Getting the Documents in the Philippines and in the United Kingdom

After we get married, our next step is for him to sort his 13a Visa Application or the Non-Quota Immigrant Visa. And to accomplish this, we need to gather some of the required documents. I will also include the past documents we acquired from the very start.

CENOMAR (Certificate of Non-Marriage) from NSO (now PSA)

I just simply went to their website. It cost me Php 415.00 and waited for 4 days before it finally arrived.

NSO-ISSUED BIRTH CERTIFICATE

Same process that I did when I ordered my CENOMAR. I paid Php 315.00. You can either pay to BDO or UnionBank.

NSO-ISSUED MARRIAGE CERTIFICATE

I guess you're wondering why I got this earlier than expected. Among the requirements, marriage certificate takes ages before the NSO can issue it to you. From what I understand it takes roughly 8 months especially if you're living in the province. And since this is one of the main requirements for 13A Visa, we need it right away. Before getting married, we explained the situation to the registrar and she said that she'll make an advanced copy of our local marriage contract and an endorsement. Days after we got married we went back to the registrar and she gave us a sealed envelope that contains the copy of our marriage contract (issued by the local municipal) and her endorsement to the NSO. She told us to personally give it to the NSO near our area instead of going straight to the main office. I don't know if this is applicable to all areas. We went to NSO, gave us a stub, and they told us to wait for five working days. After five days, we called up, and our marriage contract is ready for pick up. It cost us Php 140.00.

Government ID (Postal ID and PhilHealth ID)

Since I we got married, my IDs were all considered as invalid. I have to get at least one, since again, the Immigration is requiring a photocopy of government ID of the Filipino spouse. But getting government IDs ain't that easy. You still have to gather some required documents and it will take time for sure. But I was advised that Postal ID is one of the easiest ID to get. I immediately gather all the documents they needed:

• I printed an application form from PhlPost website.
• Photocopy of my NSO Issued Birth Certificate - as proof of identity
• Photocopy of my NSO Issued Marriage Contract (since I am now married)
• Photocopy of the Barangay Clearance which you can get at your Barangay Chairman/woman's office. - as proof of address. It cost me Php 30.00
• And a payment of Php 504.00

The officer there asked me to photocopy every documents again including the receipt she issued on me. And then the next day I went to the nearest capturing site for the biometrics. And told me to wait for at least a month.

Of course it's hard to rely on what they said. Because I heard that sometimes it really takes ages before the ID arrives. So I went to the PhilHealth office. I was advised that you can get the ID there in less than 10 minutes. And since I need also to change my civil status, I went there for two purposes. I prepared the following:

• Printed off a form from their website. Filled it out at home.
• Photocopy of NSO Issued Marriage Contract.

I voluntarily brought the following:

• My old PhilHealth ID. They took it though, since that is no longer valid.
• Birth Certificate
• Membership Data Form
• Official Receipts of my payment for 2016
• Barangay Clearance
• My husband's passport since I will make him as my dependent.

But the lady there just took the required documents plus my old ID. And then I was directed to the next counter. Asked me to check what she was encoding. And hand me the carton version of the PhilHealth ID.

Getting NBI Clearance for the Foreigners

We Filipinos are already aware with the horror getting an NBI Clearance. We normally welcome with a snake like queue. And people offering you some whatnot. But that's not the case with the foreigners. They have a separate queue for that. And just a few foreigners acquiring NBI Clearance. Just remember if you're a foreigner and is planning to get an NBI Clearance, ONLY THE MAIN OFFICE is allowed to do the transaction. And I advised you to register online at home and pay through banks or accredited payment center in advanced so you can skip some steps. We registered online though, but we weren't able to pay in advanced due to some circumstances. So when he was finally at the NBI Office he brought the required documents with him:

• Original British Passport plus Photocopy of its bio page and his latest admission and extensions
• ACR I-Card + Photocopy of it, front and back.

He went to the second floor, at the Alien Registration Desk, and filled out the Alien Registration Form No. 5. He was directed to the ground floor for online registration, but since he already registered all he need to do is check the information once again, and edit some of it. And get the reference number. On the "Applicant Type", he chose " New ", fill out the form, then sign-in, it will direct you to your profile. Fill out the remaining information and click " Apply for Clearance ". Type the Valid IDs you're going to present, and choose the date of appointment. He picked the same day he was there, cus technically he doesn't need one. For the Purpose, choose "Local", and for the Purpose Details, choose " BID Requirement". And he chose " Bank - Over The Counter " as the Payment Method. He just get his reference number and is charged with Php 115.00. He proceed for Payment at the ground floor. After he paid, he went back to the second floor for biometrics. And went back again to the Alien Registration Desk for manual finger printing and signature. On the back of his receipt he was advised to go back by July 6, 2016 onwards. When we claimed it, it was just a walk-in, walkout process. We went to the releasing area at the ground floor, presented his receipt, and that's it. The lady tore the upper part of the receipt, and printed his clearance. It was the same clearance, like what they're giving to the Filipinos.

Getting Birth Certificate from UK

With his documents, we ordered everything online. It really cost alot, but we didn't have any choice. He just registered on General Register Office and ordered his birth certificate. We waited for at least two weeks for it to arrive. Cost: £65 or Php 4,500.00

Deed Poll Document

Since his birth certificate showed his original name, and on his passport it showed the name he chose for himself, we thought we're going to encounter problems with this situation. In United Kingdom, it is normal and legal to choose and change your name whenever you feel like to. And Deed Poll can help you with that. So since then, we attached this document to his birth certificate every time, they ask for it. He once again ordered it online. Cost: £34 or around Php 2,500.00. We waited at least two weeks for this one to arrive.

Affirmation for Marital Status

This is equivalent to Philippines' CENOMAR. You can actually get it the British Embassy. Book an appointment first before getting it. I advised you book an appointment a month prior to your chosen date. So in case you need to order document abroad, you still have plenty of time to sort things out. You need to bring the following:

• Printed Affirmation/Affidavit for Marital Status that can be downloaded from the British Embassy Manila website. Print it on an A4 Size bond paper. Font size: 12 Font Type: Times New Roman. However, you can adjust the margin and the font size.
• Original British Passport
• Proof of Address (Bank Statement, Utility Bill) - we brought our internet bill. It should be under the applicant's name and his/her usual address in the Philippines
• Payment of Php 3,960.00

We also brought his:

• Original Birth Certificate - attached with it is the Deed Poll Document. We had it notarised for Php 2,000.00
• ACR I-Card

You should sign the Affirmation in front of the consul. And come on time with your appointment, otherwise you'll be forced to book another appointment. And just make sure that all the information you gave were true and correct, cus if there's an error with it, you'll repeat the whole process again. And pay again.

Damn!!!
That post must have taken you ages!!!!
Appreciated here and who knows by others in the future!
I sorted mine out in the UK which was a pain in the ass but at least the visa was issued as "Permanent"...
Cheers....
Fred.

Thank you so much. actually we started gathering documents on the first quarter of this year. His birthday certificate though was ordered Two years ago. This post was just part of our procedure during the application for 13A Visa here in the Philippines. I tried to just divide the post for the fear that they might have a character limit. Anyways, the full stories are posted on my blog.

Thank you so much for appreciating this. Warms my heart. And congrats!!!