I've been receiving a lot of questions regarding this document since I published my blog post regarding how we went about getting married in the Philippines. As much as I religiously answer the queries, some of the questions are just really repetitive, perhaps because some blog readers aren't patient enough to browse through the comments section or even read the entire article (which isn't really a good thing, though I know reading isn't everyone's cup of tea but if we scout for important information, I think we should exert more effort). Anyhow, I thought it is better to just write a separate post specifically for this certain document so I can just refer readers to this post in the future instead of repeating the same information all the time.
The Certificate of Legal Capacity to Marry is a legal document required by the Philippine government from a couple wishing to get married in the Philippines, in which, one isn't a Filipino national (a foreigner). I was asked of this document since my husband is French. This certificate is a proof that your future spouse doesn't have any legal matrimonial attachment in his country, in short, he is SINGLE. This is equivalent to our CENOMAR in the Philippines. You can acquire this document from the French embassy in Manila FOR FREE but before the embassy will issue you this legal paper you'll need to submit the following requirements to them:
Requirements for an issuance of the Certificate of Legal Capacity to Marry:
For the French National:
- A duly accomplished questionnaire from the embassy. To download the questionnaire CLICK HERE
- A recent (less than 3 months) full text of Birth Certificate
- Copy of National Identification card or Certificate of Nationality or Biometric passport
- (If previously married, a court decision of divorce; if widow/er, a certified true copy of death certificate of spouse)
- Proof of residency or copy of consular certificate if applicable
For the Filipino National:
- A duly accomplished questionnaire from the embassy. Same questionnaire as the French national.
- Authenticated copy of the full text birth certificate (NSO and DFA)
- Certificate of No Marriage (CENOMAR) issued by NSO
- Proof of residency in the Philippines
- Photocopy of 2 ID cards (passport, postal ID, SSS ID ...)
- (If previously married, mention of annulment decision on duly authenticated marriage certificate and certified true copy of judgment of marriage annulment; If widow/er, authenticated copy of death certificate of the spouse, Copy of birth certificate of illegitimate children duly authenticated.
After submitting the required/complete documents, you'll be advised to wait for about 5 to 8 weeks. Yes, it can take a long time and here's why: Once they receive your complete file, they will post a marriage banns at the French embassy for 10 days, if no one opposes, the file will then be sent to the city hall of the residence of your future spouse -in France- where a marriage banns will again be published for another 10 days. If there is still no one who opposes your future union, the city hall will then mail a certificate of no opposition to the French embassy. As far as I know, they use snail mail, that's why it can really be time consuming. Things might have been changed since then and they might be doing the process/exchanging the files electronically, which means it could be faster now but I don't want to give you false hope regarding the time frame. It is always better to ask the embassy directly on how long you need to wait for the certificate to be issued. Without this certificate, no civil or religious wedding can be done in the Philippines.
I hope this post helps make things clear for you. You might want to read the following blog entries:
Marriage Between Filipino & French Nationals (FAQ)
Marriage Between Filipino & French Nationals (FAQ)
