as some of you know--my fiancee cant now apply for a visa till november. this came as a real blow to us--as she got her annulment in february--and planned to apply in april. so--i'm now planning to bite the bullet and fly over there to be with her. i really cant stand life alone. we have discussed getting wed over there---it makes sense for our circumstances. so i would be grateful for any advice from anyone who has got married over there--say in the last 2 years. ive never really mugged up on it as i never thought this would be the way to go. what paperwork do i need to take ? how long will i need to be out there ? also--ive never flown more than 4 hours--and frankly i'm very apprehensive about it. ive only ever been on package holidays. what sort of ticket do i need--only i dont want to be tied to a set return date. how long can i stay out there ?
Good decision, makes sense, there are lots of threads here relating to getting married in the Philippines along with information on extending your visa, the initial entry visa is 30 days. I think that a good drink may help you overcome your apprehension of a long flight
You need a return ticket in order to enter the Philippines, so your return date will inevitably be set before you leave the UK
Hi bigmac, Forgive me for forgetting some things........ I don't know now about open-ended flight tickets but they used to be more expensive. I would book a return ticket of 6 to 8 weeks. You can have a stop-over in Thailand for example to break up the journey there. We got married in a civil ceremony on Cebu Island, Daanbantayan in the north to be exact. It was a wonderful occasion and I would do the same again if we had our time over again. I booked 6 weeks over there and we had a week to relax after our wedding before I flew home. It seems so long ago now (I forget many things now) but I went to a UK registry office to post notification and wait for some time to see if there were no objections. I took the Certificate of No Impediment with me to the Philippines together with a decree absolute which you will need if previously divorced. We visited the British Consul, Moya Jackson, in Mandaue and she told us what we needed to do. We went to the local town hall in Daanbantayan and arranged the marriage to be held at the mayor's residence. The pre-marriage seminar didn't take place as no-one could speak English to me! We just paid PHP100. There were many things to do over there and we were quite busy. My wife arranged the dress, cake, flowers, bunting, balloons, rings, reception, transport, food etc.. I think others have done it quicker but I wouldn't take chances on running out of time. I went to the Immigration office in Mandaue before three weeks there and paid extra to extend the visitor visa. We made many copies of our documents. If there is anything you need to know, please ask and I will rack my brains to try to remember.
We got married, civil wedding, all done in a bit of a squeeze of 2.5 weeks in 2011. So you should do it comfortably in 3 to 4 weeks. I didnt have any more allowable time off work so we had to shoe horn it in to a short timeframe. I am guessing that you will be ale to take more time over it... We fitted in a short honeymoon too. I believe the marriage process hasnt changed a lot, except the affidavit malarky at the embassy, which is more recent. How come it has been put back?
Yeah. A few drinks will help pass the time. Its the same as a short flight but a bit longer and mulitiply by 2
Think we squeezed it in 2 weeks. Was going home within 24 hours of being married. Had to do honeymoon on the following visit
If you want to see mine look at these http://www.british-filipino.com/index.php?threads/the-marriage-seminar.2221/#post-5096 http://www.british-filipino.com/index.php?threads/the-marriage-liscence.2284/#post-5516 http://www.british-filipino.com/index.php?threads/a-wedding-in-the-phils.2334/#post-5654 http://www.british-filipino.com/index.php?threads/our-wedding-planner-in-cebu.2504/#post-6753 http://www.british-filipino.com/ind...-the-phils-as-a-married-woman.2565/#post-6751
I believe you may already be somewhat follically-challenged and if you want to lose what thatch remains, then a Philippine wedding will ensure that! There is a lot of red tape involved and, unless you use a wedding planner (aka a 'fixer'), a lot of queueing, inconvenience and money to hand out and plenty of potential for frayed nerves and lost tempers. I had been living out here for three years when my then fiancée and I decided to wed. We didn't want the hassle and opted instead to marry in Hong Kong - that's despite the fact that Paul, a good friend and a Brit, is "Mr CebuExpatServices" which offers wedding planning and organising. Leaving aside the air fares and hotel costs, it is actually much cheaper - and simpler - to marry in a Hong Kong (or Singaporean) Register Office. You do have to visit the Hong Kong Register (part of HK Immigration) three clear days before the ceremony but that is the only 'residential' requirement (from memory it's about ten days in the case of Singapore, I believe). But you do need to provide your own witnesses (two) who do not need to be residents. You can download the necessary forms from the Hong Kong Immigration web site and you'll need to pay just under £100 by means of a Cashier's Cheque in HK Dollars which pays for everything bar the actual ceremony which you pay locally.
Not necessarily a return ticket, an onward ticket is good. You could start off in the Philippines then you two could do a nice circular trip, Indonesia (Bali), Malaysia, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, then back to the Philippines to get the visa in November, back home in the UK for Christmas..
I think marrying in Hong Kong is not suitable for many Brit-Fil couples, Mark, because the wife's family will probably not be there. The wife's family is so extended that it would be so costly to fly people to HK for the wedding ceremony. For me, better to have the wedding in Phils and the reception close at hand where it is possible for everyone in her village or barangay to enjoy the wedding ceremony and the reception on the same day. It seemed to me to be very important that the people of the village were part of the whole event, even though I did see my wife and her mother raise eyebrows when people came from far and wide to enjoy free food! The bride is Filipina after all.
Yes. A big benefit of a Filipino wedding. And it isnt so difficult. We arranged the reception ourselves. We used an agent for the wedding which wasnt a massive amount. With careful planning it can work well. Plus there seems to have been some fantastic beach weddings in the Philippines that I have seen.
Agreed Mike for little more than the current cost of the settlement visa and nhs sup you could have a great day for the Missus and the family to remember
yes--she would rather get married over there--makes sense all round. then i can send her out to work 24/7 as soon as she gets here. lol
Yep if the beach wedding route is undertaken then all arrangements will be done on your behalf. Hardest part is picking the venue
actually--once shes here and able to work we can enjoy a good standard of living. i'm already planning to buy a place so we can live rent free. she wants to be able to support her kids back home--which is the whole point of her working here
