Hello again. If I decide to go to Manila to get married.... My plane ticket will be valid for only 30 days. If I extend the visit what happens to the ticket. Will I have to buy another one when I return or can I extend a ticket? Once we are married can you advise how long we must wait until we can fly back home. My home is in Germany so maybe there is noone to answer that one but an idea how long one must wait to return to England would give me some idea. Many thanks
If you are unsure of your return date, I suggest you book an 'open dated' ticket: KLM allows one change on its 'open dated' tickets which have an 11 month validity. Unless you are a German citizen, you would need to apply for a Schengen Family Reunification Visa at the German Embassy in Manila. If you marry in the Philippines you will have a longer wait than if you marry in Hong Kong as you will need an apostiled ('red ribboned') NSO Marriage Certificate. The German embassy will accept a Hong Kong certificate as-is.
Hi Geoff good to see you again I take it that this will be your first physical meeting with your lady friend if you go out there?
Hello Mattecube. We are still at sixes and sevens to decide what to do. We had planned she would come over as a tourist but that means at least a 3 month wait it seems. I certainly like the idea of marrying in Hong Kong to speed things up. What I am now thinking maybe I pluck up courage and fly to Manila. Spend a few weeks together then she applies to go to Hong Kong. Which visa would she have to get and do you think it will be difficult and a lengthy procedure? What reason does she give for going to HK. If all goes well we fly back to Manila and wait for the ok to travel back to Germany. I am sure there will be problems I have not foreseen and I do not wish to spend too much time in the Phils. I would be interested to hear from anyone who has gone the Hong Kong route.
On reflection maybe she visits me in Germany on tourist then I fly back to Manila with her then we try for Hon Kong
Sorry last one I promise. My ladyfriend has just suggested we both meet in HK and marry and then back to Phils to wait for spouse visa to Germany. Cant be that simple can it?
A few people here on the forum have married in HK, from a personal point of view though I wouldn't be marrying anyone I'd never met before Maybe meeting her in HK then taking it from there may be a better option but its your life of course.
Does anyone know if there is an airline flying to Manila, other than KLM!, where I can purchase an open dated return as I plan to stay there longer than the 30 days allowed, so I need to be able to change the flight return date?
As previously advised I am not marrying someone I havent met. We plan to spend 3 months together the we decide if we want to get married.
Geoff, it's not quite that simple. Things can't move as quickly as you hope. My wife has just received her Spanish residence card. Next month we celebrate two years married, and she has been here with me for only six months of that. Now I'm sure that you won't face the problems that I faced, but there are certain things that you will need to do before you are able to travel. First of all, once you are married (in the Phlippines), you will receive the wedding certificate from the local Barangay. This will probably take two weeks or so. Then you will need to get the marriage registered with the NSO and they will issue you with your official wedding certificate. This can take months, athough we managed to get the process accelerated. Your wedding certificate may need to be translated into German before it can be accepted by the German immigration authorities. Check with your consulate in Manila. Your wife, should she take your surname, will need to change her ID and passport, and for this she will need to have the wedding certificate to prove the change of name. All this took Melody six months. (The rest of the delay was due to moronic Spanish consular staff - I hope the Germans are better) The application for a Schengen visa as the family member of an EU citizen should be straightforward. See 2004/38/EC Section III for all the information regarding her right to a visa. Good luck with everything. I hope your lady is all you hope she will be. If you need any further information on the laws which will support your right to a visa, please contact me.
Thanks Chris. Sorry for delay been hit by the winter flu. Can I contact you privately, what is the best way?
So now we are ready for my friend to apply for a tourist visa to come to germany for 3 months. The question I have is what does she give as a reason for coming bearing in mind we havent yet met? She has spoken to many people in her home town and they say dont put that you are visiting your boyfriend as they will probably refuse it. If she puts she wants to visit for a holiday they will want to know who is the person who paid for the flight and whom she will be staying with. Any ideas?
Not sure how German embassy works but I suggest you should always be honest with your application so it won't jeopardise future visa applications.
And by the way it is generally not a good idea to apply for 3 months for your first (Schengen) visa. If you can prove a very strong ties for her in the Philippines then go for it. But it is usually better to apply for no more than 3 weeks the first time and demonstrate strong ties to home.
