Information update for British Nationals Resident in the United Kingdom seeking to Marry in the Philippines.

The (CNI) Certificate of No Impediment is required at the British Embassy Manila, before a Local CNI can be issued, the document as previously stated can be obtained from your local registrar of Births,Marriages, and deaths, the fee now is £30.00

What Iformation is required ?

You must take your:

1) Passport
2) Birth Certificate
3) Details of your Address
4) Employment
5) Your Filipina future spouse Name
6) Her Address
7) The location of your intended marriage.


What are the rules for Issue of a CNI ?

The British Embassy Manila will only issue a CNI Locally that complies with Philippine Law, if your UK CNI has a validty of 3 months from date of Issue.

That is to say, if your CNI is more than 3 months old, when you arrive in the Philippines, then it is worthless for the purposes of obtaining a CNI, if this happens you may apply at the British Embassy to obtain a CNI under a different route.

This is "Applying for a CNI under the Marriage to Foreighners Act 1906"

This means you must go to the consular section of the British Embassy in Manila and swear an Affidavit in front of a consular officer, then fill in the "Notice of intention to Marry" this affidavit is a legal statement of truth, that you will swear to say that you "No of no lawful impediment that would incapicate your ability to perform in a marriage ceremony.

However Philippine law states that the applicant, that is the British National must be resident in the Philippines for 21 days prior to this document being issued, this allows such time as may be necessary for any objections to be raised to the marriage.

Once the 21 days has elased, not including the day of your arrival in the Philippines, or the day of the application itself, you may call as soon as possible and collect your document, however, it must be presented to the Philippine authorities within 3 months for the purposes of issuing a marriage license or it is invalid.

Philippine Law states any marriage which is performed in the Philippines that does not have a CNI issued by the British Embassy Manila where a British National is marrying a Philippine National is considered null and void.

Here are the British Embassy Manila actual Guidelines.

Marriage in the Philippines


EXPLANATORY NOTICE TO BRITISH CITIZENS CONTEMPLATING A MARRIAGE TO A CITIZEN OF THE PHILIPPINES

In May 1990 the Government of the Philippines enacted a law making it illegal to run a mail order or personal introduction business for matching Filipino women for marriage to foreign nationals. This was done to protect Filipino women from being exploited in their desire for economic improvement and in the interest of human dignity. Any British citizen contemplating marriage to a Filipino national should be aware that law in the Philippines now prohibits all such agencies.
If you wish to marry in the Philippines you must produce, to the authorities, a Certificate of No Impediment stating that you are free to marry. This can be obtained from your local Registrar of Marriages in the United Kingdom, or from the British Embassy in the Philippines. In the latter case, in order to satisfy the provisions of both Philippine and British law, it will require a minimum of 55 days for the Certificate to be issued and the marriage to take place during which time you must be resident in the Philippines. 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 wife of a British citizen does not automatically acquire British citizenship on marriage nor does she have the automatic right to settle in the United Kingdom.
DEPOSIT OF FOREIGN LAW MARRIAGE CERTIFICATES IN THE UNITED KINGDOM
The Foreign Marriage Order, 1970 makes provision for the transmission of foreign marriage certificates of British Citizens (together with certified translations into English, if necessary) to the Registrars-General in the England, Scotland or Northern Ireland, according to the part of the United Kingdom to which the British party concerned belongs.

Two points should be noted:
The marriage will not be ‘registered’ in the United Kingdom; the foreign marriage certificate will simply be deposited for record purposes only. This means that the original copy of the marriage certificate, if sent, would not be returned to the applicant (see paragraph 3 below).


There is no legal obligation to have a foreign marriage recorded in the United Kingdom, but you may take advantage of the facility to do so if you consider that it would serve some useful purpose to have the marriage recorded there. The validity (or otherwise) in English (or Scottish) law of a marriage contracted in a foreign country is in no way affected by its having been (or not having been) thus recorded.
If you wish to have your local marriage certificate deposited with a Registrar-General in the United Kingdom, you should obtain a certified true copy of the certificate in addition to the original at the time of the marriage ceremony (see Paragraph 2 (a) above) and present the certified copy to the Consular Section of the Embassy for transmission to the United Kingdom. The fee for this service is Pounds 20.00 payable in Pesos and in cash at the Consular rate of exchange in force at the time of application.

MARRIAGE IN THE PHILIPPINES: CERTIFICATE OF NO IMPEDIMENT

If you are a British Citizen and wish to marry in the Philippines, the local authorities require that you produce a document from this Embassy to the effect that you are free to marry. This is known as a ‘Certificate of No Impediment’ (CNI).

If your marriage is to be performed in the Philippines, the Consular Section of the British Embassy can issue a CNI acceptable to the Philippine authorities. This can be done on the day you apply if you can produce a CNI issued by your local Registrar of Marriages in the United Kingdom. (The Registrar will require you to appear personally before him and your Notice of Marriage will have to be posted on his notice board for 22 days before he can issue a CNI). Please note that a CNI issued in the United Kingdom should be presented to this Embassy within 3 months of it being issued.

If you are unable to produce such a certificate you will have to comply with the Marriage with Foreigners Act 1906. This requires that you reside in the Philippines for 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 clear days means that the day you arrive in the Philippines or the day you submit your Notice of Intention to Marry may not be counted.

When you give notice of your intended marriage, you will be required to swear an Affidavit before a Consular Officer to the effect that you are not aware of any impediment to the marriage. Your Notice of Marriage will then be displayed in a public place in the Embassy for a further 21 clear days (excluding the day you swear the Affidavit). The CNI will be issued the day after the 21 clear day period has elapsed and you should collect it from the Embassy as soon as possible thereafter. The local authorities will not accept a CNI which was issued by the Embassy more than three months before its presentation to them.

If, however, you are resident in a foreign country (other than the Philippines, but not a Commonwealth country) you may follow the above procedure by applying to the British Embassy in your country of residence. When the procedure is completed, the Embassy will forward a copy of the Notice of Marriage suitably endorsed. On receipt of the Notice, this Embassy will issue the CNI right away. Separate procedures apply if you are resident in a Commonwealth country and you should seek advice from your nearest British High Commission who should contact the British Embassy Manila for guidance.

Applicants who have been previously married will have to produce to the Embassy and to the Philippine authorities the original death certificate or divorce decree absolute, as appropriate.

The CNI issued by the Embassy in Manila 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. Once the CNI has been issued by the Embassy you should apply for a Marriage License (to permit the marriage to take place). The Registrar will then post the Notice of Application for a Marriage License for a period of 10 days at the end of which time the marriage may take place.
Should a Marriage License be issued without compliance with the 10-day publication rule, the local Registrar will be liable criminally, civilly and administratively.
A fee of £35 is charged for posting of the Notice and £35 for the CNI. The fees are payable only in Philippine Pesos and in cash at the current Consular rate of Exchange.