How To Get Married in the Philippines With a Foreigner: An Ultimate Guide

Any person–local or foreigner–who has decided to get married in the Philippines is required to submit specific requirements. Learn the procedures and requirements needed to get married in the Philippines to a US citizen or any foreigner.

How To Get Married in the Philippines with a US Citizen
How To Get Married in the Philippines with Other Foreigners
Frequently Asked Questions
References

How To Get Married in the Philippines with a US Citizen

In the case of U.S. citizens, a marriage license will not be issued unless you have already secured a Certificate of Legal Capacity to Contract Marriage.

According to the US Embassy in the Philippines ¹, this document “affirms that there are no legal impediments to the foreigner marrying a Filipino.”

However, the U.S. Consular Officers are prohibited by law from making any official certification about your eligibility to marry a person in the Philippines. What they can only provide is an Affidavit In Lieu of Certificate of Legal Capacity to Marry.

An Affidavit In Lieu of Certificate of Legal Capacity to Marry contains the following:

A sworn statement attesting that the foreigner is currently unmarried
Information regarding the foreigner’s prior marriages
Copy of evidence proving the US citizenship of the foreigner

You may refer here for a sample affidavit from the US Embassy.

This affidavit can be notarized by any local public notary. It is not required to be notarized at the US Embassy or Consular Agency in the Philippines. Local notarization of this affidavit is allowed by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) as stated in the issued Memorandum Circular No. 2021-004².

In short, there’s no need to proceed to the US embassy or consular agency to get an Affidavit in Lieu of Certificate of Legal Capacity to Marry. Just print the affidavit template from the US embassy, fill it out, and get it notarized by any public notary.

However, prior to the completion of the affidavit, you must first contact the Local Civil Registrar (LCR) of the area where you intend to get married³ so they can assist you with the information that must be written in the affidavit.

How to Get Married in the Philippines as a U.S. Citizen

Once you have obtained the Affidavit in Lieu of a Certificate of Legal Capacity to Marry, you can apply for a marriage license at the local civil registrar of a city or municipality where either of you habitually resides.

After that, you and your partner can already marry in a church or civil wedding.

How To Get Married in the Philippines with Other Foreigners

If you’re a Filipino who is planning to marry a foreigner, take note that there are basic documentary requirements that you need to obtain.

a. Certificate of Legal Capacity to Marry issued by the embassy here in the Philippines. Although it may vary depending on your foreign spouse’s country of origin, here are the following basic requirements for the Certificate of Legal Capacity to Marry:

Certificate of No Impediment (CNI) to be issued after booking an appointment and taking an oath in the embassy.
Original copy or certified true copy of the Originalor certified true copy of divorce decree absolute or death certificate of the deceased spouse, if applicable.
A Moral Character Reference, which takes the form of a letter or certificate from a person of authority, a social worker, health or education officer, or a church minister who has direct personal knowledge of the prospective foreign spouse’s character.

b. Passport (original and photocopy).

c. Latest Certificate of No Marriage (CENOMAR) or Certificate of Singleness (original and photocopy) issued by PSA.

d. If your foreign spouse is a former Filipino citizen (and a divorcee) or someone previously married to a Filipino, he/she must obtain Judicial Recognition of the absolute decree of divorce from the country where the previous marriage was held.

For country-specific requirements and procedures, please refer to the following documents/links: