Australian Embassy, Manila

[David Finlay]

I am an Australian and part of the process of marrying here is that I need a " Certificate of Legal Capacity" from the Australian Embassy in Manila.

Does anyone have any experience of this, will the embassy reply to emails, can I send an addressed stamped envelop and they send it too me, or does it require a visit to Manila.

My experience with Australian Embassies in Asia ranges from very helpful to rude and beligerent.

thanks for any info, Dave

[Coyotes]

hi, i went through this process...almost, last year so it's a little hazey now.
i had to deal with the British Embassy, but i guess they have the same red tape.

we had to go there in person and yes they also ranged from arrogant to obnoxious, just smile and say thank you, after all it'll be good practice for your new life dealing with every other agency in the philippines hahaha.

in my experience the embassy via email was very good, she even seemed to be a nice person!

if your still in australia, you can get a similar certificate that'll make the process easier, where your impending marriage can be displayed for just 21 days, your town hall will know exactly what papers to give you once it has been displayed.

once you get the clearance, you then need to get your license, which involves a 1 day seminar, on how to be a good married couple lol mine was mainly conducted in tagalog!! and much went over my head lol (much??? all!)
after that you can marry, sign the register and then go and get the actual certificate within a certain time limit.

Best of luck, it'll soon be over!!

[David Finlay]

Thanks for your reply. I am now in sunny downtown San Carlos, just up the road from you. I will try an email, and even try the phone, however in the past in other countries the phone has proved to be usless as the message bank repy only leads to either a phone that never gets answered or cuts out.

[loftyone]

Hi Dave

There is some info on requirements for aussies getting married in the Phils at Living In Cebu Tours - Philippines Marriage Requirements for Australian Citizens and I'm sure i have seen a thread on this topic at the Living in Cebu forum. Try the search function.

We went through this process 22 years ago so I'm sure it has changed somewhat. In those days all the applications for the Certificate of No Impediment were posted on a noticeboard and there was some hilarious reading on the board eg. 70 yr old aussie intending to marry 18yo filipina.

It was imposssible to talk to an aussie official and the joint was staffed with stuck-up filipinas who seeemed to be jealous that they weren't going to aussie too. The waiting time for service was like an aussie hospital. We also had to go to a family planning seminar in Dumaguete before we could get a marriage license.

Not sure if you are intending to bring your wife to oz but 2 guys I know have done that in the past year. One guy breezed through with only 4 visits to the embassy but his wife was similar age and neither had been married before. The other guy has a much younger wife, been divorced twice and is quite aggressive. It took him nearly 6 months to get a visa after he spat the dummy at the embassy staff.

My wife and I lived together in Dumaguete for 2 years before we got married and moved to Perth in 1986. We both knew it was a risk as we were young and broke but it has worked out really well and now we are waiting for our youngest kid to finish high school so we can move back over there.

Best of luck mate.

cheers

lofty

[Coyotes]

Originally Posted by loftyone

Hi Dave

It took him nearly 6 months to get a visa after he spat the dummy at the embassy staff.

how about spitting the dummy out on day one? may get you there in 2 days?

i doubt it hahaha i think sometimes they just test your patience and after you crack they let you through. but there's a minimum wait period!

[David Finlay]

I checked out the Australian Embassy site, Home - Australian Embassy I think it was. It had a pdf file for the application that they suggested you download and post to them in Manila.

How about that, should have looked earlier