Marriage of German Citizens in the Philippines
CERTIFICATE OF LEGAL CAPACITY
Like other foreign national who wishes to enter into a contract of marriage with Filipino, the German national must apply for and receive a certificate of legal capacity to contract marriage from the Consulate General of Germany in Manila. This must be done prior to entering into a contract of marriage as required in accordance with Family Code of the Philippines, Article 21.
MARRIAGES LICENSE / CERTIFICATE
After securing the certificate of legal capacity to contract marriage both parties can now apply for marriage license at local of civil registrar of the municipality or city in which the Philippine national habitually resides. After posting for the prescribed period as provided in family code of the Philippines, Article 17. Marriage ceremony can now be solemnized by individual with legal authority to perform such ceremony. Marriage certificate will be signed by both parties ,witnesses and solemnizing officer .
BASIC STEPS/PROCEDURES
- Apply for and receive a certificate of legal capacity to contract marriage.
- Apply for and receive a marriage license
- Legally marry and sign the marriage certificate
- Submit a report of marriage form to the appropriate officials.
VALIDITY OF MARRIAGE
There is no special procedure or authority solely empowered to recognized marriages entered into abroad. The question of whether a marriage is valid is therefore always only a preliminary issue in connection with other administrative acts (e.g. change of name, application to start a family book at a domestic registry, change of entry on one's tax card, etc.).
The basic rule is that marriage entered into abroad will be regarded as valid in Germany if the legal provisions relating to marriage of that foreign state were abided by. In addition the bride and groom must meet all legal capacity requirements for marriage under the law of their home states ( they must for example be single, over a minimum age and not too closely related to one another.
German national are not obliged to apply to start a family book or to change their name upon marriage. It is therefore possible for someone to be validly married without this appearing in German civil status records. A further marriage would however be bigamous and could thus be annulled at any time upon the application of one of the three spouses or the competent administrative authority.
RECOGNITION OF FOREIGN MARRIAGE CERTIFICATE
A foreign marriage certificate proves that a marriage has been entered into abroad. In some states the couple is only given a provisional certificate ( or a "summary marriage certificate') after the ceremony. The marriage must subsequently be registered with the competent authority in order to obtain a full extract from the register.
Foreign marriage certificates are often only recognized by domestic authorities or courts when their authenticity or evidentiary value has been determined in sepa
