10 day waiting period

[Wolverine]

Hello everyone, I was hoping I could get some information from anyone with knowledge about the 10 day waiting period when applying for a Philippine marriage license. My question is this: Is the 10 day waiting period set in stone? Are there exceptions made to this requirement? Thank you. Wolverine

[Wolverine]

... in response to 10 day waiting period, posted by Wolverine on Mar 18, 2003

Thank you to everyone who responded to my question. I agree that I should try and stay for a longer period of time, unfortunately my employer will not allow for an extended vacation. I am planning on traveling to Surigao on Aug 11th and returning on Aug 30th----I was shocked to get that amount of time off!
Anyway, I was giving consideration to a short trip to Cebu\Surigao to file the affadavit in May or June and then returning for the wedding in August. We will see.
Thank you again for your help, Wolverine

[Ray]

... in response to Re: 10 day waiting period, posted by Wolverine on Mar 19, 2003

I believe that the marriage license is good for 4 months, so you could do it that way.

So, how was your trip to Surigao? Is that where you are planning to get married? Civil or church wedding? If you seriously want to look into getting a waiver of the 10-day requirement, drop me an e-mail and I’ll give you a contact at the courthouse in San Francisco, Anao-Aon, which is close by Surigao City.

Also, if you're planning to get the legal capacity affidavit in Cebu, there could possibly be some more delays involved.

Ray

[Wolverine]

... in response to Re: Re: 10 day waiting period, posted by Ray on Mar 19, 2003

Ray, thanks for the information. Surigao was great while I was there (only about a week unfortunately). Yes, we are planning a church wedding in August at San Nicolas. Yes, I am hoping to go through the Consular office In Cebu for the affidavit. My bride-to-be works in the city government in Surigao so perhaps that might help at some point......Wolverine

[Ray]

... in response to Re: Re: Re: 10 day waiting period, posted by Wolverine on Mar 20, 2003

I also got my affidavit of legal capacity at the consulate in Cebu. If they still run that office the same way now, there is one consular officer who can swear you in and sign the affidavits. They are supposed to do those on M-F. The consular officer doesn’t come in until 11 a.m., so I wouldn’t bother getting there earlier than around 9:30 - 10 a.m.

Sometimes the consular officer is out of town for the day (or longer) and no affidavits were executed while he was out of the office. I would definitely phone ahead (32-231-1261/1262) a couple of days before you arrive in Cebu to verify that you will be able to execute the affidavit while you are there. He also wants the fiancées to accompany the citizens for a brief “interview”.

If you are going to be on a real tight schedule, I would recommend that you try to get the affidavit at the consulate in Manila just to be safe. Your fiancée doesn’t need to be there if you go to Manila. The schedule and info is posted on the Manila Embassy Web site.

I was also married in San Nicholas Cathedral. The traditional Filipino wedding (kasalan) is a lot of fun and I’m sure you will enjoy it.

Ray

[Ray]

... in response to 10 day waiting period, posted by Wolverine on Mar 18, 2003

Wolf,

The law says 10 days and you both must show up in person to apply for the license. Some municipal offices count the days a little differently. Most count calendar days and some count only business days. With a holiday or two thrown in, some offices may make you wait up to 14 days on the calendar. You should investigate this ahead of time and possibly shop around for the best deal. You do not absolutely have to get the license in the municipality where she lives. I got my license at the courthouse in a neighboring town and the way they counted, it was only 9 calendar days.

It is possible to get the 10-day wait waived altogether so you could get the license the same day you apply. The ONLY legal way to have that done is by a judge in court. A judge told my then fiancée that he could waive the waiting period and get our license the same day. Of course her first cousin was the Clerk of the Court :-). The court fee for the procedure was quoted at P2,000. Have your fiancée talk to a local judge ahead of your arrival to see if a waiver can be arranged.

There is also a requirement for a pre-marriage “seminar” and possibly “population control counseling”, but those can usually be taken care of in one day by “special arrangement”. Again, have her check ahead of time to avoid any last-minute surprises.

If the waiting period is “waived” by a lawyer or an inside contact at the license office, you may have trouble down the road with the validity of the marriage license. My recommendation would be to take extra time for your trip if at all possible. Most employers are willing to work with you if you ask. I took 3 weeks paid vacation plus 3 weeks unpaid leave of absence. I would recommend arriving at least 2 weeks before the wedding date if you can swing it. The little woman will be under enough pressure already without the added worry of legal waivers and other paperwork hassles. Try to take the extra time and you’ll enjoy yourselves much more.

Ray

[SteveG]

... in response to 10 day waiting period, posted by Wolverine on Mar 18, 2003

[This message has been edited by SteveG]

Wolverine,
 As far as I know, Yes, it is set in stone by the law but may be negotiable in individual circumstances.  We got it shortened to about 7 or 8 days - (I don't remember exactly anymore) - due to the relatively short time I had to stay there.   I was only taking off about 3 weeks from my job and waiting 10 days just to get married seemed like forever.   The fact that my wife-to-be worked in the Municipal building and knew all the people in the offices there I'm sure helped to get this requirement relaxed.   They had seen us together and knew we were in love already.  In our case, what litteraly happened is that since we were running all over planning and arranging the wedding they just shortened the waiting period to fit the time it took to make arrangements for the ceremony anyway.
 If I were trying to get married and did not have the advantage of knowing people in the government, I would still ask to have the 10 days shortened....the worst thing they can say is, "No."
                             
                           SteveG

[Kreeger]

... in response to 10 day waiting period, posted by Wolverine on Mar 18, 2003

I am marrying my sweetie next month in her province and I only have 15 days for travel, waiting period, wedding, honeymoon, etc. A friend of the civil registrar in the province said that we could waive the wait to 7 or 8 days, as it has been done before in previous circumstances (foreigner marrying a Filipina with not-alot-of-time). Just be prepared to pay a waiving "fee", as I am prepared for... I don't know how much, but as you know...money talks.

[SteveG]

... in response to Funny you should ask..., posted by Kreeger on Mar 18, 2003

Kreeger,
 Hope you get it or you will have one SHORT honeymoon!  We only had 8 days together as a married couple and it seemed like just minutes before I was saying 'bye' and leaving her behind.   Man, I'm glad that is over and she is here now.  

 From what I have seen, I doubt you will have to pay a bribe, but ya never know.  Anyway, Congratulations in advance.
                          SteveG

[Kreeger]

... in response to Re: Funny you should ask..., posted by SteveG on Mar 18, 2003

I know I will be hating it to have to leave her so soon after tying the knot... I am just going to savor any and all time I have with her until she can join me here. It helps that I am super-patient as well.