DIVORCE OBTAINED BY FORMER FILIPINO CITIZENS ABROAD

Q. I am a former Filipino citizen. I got married, also to a Filipino Citizen, in a church wedding in Manila on April 09, 1995. I migrated to the United Kingdom sometime in October 1996. I became a naturalized British Citizen in 2004. I divorced my Filipino wife after I became a British citizen. Do I still need to file a Petition for Annulment of Marriage before Philippine Courts?

No. There is no need to file the Petition. The Divorce that you obtained in UK was valid and recognized in Philippine jurisdiction. This is so because you are no longer a Filipino citizen when the Divorce Decree was issued. This issue was already settled by the Supreme Court in LLORENTE versus Court of Appeals G.R. No. 124371. November 23, 2000. This will also entitle your ex-wife to marry again.

Q: What if my ex-wife, who is a Filipina, was the one who a obtained a Divorce before UK Courts Is the Divorce valid? Is she entitled to remarry under Philippine Law?

No. The Divorce obtained by your Filipina wife is not valid. She
is not entitled to remarry because the Divorce which was obtained by her before UK Courts is not recognized under Philippine Law. As a Filipino citizen, the Family Code of the Philippines should be followed on how her marriage will be dissolved.

Q: I am a Filipino Citizen residing in the Philippines, I found out that my wife who went to work in the United Kingdom has a British man with whom she is conducting an affair, she has recently acquired indefinate leave to remain and is a UK Resident, recently, she obtained a Divorce in Britain. Is the Divorce valid under Philippine Law?

No. The Divorce is not valid under Philippine Law. Your Wife is still a Filipino citizen even though she has a legal permanent status in the United Kingdom,. As a Filipino citizen, the Family Code of the Philippines should be followed on how your marriage will be dissolved.


Petes Commentary

We can see from the above E mails that I responded to on advice of a anulment attorney are typical of some of the e mails that I receive on a daily basis, as far as the Philippines authorities are concerned, the key ingredient here is citizenship.

If a Filipina comes to UK and meets a British man, and co habits, she may be leaving herself open to be the respondent in a petition for a legal anulment by her husband, on the grounds that she is not fulfilling the obligations of marriage, if she then tries to divorce in a UK court, it may be valid in the United Kingdom if she tries to re-marry here in the UK, however, the divorce would n ot be recognized in the Philippines, as the Filipina is still subject to Philippine Laws, even though resident of another country, the only way the divorce would be recognized by the Philippine Authorities, is if the Filpina acquires naturalization of British Nationality, then as a British Citizen her divorce would be recognized, and incidentally her Filipino Husband would also be free to re-marry should he choose to.

For Filipino Citizens the only way to dissolve marriages to Filipino Citizens, is by adhereing to the procedures for dissolving marriages that took place in the Philippines.

I hope this helps, Im sure it will be the subject of much discussion, if anyone wants to bring any points forward please do so in a constructive manner, no jokes please, this subject matter is serious. Many thanks