Quote Originally Posted by Arthur Little View Post
I may be wrong here, but I THINK in cases where a 'Civil Ceremony' is performed, the information is directly at hand, and consequently, the ensuing certificate is possibly available far more quickly than is the case with Church Ceremonies - or so I'm given to understand, anyway - as I believe there's a tendency for the latter bodies to "drag their feet" in lodging marriage notifications with the NSO ... by submitting those on a bulk basis ... say once a month or so.
I'm not convinced about that. Our marriage registration was at the Tagum NSO within a couple of days - however, it was they who had to request the 'electronic endorsement' at the Davao NSO in order for us to obtain our certificate in about a month.

I would think that the local registrar in Pantukan will also have to pass the registrations through the Tagum office.

Yes, you receive the original of your marriage certificate, issued by the registrar, very quickly but, for most official purposes you will need the 'NSO' copy. This you will have to obtain from the Davao NSO, in the same way that we did.

Perhaps you could clarify if Myrna and I will be given an 'initial interview' when we go to the Embassy to deposit my CNI ... ?
No, you won't. The interface between the visa applicant and the Embassy is handled by a service company (VFS) - their offices are in a different parts of Manila. The only 'initial' interview is that at the time of submitting the application and supporting documents. If the application is incomplete, it will not be accepted. Also be aware that you will have no part in that interview - you will have to stay outside, in the waiting area, while Myrna takes the application in.

However, I think that you can take comfort from the posting made by Ady in another thread, where it has been stated that :

The legal test according to caselaw is that your income should cover the equivalent of income support levels (for a couple and a child which is at present £150 per week approximately) after accommodation has been paid for.
I think that your pension, small as it is, should meet income support levels for a couple.