Well, went the Local registry office today; not strictly necessary now that the embassy in Manila has switched to affidavits/affirmations only in lieu of issuing CNI's. I will get the CNI Apostiled and then legalised again by the Embassy in Manila. I believe in crossing the T's and dotting the I's, especially as the LCR in Cebu is demanding a CNI! Not only that, but the LCR wants a CENOMAR for me from the NSO as well! And I have heard that they will also request sight of the receipt showing the CENOMAR was paid for! Then the little matter of attending the seminar at the city health department even though both of us are well over the age of 25. I think this will be conducted in a language I don't understand. In other words, if it is not in English, I will comprehend nothing! My better half has also been summonsed to see the associate pastor at her church. I have no doubt she will be questioned about me and why marriage plans are being discussed and made even though we have not met yet. She is a little nervous about that. But I have known of the family for five years albeit I have met only one of them - my fiancée's sister. I will be in the Philippines for 28 days in December to arrange the wedding and obtain the marriage licence. The wedding should be in March - just a few days after my 64th birthday. I will post updates as available and it should prove valuable as a reference that all steps are being taken - I might even show the thread to to the LCR if necessary!
All the arrangements are at an early stage. We will get married at an hotel but the ceremony will be conducted by an Evangelical Christian pastor. The reason for an hotel is because the church will be too hot for me as a I suffer from hot flushes due to the medication being taken. A friend of my fiancée is a wedding organiser so she will arrange everything.
Congratulations Howerd. Fairly crafty planning to have the wedding on your birthday, - makes it easier to remember your wedding anniversary. Best of luck!
Not quite getting married on my birthday, Dave_E. I left the choice of date almost entirely to my fiancée and she chose a date just a few days after my birthday in March 2015. She had wanted to get married when we met for the first time in December 2014 but I said 'NO' to that rather firmly. The wedding will be near to the Ayala Mall in Cebu, so a good place for far-flung relatives to find an hotel.
Congratulations in advanced Howerd! Pls. share you coming experiences....coz my and my fiancé will have same format as yours. We are planning to get married July 2105, and he will be here too toe mos.or month before July. Your inputs will be a great help on us....
Hello roaming-on. Yes, I will keep everyone abreast of the process we go through! Congratulations too on your own engagement. My fiancée turned 40 a few days ago and neither of us has been married before (which simplifies matters somewhat) She says I have to sing at the wedding, so I may just change the words of the Beatles song, "When I'm Sixty-Four", but is quite a difficult song for me to sing in tune, Yes I will post here my experiences, particularly about the change in the UK partner's evidence that he/she has legal capacity to marry. I applied for a Certificate of No Impediment (CNI) from Registry Office local to me in the UK nearly three weeks ago. I can collect it on Monday, once the 21 day waiting period has expired. Strictly speaking, CNIs are no longer required as the British Embassy no longer issues its own CNI upon sight of the CNI from the UK. Instead, the UK partner now simply makes an affirmation/affidavit at the British Embassy in Manila saying they are free to marry (you cannot do this at the Cebu Consulate currently) The affirmation/affidavit should be accepted by the LCR in The Philippines when applying for a marriage licence but the process is quite new and I am not convinced the LCR in Cebu City will accept an affirmation/affidavit in lieu of an Embassy-issued CNI. But the LCR will certainly not accept a UK-issued CNI so once I receive the CNI on Monday, I will send the said CNI to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office to be "apostiled". Unfortunately, The Philippines is not signed up to the Geneva Convention to accept apostiled documents either, so they have to be certified a second time - by the British Embassy in Manila! So, when I go to the embassy in Manila, I will make the affirmation/affidavit that I am free to marry and also ask the embassy to certify the apostiled CNI as well. I will let you know if the LCR in Cebu accept just the affirmation/affidavit or also require the certified CNI as well!