippines" and according to the check list I would need to bring my "Naturalisation certificate"

Hi there RicIre, welcome aboad Filipino UK forum.

As a first step may I kindly suggest you review our forum thread and follow all the included links to the UKBA site.

All New Guide - How to apply for a Spouse/Partner Visa (http://filipinaroses.com/showthread.php/39740-All-New-Guide-How-to-apply-for-a-Spouse-Partner-Visa)

You should also make searches here in the forum for any areas/topic of concern

Ok so I fall under the "For British applicant who is naturalized and was born in the Philippines" and according to the check list I would need to bring my "Naturalisation certificate"

So far these are the documents we have as listed below and my main question is regarding the "Naturalisation certificate"

I believe you'll be the sponsor of your wife as a British Citizen or Person Settled here.
I'm unsure as to why you're getting concerned about your Naturalisation Certificate. Where does UKBA state it is a documentary requirement?

For the visa application, in terms of ID you (sponsor) will need to supply passport photo-page copy and birth certificate

For getting married in the Philippines I'll reply to your questions in a separate post below.

Please do take some time to review the Application Forms and the UKBA Guide to Supporting Documents.
(Both may be downloaded from this page (http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/visas-immigration/partners-families/citizens-settled/spouse-cp/apply-outside-uk/))

1) If I understand it correctly this Naturalisation certificate is a certificate given to me when I became British? This document was issued back in 1984 and Im wondering if I needed to get the newer version? or the old original will do?

Where does it state this document is required?
Your passport and birth certificate is sufficient as ID for Visa

2) My NSO issued birth certificate print doesn't look too clear. We did get another one but it seems that NSO overlayed the copy of the original onto their new coloured paper and the result was barely legible text. Will there be any issue with this? I do have my original non NSO birth certificate issued in the Philippines and the paper is really old but at least it is much clearer. I will bring this with me of course.

I've never known anyone have a problem with this. My wife's birth certificate was also very unclear but was not an issue for UKBA.

3) Most what I read here state that UK CNI expires in 3 months from the time of issue or the time of application? According to another site it says England and Wales is 6 months and Scotland is only 3 months?

This is somewhat complicated. My advice is to be sure your UK CNI is exchanged for a local (Philippine) CNI within 3 months. The local CNI is also valid for 3 months.
Technically, the UK CNI has no expiry. However Philippine law requires the document to be used by the Embassy within 3 months, hence the confusion and varying statements.
For interest and completeness I'll post seperately on this below.
The best and most secure option is to follow the protocol of 3 months validity.

4) Spelling mistake on my mahal home address. It says south cotobato instead of south cotabato. I guess this shouldn't be a problem?

No problem

5) Both the NSO birth certificate and CENOMAR expires in 3 months? we got the timing wrong and I couldn't book a flight in time and the CENOMAR will expire soon. How easy is it to re apply for the CENOMAR?

No problem. Very easy. Can also be done online.

Terpe

23rd July 2013, 11:16

Regarding the questions around CNI.
There's no current definitive 'published' answer to satisfy all your questions.

There are however a number of different regulations that when 'added together' give a reasonable indication of time periods to follow in order to avoid
delays and challenges in the process of getting wed.

A CNI issued in Scotland is valid for 3 months only
A CNI issued in England, Wales or Northern Ireland has no specific validity under British Law.
This is the sticking point. Some folks will tell you it's valid for 3 months others will tell you 6 months and other will state the non-validity under British Law.

Bear in mind that a 'local' CNI is the one required under Philippine Law in order to secure a Marriage Licence.
The validity of the Philippine version CNI is 3 months from DATE OF ISSUE

Here's the thing, the staff at the British Embassy are the ones who decide the DATE OF ISSUE and it's difficult to pin them down.
Sometimes the Embassy takes the view that the DATE OF ISSUE of the CNI in Philippines will be the same as the original date signed by the Registrar in the UK.
Unless issued in replacement of a Scottish CNI (valid for 3 months), in which case the local Philippine CNI will issued from Consulate DATE OF ISSUE. Means 'daisy-chained'.

The British Embassy usually insist that all formal Philippine certificates (birth, marriage, death and no marriage etc) must be obtained from the National Statistics Office (NSO)
and must have been issued within 3 months of your appointment.
This then leads to an understanding that ALL such documents should be presented with that 3 month window.

Under 'normal' conditions there has not been any issues since most folks actually secure a marriage licence pretty quickly following the issue of CNI from the Embassy.

Previously I would have suggested UK CNI to be used with 3 months, with the Philippine CNI dated on the actual day of issue at the Embassy.
(ie daisy-chained) and then to be used within 3 months.
But the latest advice from the British Embassy on this subject is not so specific/precise.

Oh, by the way, the Philippine CNI must be USED within 3 months. Means that it must be used to secure a marriage licence within 3 months. Doesn't mean you must be married within 3 months.
The marriage licence, once obtained, is valid for 120 days anywhere within the Philippines from date of issue.

Terpe

23rd July 2013, 11:17

About getting married in Philippines as British Citizen, here's some useful information from the British Embassy about Marriage in The Philippines (https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/192485/Marriage_or_CNI_requirements_in_the_Philippines.pdf)

Here is some general information about Getting married abroad (https://www.gov.uk/marriage-abroad)

There's a new system to book an appointment at the British Embassy Consular Section in Manila which should be done through the Clickbook Consular Appointment site.
See this link for details of Online appointment system for Consular services (https://www.clickbook.net/dev/bc.nsf/sub/britishembassymanila?OpenDocument&cb_referer=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com%2Furl%3Fsa%3Dt%26rct%3Dj%26q%3Dhow%2020to%2020book%2020an%2020appointment%2020at%2020British%2020Embassy%2020Manila%26source%3Dweb%26cd%3D1%26ved%3D0CCkQFjAA%26url%3Dhttp%203A%202F%202Fbritishembassymanila.clickbook.net%202F%26ei%3D3EPuUcbeCYmu7AbwyICwDw%26usg%3DAFQjCNFFra6zjvYPeh6iJnPjd1mFSKPgMQ%26bvm%3Dbv.49478099%2Cd.d2k)

Be informed that for Philippines the UK CNI has only 3 months validity, so plan out carefully what needs to be done and when. It's a good idea to make a project plan from wedding day backwards so you can line it all up.
The local Philippine CNI that is given to you by the British Embassy also has a validity of 3 months.

The UK CNI is available from your local registry office. It takes 22 days from time of application. It's 21 days for the 'bans'.
You need to present the UK CNI to the British Embassy in the Philippines to be issued a Philippine version called a Certificate of Legal Capacity to Marry.
This certificate is needed for the application of a marriage license.
Incidently many folks are now been reporting that a lot of authorities are now asking that the foreign partner also secures their own CENOMAR (Certificate of No Marriage) from Philippine NSO (National Statistics Office) in order to process the marriage licence. You would be well advised to include this contingency as well.

The CNI is a Certificate of no impediment (sometimes called Legal Capacity to Marry) and provides evidence to officially authorised people that the marriage will be recognised as a valid marriage in both Philippines and the country of the foreign spouse.
A valid CNI is required by Philippine law.

A CENOMAR ( Certificate of No Marriage Record) is available from the National Statistics Office (NSO) and is simply what its name implies.
It is a certification issued by the NSO stating that a person has not contracted any marriage within the Philippines.

In connection with the Marriage Licence the Executive Order No.209 (The Family Code of the Philippines) states:-

Art. 17. The local civil registrar shall prepare a notice which shall contain the full names and residences of the applicants for a marriage
license and other data given in the applications. The notice shall be posted for ten consecutive days on a bulletin board outside the office of
the local civil registrar located in a conspicuous place within the building and accessible to the general public.
This notice shall request all persons having knowledge of any impediment to the marriage to advise the local civil registrar thereof.
The marriage license shall be issued after the completion of the period of publication.

Just for completeness it goes on to state:-

Art. 20. The license shall be valid in any part of the Philippines for a period of one hundred twenty days from the date of issue, and shall
be deemed automatically cancelled at the expiration of the said period if the contracting parties have not made use of it.
The expiry date shall be stamped in bold characters on the face of every license issued.

As I'm sure you may know by now, there are always 'local variations' in the Philippines.

After all, if the licence is not issued until after 11,12 or 13 days then it still complies with the legal requirement provided it has been posted continuously for a minimum 10 consecutive days.

Best advice is to always check locally when it actually WILL be issued.

Generally, with good organisation, and things go fairly smooth along the way, you should have no problems getting married within a 20-30 day timeframe.

I'm sure there are some folks who will say you can achieve it in only 14 days. In my opinion that can only be achieved if you are very lucky, the organisation is really slick or if you use an agent who just might be able to find ways and means for some workarounds.

Most folks will tell you that 21 days is enough time, and I think on balance that's a reasonable time without major problems, but not much time left for honeymoon.

I suggest you always check the latest information for paperwork needed etc but in principle to apply for the Marriage License you should consider having the following:-

Your birth certificate
Your passport
Your C.N.I.
Your NSO CENOMAR
Your Divorce decree asbsolute (if applicable)

Certificate of 'Pre-Marriage Seminar' (if needed, please check well beforehand)

Her N.S.O. birth certificate (This should be fresh from NSO on latest type of security paper. Check)
Her Passport (or other appropriate ID)
Her Barangay clearance (if needed, please check well beforehand)
Her community tax certificate (often called Cedula)
Her postal I.D. Address
Her cenomar
Her Parents signed advice form (if under 25 years age)
Her Parents I.D.

Apply for the Marriage License in your fiancée's home town at the registry office. (or locality of where marriage will take place)
You might also be requested to attend the "Pre-Marriage Seminar" counselling sessions prior to being allowed to be married. Check and ask when you apply for the marriage license

After you apply for the license there is a mandatory 10 day waiting period while the marriage bans are published

By the way just be sure that you have authorised copies of the Marriage Certificate after the wedding or that you request fast-tracking /Expediting for NSO copies. Quite a few get into a long waiting time for the marriage certificate needed for a visa application. Worth thinking about

Take a look at this thread for information on fastracking the marriage certificate - Advance Endorsement Birth ,Marriage and Death Certificate (http://filipinaroses.com/showthread.php/44671-Advance-Endorsement-Birth-Marriage-and-Death-Certificate)

Just curious, are you dual citizen ?
If so I guess you'll enter Philippines on your Philippines passport and be there as a Philippine Citizen. Why would you then get married as a 'foreigner'?

No offence intended just curious.

RicIre

24th July 2013, 03:47

Hi there RicIre, welcome aboad Filipino UK forum.

As a first step may I kindly suggest you review our forum thread and follow all the included links to the UKBA site.

All New Guide - How to apply for a Spouse/Partner Visa

You should also make searches here in the forum for any areas/topic of concern

First of all thanks for the very warm welcome :smile: and thanks for the quick reply, much more helpful than the email I have received from the embassy.

I believe you'll be the sponsor of your wife as a British Citizen or Person Settled here.
I'm unsure as to why you're getting concerned about your Naturalisation Certificate. Where does UKBA state it is a documentary requirement?

For the visa application, in terms of ID you (sponsor) will need to supply passport photo-page copy and birth certificate

The Naturalisation Certificate is for exchanging the UK CNI to the Philippines version, it is mentioned on this pdf file on top of page 4 >

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/192485/Marriage_or_CNI_requirements_in_the_Philippines.pdf

2. For British applicant who is naturalized and was born in the Philippines:
 All of the above plus:
 birth certificate
 Naturalisation certificate
 CENOMAR

Im self employed and currently cannot pass the financial requirement for her visa application. What we want to do this year is get married first. I will then find a part/full time job and hopeful qualifies after 6 months+ then take it from there.

This is somewhat complicated. My advice is to be sure your UK CNI is exchanged for a local (Philippine) CNI within 3 months. The local CNI is also valid for 3 months.
Technically, the UK CNI has no expiry. However Philippine law requires the document to be used by the Embassy within 3 months, hence the confusion and varying statements.
For interest and completeness I'll post seperately on this below.
The best and most secure option is to follow the protocol of 3 months validity.

I guess it is safer to stick with the 3 months time limit. The reason why I asked is because I applied for the UK CNI in June hoping to get married in July. Due to unexpected circumstances we had to delay everything and my UK issued CNI may expired by the time I get to Philippines.

According to this >

https://www.gov.uk/marriage-abroad/y/philippines/uk/uk_england/partner_local/opposite_sex

A CNI issued in England, Wales or Northern Ireland is valid for 6 months. A CNI issued in Scotland is valid for 3 months.

So Im just hoping that it is 6 months otherwise I may have to re apply for another CNI here in the UK?

RicIre

24th July 2013, 04:02

About getting married in Philippines as British Citizen, here's some useful information from the British Embassy about Marriage in The Philippines (https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/192485/Marriage_or_CNI_requirements_in_the_Philippines.pdf)

Here is some general information about Getting married abroad (https://www.gov.uk/marriage-abroad)

There's a new system to book an appointment at the British Embassy Consular Section in Manila which should be done through the Clickbook Consular Appointment site.
See this link for details of Online appointment system for Consular services (https://www.clickbook.net/dev/bc.nsf/sub/britishembassymanila?OpenDocument&cb_referer=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com%2Furl%3Fsa%3Dt%26rct%3Dj%26q%3Dhow%2020to%2020book%2020an%2020appointment%2020at%2020British%2020Embassy%2020Manila%26source%3Dweb%26cd%3D1%26ved%3D0CCkQFjAA%26url%3Dhttp%203A%202F%202Fbritishembassymanila.clickbook.net%202F%26ei%3D3EPuUcbeCYmu7AbwyICwDw%26usg%3DAFQjCNFFra6zjvYPeh6iJnPjd1mFSKPgMQ%26bvm%3Dbv.49478099%2Cd.d2k)

Be informed that for Philippines the UK CNI has only 3 months validity, so plan out carefully what needs to be done and when. It's a good idea to make a project plan from wedding day backwards so you can line it all up.
The local Philippine CNI that is given to you by the British Embassy also has a validity of 3 months.

The UK CNI is available from your local registry office. It takes 22 days from time of application. It's 21 days for the 'bans'.
You need to present the UK CNI to the British Embassy in the Philippines to be issued a Philippine version called a Certificate of Legal Capacity to Marry.
This certificate is needed for the application of a marriage license.
Incidently many folks are now been reporting that a lot of authorities are now asking that the foreign partner also secures their own CENOMAR (Certificate of No Marriage) from Philippine NSO (National Statistics Office) in order to process the marriage licence. You would be well advised to include this contingency as well.

The CNI is a Certificate of no impediment (sometimes called Legal Capacity to Marry) and provides evidence to officially authorised people that the marriage will be recognised as a valid marriage in both Philippines and the country of the foreign spouse.
A valid CNI is required by Philippine law.

A CENOMAR ( Certificate of No Marriage Record) is available from the National Statistics Office (NSO) and is simply what its name implies.
It is a certification issued by the NSO stating that a person has not contracted any marriage within the Philippines.

In connection with the Marriage Licence the Executive Order No.209 (The Family Code of the Philippines) states:-

Just for completeness it goes on to state:-

As I'm sure you may know by now, there are always 'local variations' in the Philippines.

After all, if the licence is not issued until after 11,12 or 13 days then it still complies with the legal requirement provided it has been posted continuously for a minimum 10 consecutive days.

Best advice is to always check locally when it actually WILL be issued.

Generally, with good organisation, and things go fairly smooth along the way, you should have no problems getting married within a 20-30 day timeframe.

I'm sure there are some folks who will say you can achieve it in only 14 days. In my opinion that can only be achieved if you are very lucky, the organisation is really slick or if you use an agent who just might be able to find ways and means for some workarounds.

Most folks will tell you that 21 days is enough time, and I think on balance that's a reasonable time without major problems, but not much time left for honeymoon.

I suggest you always check the latest information for paperwork needed etc but in principle to apply for the Marriage License you should consider having the following:-

Your birth certificate
Your passport
Your C.N.I.
Your NSO CENOMAR
Your Divorce decree asbsolute (if applicable)

Certificate of 'Pre-Marriage Seminar' (if needed, please check well beforehand)

Her N.S.O. birth certificate (This should be fresh from NSO on latest type of security paper. Check)
Her Passport (or other appropriate ID)
Her Barangay clearance (if needed, please check well beforehand)
Her community tax certificate (often called Cedula)
Her postal I.D. Address
Her cenomar
Her Parents signed advice form (if under 25 years age)
Her Parents I.D.

Apply for the Marriage License in your fiancée's home town at the registry office. (or locality of where marriage will take place)
You might also be requested to attend the "Pre-Marriage Seminar" counselling sessions prior to being allowed to be married. Check and ask when you apply for the marriage license

After you apply for the license there is a mandatory 10 day waiting period while the marriage bans are published

By the way just be sure that you have authorised copies of the Marriage Certificate after the wedding or that you request fast-tracking /Expediting for NSO copies. Quite a few get into a long waiting time for the marriage certificate needed for a visa application. Worth thinking about

Take a look at this thread for information on fastracking the marriage certificate - Advance Endorsement Birth ,Marriage and Death Certificate (http://filipinaroses.com/showthread.php/44671-Advance-Endorsement-Birth-Marriage-and-Death-Certificate)

Just curious, are you dual citizen ?
If so I guess you'll enter Philippines on your Philippines passport and be there as a Philippine Citizen. Why would you then get married as a 'foreigner'?

No offence intended just curious.

Great stuff. We got most of the documents lined up except for my naturalisation certificate (or have I got this wrong altogether?) and my UK CNI may expire by the time we have everything ready for the embassy appointment.

No Im not a dual citizen so Im going to Philippines using my UK passport so I guess yes I will be a foreigner there even though Im a Filipino :Cuckoo: Is there a better and easier way to do this?

Cheers

RicIre

28th August 2013, 06:16

Just a quick update. I have email the embassy last month and this is their reply below :

Thank you for your email.

We only require the Cenomar to be issued within 3 months of your appointment. The birth certificate, no need for it to be issued within the last 3 months, but it should be the NSO copy. You may request it with the any NSO offices. If the NSO copy is not clear, grateful if you could also present the Civil Registrar copy of your birth certificate for our reference.

The UK-issued CNI is valid for 1 year from the date it was issued.

Yes, you will need to submit the Naturalisation certificate, when you became a British citizen.

Kindly find the attached CNI guidance/checklist for you and your fiancee.

Regards,

When I applied for CNI in the UK I told them that I wanted to get married around August and I remember this date was entered on the computer, but this date was not printed on the CNI. Will there be a problem here because it will now take place in October?