# UK citizen bringing Filipina spouse



## britinphils (Oct 28, 2012)

Hi,

My first post in this forum. Basically I am a British citizen and I will be moving to Spain for work in January, I am married to a Filipina and am confused about the process for registering her for residence once in Spain. Am I right in understanding we will have to jump through a lot of hoops to get our marriage validated in Spain? Our marriage was in the Philippines and the UK does not register foreign marriages. As far as I know the Philippines is not part of the Hague convention but I'm confused as I thought under EU law I could bring my wife with just an original marriage certificate, or is that completely wishful thinking? ..... Does anyone else have experience of this?

regards..


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

britinphils said:


> Hi,
> 
> My first post in this forum. Basically I am a British citizen and I will be moving to Spain for work in January, I am married to a Filipina and am confused about the process for registering her for residence once in Spain. Am I right in understanding we will have to jump through a lot of hoops to get our marriage validated in Spain? Our marriage was in the Philippines and the UK does not register foreign marriages. As far as I know the Philippines is not part of the Hague convention but I'm confused as I thought under EU law I could bring my wife with just an original marriage certificate, or is that completely wishful thinking? ..... Does anyone else have experience of this?
> 
> regards..


:welcome:

I don't specifically know about Philippine marriage certificates, but certainly EU citizens can bring their non-EU spouses to live here with them - & yes, one document they need is a marriage certificate - it might need to be officially translated, or Apostilled in the Phillipines - Spain likes 'new' certificates

I recently had to send my daughters' birth certs for Apostille stamps for something, despite having used these same certs for various things & us all having been 'in the system' here for nearly 9 years 


the best thing you can do is ask the local Spanish Consulate tbh

your wife _will _need a visa to enter Spain in the first place - but once _you_ have registered as resident you can then start the registration process for her


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## britinphils (Oct 28, 2012)

xabiachica said:


> :welcome:
> 
> I don't specifically know about Philippine marriage certificates, but certainly EU citizens can bring their non-EU spouses to live here with them - & yes, one document they need is a marriage certificate - it might need to be officially translated, or Apostilled in the Phillipines - Spain likes 'new' certificates
> 
> ...


Thanks a lot for the info and the welcome , most appreciated. I think I will just have to see how it goes, as far as I know the Philippines is not one the countries that can give Apostille stamps  , will see what the consulate says.


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

britinphils said:


> Thanks a lot for the info and the welcome , most appreciated. I think I will just have to see how it goes, as far as I know the Philippines is not one the countries that can give Apostille stamps  , will see what the consulate says.



maybe Apostille was the wrong word as far as the Philippines is concerned - but some sort of 'official' confirmation or translation


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## britinphils (Oct 28, 2012)

xabiachica said:


> maybe Apostille was the wrong word as far as the Philippines is concerned - but some sort of 'official' conformation or translation


 thanks alot


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## britinphils (Oct 28, 2012)

One last question, does anyone have experience of having to get a certificate from the UK consulate in Spain to validate a foreign marriage (non EU), or is a translated copy from the country of the marriage ceremony enough? There seems to be a large section on their website saying that Spanish authorities may require this (certificate regarding the recognition of a marriage celebrated outside Spain or the UK)....



seems really complicated


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## fergie (Oct 4, 2010)

I should imagine, if you get your marriage certificate officially translated - if it is in tagalog- to Spanish, 
Make an appointment to see the Spanish Embassy in Spain, and ask or look on their website, which other papers you will need, birth certificates, passports etc. There may be a phone number you can ring to make initial enquiries, before any appointment.

Spain Visa Information - Philippines - Home 

http://www.maec.es/subwebs/Consulados/Manila/es/home/Paginas/Home.aspx 

Good luck.


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## baldilocks (Mar 7, 2010)

Doesn't the "Former Colony" situation apply with the Phillipines as it does with much of South America?


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## britinphils (Oct 28, 2012)

baldilocks said:


> Doesn't the "Former Colony" situation apply with the Phillipines as it does with much of South America?


I don't believe it does. It seems like quite a complicated process which includes going to the British embassy to swear an affidavit (the marriage has to have a certificate of recognition from the UK as an EU state before it will be accepted ) and it all has to be done within 3 months of a new marriage certificate being issued in the Philippines and legalized by the Spanish consulate there or the document becomes invalid, meaning we would need to start the whole process again.


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## bob_bob (Jan 5, 2011)

Perhaps a quick wedding in the UK could help things?


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

bob_bob said:


> Perhaps a quick wedding in the UK could help things?


but they're already married.......


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## NickZ (Jun 26, 2009)

Assuming the marriage was registered in the UK wouldn't the UK issue a document?


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## britinphils (Oct 28, 2012)

NickZ said:


> Assuming the marriage was registered in the UK wouldn't the UK issue a document?


The UK does not register foreign marriages or issue documents saying it does, Spain does not recognise marriages outside the EU citizens country. Seems that basically the marriage is not even considered a marriage in Spain and no way of proving it is


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

britinphils said:


> The UK does not register foreign marriages or issue documents saying it does, Spain does not recognise marriages outside the EU citizens country.* Seems that basically the marriage is not even considered a marriage in Spain and no way of proving it is*


did this info come from the Spanish Consulate?


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## britinphils (Oct 28, 2012)

xabiachica said:


> did this info come from the Spanish Consulate?


Yes it did, Spanish consulate Manila


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

britinphils said:


> Yes it did, Spanish consulate Manila


so if Spain doesn't recognise it you could have a wedding here

is the marriage recognised in the UK? If not, then the earlier suggestion of a wedding there would seem to be the best idea


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## baldilocks (Mar 7, 2010)

The problem with getting married in either the UK or Spain is the bride's getting into either country in the first place. To get in just as a tourist she may have problems without a sponsor in the country and would need to show that she has means of support and a return ticket to leave again and even if she does get in and then gets married there, she may have to leave and apply for a visa. They don't make it easy!


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## LaraMascara (Oct 19, 2012)

She could only marry in the UK if she was pre-approved for a Fiance Visa. 

No one (from outside the EU) can marry a UK citizen from within the UK *without* a fiance visa. 

It is illegal.


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## britinphils (Oct 28, 2012)

LaraMascara said:


> She could only marry in the UK if she was pre-approved for a Fiance Visa.
> 
> No one (from outside the EU) can marry a UK citizen from within the UK *without* a fiance visa.
> 
> It is illegal.


Yes, I'm only going to Spain for a year, seems that it would take a good part of that year sorting out all the paperwork to make my wife legal. The UK consulate in Manila say they do recognise my marriage but will not issue a certificate to say they do. That is what the Spanish authorities are looking for


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## NickZ (Jun 26, 2009)

britinphils said:


> The UK does not register foreign marriages or issue documents saying it does, Spain does not recognise marriages outside the EU citizens country. Seems that basically the marriage is not even considered a marriage in Spain and no way of proving it is


This doesn't make much sense. I bet if you were in Spain and wanted to get married they'd demand proof of martial status. 

Church marriage? If it's a church wedding I'd wonder if you could get the local priest to contact somebody in Spain.


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## britinphils (Oct 28, 2012)

NickZ said:


> This doesn't make much sense. I bet if you were in Spain and wanted to get married they'd demand proof of martial status.
> 
> Church marriage? If it's a church wedding I'd wonder if you could get the local priest to contact somebody in Spain.


Thanks for the advice, it was a church wedding that may be worth looking into.


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## fergie (Oct 4, 2010)

Hi Britinphils, Just a thought! have you tried the Philippine expat forum (in drop down box-Expat country forums) at the top bar of this forum, I am sure there are many expats who have filapino wives, and needed the paperwork to get their wives with them in other countries, They may be able to direct you to the correct office. Good luck again.
Spain always requires a lot of 'red tape' paperwork to do most things, even for straightforward European couples.


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

fergie said:


> Hi Britinphils, Just a thought! have you tried the Philippine expat forum (in drop down box-Expat country forums) at the top bar of this forum, I am sure there are many expats who have filapino wives, and needed the paperwork to get their wives with them in other countries, They may be able to direct you to the correct office. Good luck again.
> Spain always requires a lot of 'red tape' paperwork to do most things, even for straightforward European couples.


great minds think alike 

here's a link Philippines Expat Forum - Expat Forum For People Moving Overseas And Living Abroad


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## britinphils (Oct 28, 2012)

Thanks a lot for the suggestions, they are most appreciated. I will try that.


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