Hello everyone. I am thinking of getting married to my Philippina girlfriend. I was divorced in South Africa in the 1970s, and I have no divorce documents - I don't know the date of the divorce or the case number. Is there any way around this in terms of getting a marriage license?
How is anybody to know you've ever been married, if there is no paper trail ?
First port of call now, when marrying in the Phils, is the British Embassy in Manila (been there done that myself ).
They have a website, where you can download the form to make an (necessary) appointment there to swear your Affirmation or Affidavit... depending upon whether you're religious or not. By doing this , you are actually swearing in front of an Embassy witness, that you ARE free to marry... which is the important thing.
This replaces the requirement for a CENOMAR (the cert of no marriage you used to have to get back in the UK, and take with you to the Phils). Your prospective bride WILL still need her Phils version though.
It might be worth emailing the Embassy, to ask what should be done in your situation.
I was divorced, and brought my certificate (decree nice, or whatever it's called) with me, to show both Embassy and Registrar in the Phils.
I suppose you could just state that you've never been married, let alone divorced.
Welcome Maurice, just state that you're single
Thanks for the advice friends. I will keep you posted.
Your welcome
Might be a good idea to have a chat with a divorce lawyer before going down that route. It may seem like nothing doing this in the UK but in the Philippines the laws are different.
What if you Married in the Philippines and divorce in UK, is that ok in Philippines?
'Foreigners' are not affected by the Philippines (no) divorce laws.
So yes... fine for you and I. They are intending to give their poor long-suffering (from such nonsense) citizens the same right too... but not implemented yet.
I was married in the Phils, back in 1991. Divorced in UK 2006. Remarried Phils in 2015. No probs.
Maurice, it's a tricky question if you really find it impossible to secure your divorce papers.
If its difficult for you, it's impossible for others.
Given the long length of time and the political changes my personal view is to be single
If you say you are divorced but have no papers then from my knowledge you will never secure a marriage licence.
When do you plan to marry in Philippines?
Do be informed does it takes time
I also feel that simply declaring yourself 'single' (which you ARE) would be the best course to take, and would save so much hassle.
Hello again and thanks for all the tips. I did manage to track down and secure a copy of my divorce documents, so got over that particular hurdle.
Ah, that will smooth the path then. Thanks for letting us know.... and good luck.
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