engaged but married

[scott]

hi i'm scott I am filipino worker I got engaged to my british boyfriend for nearly 2 years now.I was married in the phil but didnt work out.no contact with ex-husband for 4 1/2 years.We plan to marry this year but we don't know if it's possible.we tried to apply for annullment in the phil ex hubby apparently wouldnt sign until certain money is given,plus annullment cost a lot of money.I was quoted for £2,000.some lawyers in the phil said I can do what I want in england as there is no law extending from phil to england with regards to my case.Solicitors in here are not quite sure either. please if anyone can give us some advice. thanks.

[walesrob]

Originally posted by scott@Jan 3 2006, 01:25 AM
hi i'm scott I am filipino worker I got engaged to my british boyfriend for nearly 2 years now.I was married in the phil but didnt work out.no contact with ex-husband for 4 1/2 years.We plan to marry this year but we don't know if it's possible.we tried to apply for annullment in the phil ex hubby apparently wouldnt sign until certain money is given,plus annullment cost a lot of money.I was quoted for £2,000.some lawyers in the phil said I can do what I want in england as there is no law extending from phil to england with regards to my case.Solicitors in here are not quite sure either. please if anyone can give us some advice. thanks.

Quoted post


Hi Scott, welcome to the forum, I hope we can help.

Ok, let me get this straight, you are engaged to your British boyfriend, but at the same time, your previous marraige is not yet annulled?

I will assume that you are already in UK, and if so, what type of visa do you hold?

If you plan to marry in the UK, and your annullment is not yet complete, you cannot get married in the UK (as far as I know), you need to go back to Philippines and sort that out first. Don't try to bend the rules, its not worth it, you will create more problems.

Pete, whats your take on this?

[ginapeterb]

Originally posted by walesrob@Jan 3 2006, 01:45 AM
Hi Scott, welcome to the forum, I hope we can help.

Ok, let me get this straight, you are engaged to your British boyfriend, but at the same time, your previous marraige is not yet annulled?

I will assume that you are already in UK, and if so, what type of visa do you hold?

If you plan to marry in the UK, and your annullment is not yet complete, you cannot get married in the UK (as far as I know), you need to go back to Philippines and sort that out first. Don't try to bend the rules, its not worth it, you will create more problems.

Pete, whats your take on this?

Quoted post



Thanks Rob, this is a common situation, technically, Philippine Law has no jurisdiction here in UK, however, it is no longer possible for Foreign Nationals on Work Permits to marry someone presently settled in the United Kingdom, withou first applying for special permission via the Home Office, first home office approval must be granted for the foreign citizen to marry here, this costs approximately £150.00 and the forms can be obtained from the District Registrars office of Births marriages and deaths, in the locality of which you live.

With regard to the marriage in the Philippines, you must obtain a legal anulment in the Philippines, before proceeding to marry in the United Kingdom, if you did not do so, the NSO would not recognize the UK Marriage, if the husband in the Philippines refused to agree to the anulment without financial recompense, the case would have to be prepared by an Anulment attorney, there are some who can obtain an anulment due to the husbands incapacity to contract marriage, the fees for this are generally between 180,000 to 200,000 PHP, this can be negotiated, however it can take up to 9 months to a year, the richer you are, the more chance you have of it going through, as there is much express feeing to get what you require, I do know of legal anulments that have been granted recently, but the applicants were rich.

You can of course apply for home office permission to marry here without mentioning the fact you are married in the Philippines, as the Home Office has no way of checking nor do they check for previous marriages, however, if you did do this, you would be swearing a declaration that you are free to marry, this may have to be done at the Philippine Embassy in London, however, there is always the risk that they may wish to fax the NSO in QC to check whether there are any marriages recorded against your name, however again, you may not require this, if you marry in the United Kingdom, this marriage is valid, but not neccessarily in the Philippines, if your intentioin is to live in the UK, you need only satisfy UK Law.

The other question of course, is this, what is your current immigration status, are you subject to immigration control, if you are, you are running a risk.

If you have indefinate leave to remain, you are not subjec to immigration control, your situation is much better, in other words if you are a UK resident, you do not require Home Office approval to marry in the UK, Home Office approval is only required for Non UK Residents, or EEC Nationals, so for example if your passport shows a UK Resident Visa, which it should do, if you are here legally and have been here for more than 3 years, then you could go to any district registrar and apply for a marriage licence.

However you dont really clarify this for us, and we are assuming you are female, since you talk about your boyfreind, we are not talking a civil partnership here are we...no;....forgive me, I was thinking of Elton John, your name is Scott..I think of the male gender when I hear that name, so you have to bare with me.

If you need any further advice...please leave us more information to go on.

[Admin]

If you really love the guy here, then he is worth waiting for, and will understand you. It usually us always best (especially when dealing with authorities) to do it by the book. If you don't you will spend the rest of your married life here wondering when the authorities will knock on the door to arrest you for bigamy (jail sentence), or/and deport you.

Regardless of the cost/timescale, I would get the annullment done. Someone on here might know a good lawyer in the Phil.

[scott]

thanks pete ! that was very helpful. I'm a uk resident now. so I guess it is not so bad.haven't said that I do hold still my married name in my passport as the phil. embassy will not allow my change of name.Why is it so complicated I just want it to end. Phil. law is such a pain!
I know my ex in the phil has got some plans in his head and he's just kept it quiet.Not at all bothered as i am settled here in the uk.My partner and I has been living together for 3 1/2 yrs now with my daughter from my ex and we did now have a child of our own.So you can imagine how desperate we are to be a proper family.I just want it to be blessed and live happily.
So will I be able to file a divorce from uk? or should I wait until I'm a Brit. citizen so I can totally get rid of his name and have more rights? or do I have to go back to the phil first to sort it out? I've got no intention of going back to live for a long time just for a visit maybe once in awhile.It's so frustrating though sometimes when you love somebody and just want to settle down.I've heard my ex has a girlfriend now but the annullment is far too expensive.If I can get away of not having it, It would rather save it for my childre and maybe a wedding if possible.thanks again.

[scott]

Thanks.I did try to sort it out last year as I say He doesnt agree with my proposal instead he wants me to pay his debt which is not cheap 500T+Php and to pay for the annullment as well or bring my daughter back! I may be a bit desperate to get him out of my life but i'm not at all nuts to giveaway my daughter.this is where we belong now and she is very settled and well loved with a stable family.
It is not fair sometimes the law in the phil. it is annoying at times.There was a lady who contacted my mam about my case,we thought she was a lawyer as she gives my mam the impression,she reckons she can sort the case out in 4-8 weeks but 200T php That's £2000 mate ! and she wants 50% down payment for a start.I wasn't very happy though my mam has already given her 15Tphp when she went to see my ex.thats how I knew about his conditions. Money , money, money, that is all that matters.

[ginapeterb]

Originally posted by scott@Jan 4 2006, 08:22 PM
thanks pete ! that was very helpful. I'm a uk resident now. so I guess it is not so bad.haven't said that I do hold still my married name in my passport as the phil. embassy will not allow my change of name.Why is it so complicated I just want it to end. Phil. law is such a pain!
I know my ex in the phil has got some plans in his head and he's just kept it quiet.Not at all bothered as i am settled here in the uk.My partner and I has been living together for 3 1/2 yrs now with my daughter from my ex and we did now have a child of our own.So you can imagine how desperate we are to be a proper family.I just want it to be blessed and live happily.
So will I be able to file a divorce from uk? or should I wait until I'm a Brit. citizen so I can totally get rid of his name and have more rights? or do I have to go back to the phil first to sort it out? I've got no intention of going back to live for a long time just for a visit maybe once in awhile.It's so frustrating though sometimes when you love somebody and just want to settle down.I've heard my ex has a girlfriend now but the annullment is far too expensive.If I can get away of not having it, It would rather save it for my childre and maybe a wedding if possible.thanks again.

Quoted post



Hello Scott

I sympathise with your dillema, if you have lived with your partner in UK for 3.5 years now, and have a child, I wouldnt really worry too much about the Philippine Embassy, if you have been a UK resident for 3 years with indefinate leave to remain, you may apply to be naturlized, the only problem with this, is you may only do so by marriage to a British National, there is a distinction these days between someone presently settled in the United Kingdom and a Briitish Citizen.

These days, the United Kingdom is full of people presently settled, but they may be foreign nationals of other countries, therefore they do not necessarily qualify for naturalization as British Citizens, for example my wife qualifies in 3 years for naturalization, but only as a result of marriage to me, my nationality is by descent, anyone who acquires British Nationality by marriage may not pass it on, unless its by descent, therefore foreign nationals who come to UK as wifes or husbands, may receive it but may not pass it on.

How does this affect you, you need to state the circumstances which brought you to the United Kingdom, before I can advise you, reading between the lines, it seems you either came as a tourist and overstayed, (dont worry Im not judging you) or you came on a work Permit and continue to work on the skilled migrant programme, or you were granted indefinate leave to remain for other reasons.

If you are a resident which you have confirmed, you may be entitled to nationality in due course, however their are conditions on which you may apply, as to your dilemma with your ex partner in the Philippines, I will do some checking on your behalf, I have a nice contact in my local district registry, who will advise me on your situation.

If you have been in UK for 3.5 years, and the Philippine Embassy will not allow you to change your name, they will only do so on production of a valid Marriage certificate showing your husbands name, this is the sad state of affairs with the Philippines that seems to forever live in the 19th century.

You cannot file a divorce in a UK County Court unless the respondent husband is a resident of the UK, you may have filed a divorce petition against your Filipino husband however, he would have to be resident here to do so, it could of course be construed that you are no longer subject to Philippine laws, since you have lived in UK for so long, if you had no intention of residing in the Philippines apart from a short family visit, it maybe that you could get legally married in the UK, although the Philippine Government may not recognize the marriage, (hardly a consideration you need worry about), whether your husband has a GF is not of any consequence, the fact is, you wish to adjust status and marry your current partner, but are prevented from doing so, due to the fact you are still technically and legally married to the partner in the Phlippines, this is something that would need to be checked with the district registrar, it may be worth you making an appointment with your district registrar, you can find them at the local county council offices, it is where weddings are performed, but you need to ask for the foreign marriages advisor, they n ormally have one in each registry.

It might be worth popping down and explaining the position, stating that you have lived in UK for 3.5 years, and are estranged form your husband, and that you may not divorce in the Philippines, what would be required for you to carry out a civil ceremony in the UK.

Its a shame your Filipino ex husband is not resident in UK, or you would be able to file a divorce petition against him, sadly you cannot do that, as he cannot be served the papers unless he resides in the district in which you reside, Im sorry I cannot be more helpful, but if iit wasnt for the Philippines archaic family code, and its being dictated to by the Catholic Church, you could have sorted this out and be happy.

Best wishes

[scott]

You have been very helpful pete.thanks very much.I would certainly have a trip down at the office, funny enough it's just outside my front door. Hopefully I can gather some positive feedbacks.My partner's dad is very well spoken man and legal conscious, it has to be by the book which is just right.So the three of us will be at the district office.
I will be applying for my naturalisation this year,that is one of the reasons as well that I am inquisitive about my case.I think if we can be allowed to marry before I apply,then I can apply with my married name in uk which will change my passport in my new married name then maybe case closed. I know it might be a bit ambitious and silly really do you think? he suggested it as well you know not me. Haven't said that, We really couldn't ask for more.we have two beautiful children,one of each.and they are the most important in our lives.
regarding my ex not living in uk, just as well otherwise it will be hell.I may be six feet under.he's better off in there with his goons and guns.He'll never set foot in england,unless he robs a bank. I was once his bank but not anymore !!!!

I sent you a msge on your site as well.thanks again pete.until next time.