Hi All, Lenny and I have decided to have a civil ceremony this year and church wedding next year because organising a full church wedding in the time available was proving to be quite stressful! So I am currently waiting for my UK CNI to be issued before making my way to Quezon City at the start of October to be married on the 23rd. I've booked my appointment at the British Embassy to have my CNI exchanged. I don't think I mentioned before, but I was born in Brazil (to a british father and portuguese mother), and so I have a brazilian birth certificate in portuguese. I have emailed the British Embassy in Manila and asked... their standard requirements response seems to assume that the British applicant is either born in the UK or in the Philippines. Obviously I was neither. I have a British passport (and an expired Brazilan passport from when I was a baby). I have no relationship with Brazil and haven't had since I left the country at the age of 6 months. I was able to apply for the CNI in the UK by showing just my Decree Absolute and my passport. At this stage I am unsure as to whether I need a legalised translation of my birth certificate for the Consular CNI or the wedding license. The instructions here: Quezon City Civil Registry Procedures are ambiguous to say the least. I am going to call the British Embassy tomorrow morning for clarification. Will I need a translated and legalised version of my Birth Certificate? Does anyone here have a view?
I wouldn't bother with trying to phone the British Embassy as it operates an automated menuing system with every option telling you to read its web site! Whether or not you will require to produce your Birth Certificate varies from Registrar to Registrar and other inexplicable factors such as whether there is a letter "r" in the month and phase of the Moon. With this in mind, you will need to get your Birth Certificate officially translated into English, notarised and an Apostile affixed (the Notary Public will arrange this).
Hi Markham, thanks for this. I kinda of figured that was required. What has me very concerned is this in response to a question I emailed to British Embassy: "As for your Brazilian birth certificate, we can only accept a translated copy in English certified by the British Embassy in Brazil. Please read through our guidance for the complete list of requirements, payment and procedure." What they're saying can't be right surely. I'd suggest I have a cat in hell's chance of meeting this requirement before I leave for the Philippines on the 3rd October! Why do I even need my Birth Certificate for the CNI in a building that serves as a small part of the UK in the Philippines when I didn't need it in the UK proper?
The short answer is ... because they can. You could ask the Embassy if it will accept a translation prepared and certified by the Brazilian Embassy in London and with a FCO Apostile affixed. This is one of the reasons why I - and others - chose to get married in Hong Kong where there's none of this bureaucratic nonsense and a British Passport and (original) Divorce Absolute Decree are happily accepted.
It really is bureaucratic nonsense that's for sure! I asked this: "My understanding is that I need to get the certificate translated and the translation legalised by the Consulate General of Brazil in London. I can then submit the legalised translation (along with my other documentation) to you for the issuance of a CNI. Is this correct?: Their human response was this: "As for your Brazilian birth certificate, we can only accept a translated copy in English certified by the British Embassy in Brazil. Please read through our guidance for the complete list of requirements, payment and procedure." Their guidance says this: "For certificates written in a language other than English, a translation duly legalised by the Embassy of that country should be presented. If legalisation was done in another country, a further legalisation by the British Embassy in that country is required." Could it be any more ambiguous?! I think the guidance would imply that your suggestion would work. However, how on earth do I get the FCO to Apostille a non British document? I phoned the FCO by the way, they simply told me that there were no extensions to put me through to, and that her computer said refer to FCO website regarding Marriage Overseas. Geee thanks! Meanwhile, I've asked by email for further clarification from the British Embassy in Manila. I also asked why they need more documentation than I needed in the UK to issue what amounts to exactly the same document. It's daft, I can't be the first person in this situation. I'm going to phone my mum and dad and berate them for even considering giving birth overseas haha.
Aha! You were born in Brazil and your parents applied for a British Passport in your name from the Embassy there. That means that there will necessarily be a Consular Record of your Birth and a Certificate to that fact will have been given to your parents. You will be pleased to know that you should be able to get a copy of your Consular Birth Certificate from your nearest Registrar of Births, Deaths and Marriages as records for all births abroad that are notified to British Embassies are kept at the central Registry in Liverpool. It shouldn't cost you more than about 75 notes and it will be accepted by the British Embassy in Manila as it is a British Government issued document. One point to bear in mind for the future: if you want your children to be British Citizens, they must be born in the UK since they can not inherit British Citizenship from you because you are a British National by inheritance and you can not pass that on to your heirs.
Sadly not. They applied for a Brazilian passport (which I have, now long since expired). Anyhow, after some to and fro with the British Embassy in Manila, they have come to their senses They now agree that I only need to show my passport. Phew, thank goodness. So in actual fact, they are now in line with the UK authorities with regard to necessary ID to issue a CNI. I'm not worried about the Philippines authorities with regard to the marriage license as I can't imagine they will show too much resistance. In any case, we have hired a friend of the neighbour as a 'fixer'. Once again folks, many thanks to all here who consistently churn out excellent advice to the ignorant like me
might be some value to check if you could also have a Portuguess nationality and passport have you ever worked in Europe?
I have been scouring the forums and found this post was the closest to my situation. I was born in Germany but have only ever held British citizenship and passport. I will submit my affidavit of marital status soon (replaced the CNI requirement) and it says I need to submit a UK passport and birth certificate. My one major plus point is that there are English translations alongside the German Will this be enough or has anyone had any experience of submitting for the affidavit with just a passport like Mark did in the above post?
Hi Alex... sorry, only just managed the time to reply. You shouldn't need to supply your birth certificate if you have a british passport. I queried this specifically with the British Embassy and had no problems. The thing I'm not sure about in your case is whether an affidavit will be sufficient in lieu of CNI. If you are normally resident in the UK you may have problems.
