Filipinos who got married abroad can report their marriage to the Philippine Embassy that exercises jurisdiction over the place of marriage.

In my case, me and my husband got married in St. Vincent and the Grenadines which is under the jurisdiction  of the Philippine Embassy in Washington D.C.

Unfortunately, we weren’t able to get in touch with the people in Washington D.C. due to time conflict. We tried calling them and sending them e-mails to no reply until we got tired and decided to leave it.

We were then advised to contact the Embassy somewhere in the afternoon because they are always busy in the morning and can’t entertain phone calls most of the time. So, after two years, we tried calling them again and this time they picked up.

Requirements vary in every Philippine Embassy. Make sure to check the website of the Embassy where you are going to report your marriage.

REQUIREMENTS FOR REPORT OF MARRIAGE (WASHINGTON D.C.) BETWEEN FILIPINOS OR A FILIPINO AND A FOREIGN NATIONAL:

1. Four (4) original duly-accomplished Report of Marriage Contracted Abroad form, typed or printed legibly in black or blue ink, signed by both husband and wife. Wives should indicate their maiden name as the last name. If submitting by mail, the completed forms must be notarized.

All FOUR forms must be notarized.

2. Covering letter (handwritten or typed), addressed to the Consular Section, indicating service/transaction requested and telephone number or email address for contact details.

3. One (1) original or certified true copy and four (4) photocopies of the Marriage Record (original will be returned).

We explained to the Embassy that St. Vincent and the Grenadines doesn’t give any Marriage Record, only the Marriage Certificate. Fortunately, they agreed to exclude this one.

4. One (1) original or certified true copy and four (4) photocopies of the Marriage Certificate or Contract (original will be returned).

5. Four (4) photocopies each of the passports of both spouses.

6. Four (4) photocopies of additional proof of Philippine citizenship of the Filipino spouse/s (greencard, valid visa, notice of action, work permit, dual IC).

Since WE don’t live in the US and Suriname is visa-free for filipinos, I submitted an original civil registration or uittreksel from cbb that indicates proof of my nationality.

7. One (1) original or certified true copy and four (4) photocopies of the birth certificate/s of Filipino spouse/s.

8. Notarized affidavit explaining the reasons for delayed registration if ROM is filed more than a year after marriage.

9. Self-addressed return envelope with appropriate stamps for express or priority mail with tracking numbers via US Postal Service, if Report of Marriage is to be mailed back. For applicants from the Caribbean Islands, pre-paid mailing envelope from DHL.

10. Processing fee of $25.00 (non-refundable), payable in cash or money order made payable to “Embassy of the Philippines” (or “Philippine Consulate General”, if application is made at one of the Philippine Consulates General in the U.S.). Personal checks and credit cards are not accepted.

We placed the payment inside the envelope and sent it via mail.

11. For applicants residing in U.S. territories or other countries within the jurisdiction of the Philippine Embassy, applicants should enclose a treasurer’s, manager’s or certified check issued by a local bank that has a corresponding bank in the U.S. (the US National Bank Association is not a correspondent bank), payable to the courier of choice, in U.S. dollars, to cover cost of mailing, and a corresponding self-addressed courier’s address label. Personal checks are not accepted.

This is not applicable in our case, so we are exempted from this.

ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENT: Copy of our entry and exit stamps from St. Vincent and the Grenadines.

NOTE: If your documents are not written in English, you need to have it officially translated.

We sent the requirements to the Embassy via priority mail and informed them about it. After a week, we received our original documents and copy of ROM. I didn’t expect it would be that quick, but I was really happy with how everything went.

All we have to do now is wait for 6 months in order to get a Philippine Statistic Authority (PSA) copy of our marriage certificate.

Source: Embassy of the Philippines-Washington DC