AboutBill and Lorna Collings Expertise Feel FREE to ask us about traveling, living, relocating, retiring and investing in the Philippines. Guests from 83 countries make our place in Manila an incredible meeting place for world travelers who exchange travel stories and information. We understand both the joys and the hardships of living and traveling in the Philippines.
Experience I arrived in the Philippines in January 1980 to travel for 2 months; I stayed 4 months before reluctantly leaving. I met my Filipina wife, Lorna. an incredible stellar, "one in a million" individual in 1983 in Seoul and we moved to the Philippines in 1986 and opened our 3BR house to world travelers on a budget. After welcoming thousands of guests from 83 nations our place has grown to 30 bedrooms but will never lose its "Home away from Home" atmosphere. Almost everyday at The Townhouse Hotel there's a party-like social scene with vibrant, almost magical energetic conversations between our guests who have the pleasure to meet each other and share their life's many experiences. Sometimes. three groups with conversations in different langauges are going on at the same time.
So we've been exposed to every kind of person from all over the world and shared their experiences.
Publications Suite101.com, eDreams.com, expertcentral.com ( who asked me to apply with allexperts.com since About.com has bought both companies and are in the process of integrating them)
Education/Credentials some college 2-1/2 years - no degree - I've been traveling since I was 18, almost 30 years.
Awards and Honors Luckily, my wife and I have been semi-retired since we were 30 years old, more than 15 years.
Question QUESTION: Hello Bill and Lorna, I am from the Netherlands and i want to live in Philippines because my GF is living there and i want to marry her and stay with her.
The Pi embassy here in my country said that i need, among other documents, a DFA FORM NO 11. For this document i need a blood test done. Can you tell me what specific blood test is required, because my doctor want to know that. I asked the embassy but they couldn't tell me what specific blood test needed,"oh just standard test" they say.
ANSWER: Hi Rein, I have NEVER HEARD of any blood test being required before being elgible to marry a Filipino citizen. If the Philippines Embassy gave you such information but could NOT be more specific then I DOUBT that information is correct. I copied this information below which seems to answer most if not all of the requirements to marry here in the Philippines. Hope that helps you. Bill
How does the Family Code define “marriage”?
Marriage is a special contract of permanent union between a man and a woman entered into in accordance with law for the establishment of conjugal and family life. It is the foundation of the family and an inviolable social institution whose nature, consequences, and incidents are governed by law and not subject to stipulation, except that marriage settlements may fix the property relations during the marriage within the limits provided by this Code. (Article 1)
What are the essential requisites that make a marriage valid?
Article 2 provides that no marriage shall be valid, unless these essential requisites are present:
(1) Legal capacity of the contracting parties who must be a male and a female; and
(2) Consent freely given in the presence of the solemnizing officer.
What are the formal requisites of marriage?
The formal requisites of marriage according to Article 3 are:
(1) Authority of the solemnizing officer;
(2) A valid marriage license except in the cases provided for in Chapter 2 of this Title; and
(3) A marriage ceremony which takes place with the appearance of the contracting parties before the solemnizing officer and their personal declaration that they take each other as husband and wife in the presence of not less than two witnesses of legal age.
What is the effect if an essential or formal requisite is absent?
The absence of any of the essential or formal requisites shall render the marriage void ab initio, except as stated in Article 35 (2).
What is the effect if any of the essential requisites is defective?
A defect in any of the essential requisites shall not affect the validity of the marriage but the party or parties responsible for the irregularity shall be civilly, criminally and administratively liable.
What is the age at which a man or woman can get married?
Any male or female of the age of eighteen years or upwards not under any of the impediments mentioned in Articles 37 and 38, may contract marriage. (54a)
Is there any prescribed form for the marriage ceremony?
No prescribed form or religious rite for the solemnization of the marriage is required. It shall be necessary, however, for the contracting parties to appear personally before the solemnizing officer and declare in the presence of not less than two witnesses of legal age that they take each other as husband and wife. This declaration shall be contained in the marriage certificate which shall be signed by the contracting parties and their witnesses and attested by the solemnizing officer.
If a party cannot sign the marriage certificate, what can be done?
In case of a marriage in articulo mortis, when the party at the point of death is unable to sign the marriage certificate, it shall be sufficient for one of the witnesses to the marriage to write the name of said party, which fact shall be attested by the solemnizing officer.
Who are authorized to solemnize marriages?
Art. 7. Marriage may be solemnized by:
(1) Any incumbent member of the judiciary within the court's jurisdiction;
(2) Any priest, rabbi, imam, or minister of any church or religious sect duly authorized by his church or religious sect and registered with the civil registrar general, acting within the limits of the written authority granted by his church or religious sect and provided that at least one of the contracting parties belongs to the solemnizing officer's church or religious sect;
(3) Any ship captain or airplane chief only in the case mentioned in Article 31;
(4) Any military commander of a unit to which a chaplain is assigned, in the absence of the latter, during a military operation, likewise only in the cases mentioned in Article 32;
(5) Any consul-general, consul or vice-consul in the case provided in Article 10.
Note: The Local Government Code of 1991 restored to the mayors their authority to solemnize marriages
For Filipinos residing or traveling abroad and who want to get married, who can solemnize the marriage?
The consul-general, the consul or vice-consul of the Republic of the Philippines can solemnize the marriage. The issuance of the marriage license and the duties of the local civil registrar and of the solemnizing officer with regard to the celebration of marriage shall be performed by said consular official.
What can be done if upon applying for a marriage license, the parties cannot produce their birth certificates?
The presentation of birth or baptismal certificate shall not be required if the parents of the contracting parties appear personally before the local civil registrar concerned and swear to the correctness of the lawful age of said parties, as stated in the application, or when the local civil registrar shall, by merely looking at the applicants upon their personally appearing before him, be convinced that either or both of them have the required age. (Last paragraph, Article 12)
What are the requirements of the Local Civil Registrar if either of the contracting parties were previously married?
In case either of the contracting parties has been previously married, the applicant shall be required to furnish, instead of the birth or baptismal certificate required in the last preceding article, the death certificate of the deceased spouse or the judicial decree of the absolute divorce, or the judicial decree of annulment or declaration of nullity of his or her previous marriage.
In case the death certificate cannot be secured, the party shall make an affidavit setting forth this circumstance and his or her actual civil status and the name and date of death of the deceased spouse. (Article 13)
What is the effectivity of the marriage license once issued?
The license shall be valid in any part of the Philippines for a period of one hundred twenty days from the date of issue, and shall be deemed automatically canceled at the expiration of the said period if the contracting parties have not made use of it. The expiry date shall be stamped in bold characters on the face of every license issued. (Article 20)
What are the requirements if a foreigner wants to get married here in the Philippines?
When either or both of the contracting parties are citizens of a foreign country, it shall be necessary for them before a marriage license can be obtained, to submit a certificate of legal capacity to contract marriage, issued by their respective diplomatic or consular officials.
Stateless persons or refugees from other countries shall, in lieu of the certificate of legal capacity herein required, submit an affidavit stating the circumstances showing such capacity to contract marriage. (Article 21)
What are the rules for marriages entered into by Filipinos in foreign countries?
All marriages solemnized outside the Philippines, in accordance with the laws in force in the country where they were solemnized, and valid there as such, shall also be valid in this country, except those prohibited under Articles 35 (1), (4), (5) and (6), 36, 37 and 38. (Article 26)
Where a marriage between a Filipino citizen and a foreigner is validly celebrated and a divorce is thereafter validly obtained abroad by the alien spouse capacitating him or her to remarry, the Filipino spouse shall have capacity to remarry under Philippine law. (As amended by Executive Order 227)
Under what circumstances will a marriage license no longer be required?
In case either or both of the contracting parties are at the point of death, the marriage may be solemnized without necessity of a marriage license and shall remain valid even if the ailing party subsequently survives. (Article 27)
If the residence of either party is so located that there is no means of transportation to enable such party to appear personally before the local civil registrar, the marriage may be solemnized without necessity of a marriage license. (Article 28)
Marriages among Muslims or among members of the ethnic cultural communities may be performed validly without the necessity of marriage license, provided they are solemnized in accordance with their customs, rites or practices. (Article 33)
No license shall be necessary for the marriage of a man and a woman who have lived together as husband and wife for at least five years and without any legal impediment to marry each other. The contracting parties shall state the foregoing facts in an affidavit before any person authorized by law to administer oaths. The solemnizing officer shall also state under oath that he ascertained the qualifications of the contracting parties and found no legal impediment to the marriage. (Article 34)
What are the rules for marriages performed by a ship captain or a pilot?
A marriage in articulo mortis between passengers or crew members may also be solemnized by a ship captain or by an airplane pilot not only while the ship is at sea or the plane is in flight, but also during stopovers at ports of call. (Article 31)
What are the rules for marriages performed by a military commander?
A military commander of a unit, who is a commissioned officer, shall likewise have authority to solemnize marriages in articulo mortis between persons within the zone of military operation, whether members of the armed forces or civilians. (Article 32)
---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------
QUESTION: Hello Bill and Lorna,am sorry that i asked my question wrong. Yes i want to marry my GF. But for staying in Pi I need a visa and for this visa i need an medical examine. And among other test, i need the blood test.And that's my question; what specific test do I need for this blood test.If you don't know the answer, maybe you can tell me where i can get my answer
Answer All you need is a LEGAL CAPACITY document showing you are SINGLE and NOT married to anyone else so eligible to get married. But you can probably get that from the Dutch Embassy here in Manila so RELAX NO WORRIES all you need to do is have a passport and buy a ticket as you get 21 day tourist visa issued upon arrival and can extend your stay up to TWO YEARS ( budget U$600 / year in fees ). The MARRY her ASAP if you like. Hundreds of foreigners stay with us in our guest house style Townhouse Hotel near the Manila airports ( open since 1986 )while they are marrying or in the process of applying for visas for their Filipina wives and NOT ONE EVER mentioned a required blood test before they could get married.
But their Filipina wives and fiances DO NEED to get X-rays and blood tests before being issued a USA / UK / European visas.
