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mike1
27th October 2006, 15:56
:Hellooo: :Erm: assuming ive got my cni in hand wats the minimum time i need to take off to go to PI and get married:doh :doh and do i need to be there for any of the visa process if i take all the necessary with me , maybe its a second visit ?, all your thoughts welcome :xxgrinning--00xx3:

andypaul
27th October 2006, 20:40
well you need to convert your cni for a version that the phill authorities approve of. That takes a day in manila or cebu at the embassy. Then the marriage process can vary depending on if its registery or church. You may find people need to be helped with expenses to help things run smoothly.
Does your Wife to be know any one at the local town hall, we had a distant relative help with the paperwork and procedures she needed no money but she helped put the paperwork to the top of the pile and nagged people to process paperwork etc.

we took two two week vists to sort the bits n bobs out. first time take the cni, sort the application out and start preparation of wedding. Then 2nd to actually get married :-)

mike1
27th October 2006, 21:42
Thanks Andypaul, i was aiming for 1 visit 3- 4 weeks, but this may not be possible from what u say, 2 - 2 week visits can work out expensive :doh and i take it they would have to be within the 3 months otherwise cni would expire .Is the church wedding more paperwork than the registary , can i ask if you got the visa application done after the wedding and were you under pressure to make any deadlines:Brick: . thanks p.s im just reading through the site and finding it very informative

vbkelly
20th November 2006, 14:57
hi mike1 nice to met you here,thats better you phone and ask all info to the home office or british embassy what you gonna do.and they give you all exact info to you. thats my husband did before actually to process a visa is easy if all papers they need are complete.as of my experienced i never had any difficulties

ginapeterb
20th November 2006, 15:50
vbkelly, whats this ? " Phone home office or British Embassy what you gonna do ?" "and they give you all exact info to you " can you tell us where your husband got his help from at the Home Office ? did he get help at the British Embassy ? would love to hear about that ?

vbkelly
20th November 2006, 16:46
he ask info in british embassy here in uk then they told to my husband everything what documents he need,they are very helpfull to anybody

andypaul
20th November 2006, 21:34
Thanks Andypaul, i was aiming for 1 visit 3- 4 weeks, but this may not be possible from what u say, 2 - 2 week visits can work out expensive :doh and i take it they would have to be within the 3 months otherwise cni would expire .Is the church wedding more paperwork than the registary , can i ask if you got the visa application done after the wedding and were you under pressure to make any deadlines:Brick: . thanks p.s im just reading through the site and finding it very informative

Sorry Mike been away for a while and must have missed your Post.

I guess you could do all in 3-4 week holiday, you might need to plan everything to the last detail. Then of course remeber its Phill where things never seem to run as you want to plan them.

The Visa application was done after the wedding. in fact on paper a while after as we had to get the wifes passport changed so she had my Surname (Her decision and remeber neither country actually required it by law) We also had to wait for the NSO copy of the marriage cert, this again seems to be a bit pot luck.

But many UK Spouses have not been in the country when the Spouse in phill is applying. This is not a major minus point, as being able to plan the time off and the travel is not easy for most people.

A church wedding is a lot more work from what i read and hear, we had a registery wedding and a blessing afterwards at the location of the reception.

Hope all the planing is going well take care

mike1
21st November 2006, 15:24
Hi Andypaul thanks for that info, I find it very useful,Am I thinking to far ahead ? - I just need to get everything right as the more I read the forum the more problems I can see arising . I have read many more of your threads /replies and you give seem to give some good sound advise to other members.:xxgrinning--00xx3: I dont think you live to far away , Im in Northolt .Anyway thanks again to you and all the others for this invalueable information .No doubt I,ll be needing some help again in the future

andypaul
21st November 2006, 23:28
Hi Andypaul thanks for that info, I find it very useful,Am I thinking to far ahead ? - I just need to get everything right as the more I read the forum the more problems I can see arising . I have read many more of your threads /replies and you give seem to give some good sound advise to other members.:xxgrinning--00xx3: I dont think you live to far away , Im in Northolt .Anyway thanks again to you and all the others for this invalueable information .No doubt I,ll be needing some help again in the future

Hi Mike

You can never think to far ahead, i spent all the time apart from when chating to my wife. Reading and reading info on the web.

You do need to plan things well, some people find that easy others (like me need help) so do make lists, do spend time reading what others have done. But its very important to remeber that the requirments and process seem to constantly change in some form or another.
Make sure you have a plan b as we had the phill goverment offices decide they would close one day extra a week. When we needed to use them which could have caused serious headaches, but luckily didn'y affect us to much.

In the 3-4 week holiday i would (please remeber its just a personal opnion) that you get married (gather lots of evidence) sort as much of the paperwork as you can together. Send off the marriage cert to the nso and enjoy the time together.

The application is only worth starting once you have the nso marriage cert and all other paperwork in place. Like all of us your both eager to get on with it, but trying to rush everything could cause heartache.

A good place to write your basic plans is on this forum. people on here can write if they see you are missing a step or being to optismistic.

Northolts not to far from us, we down by Heathrow.

mike1
22nd November 2006, 14:08
Hi andypaul thanks for that , canI just ask is there anything I can do :Erm: when i go in Dec like check out things to save me time when i go back to get married in Dec ? cheers Mike

andypaul
23rd November 2006, 22:15
Hi andypaul thanks for that , canI just ask is there anything I can do :Erm: when i go in Dec like check out things to save me time when i go back to get married in Dec ? cheers Mike

I was lucky that apart from sorting the CNI at the embassy, i had little to do planing the wedding or sorting the paperwork.

I had to fill in a form along with my wife to be with all the information required name, address in the uk , religion, family details etc.

Your Girlfriend needs to find out what the local registrar needs, from what i read and have experienced this can vary at local level quite a bit.

In theory you are suposed to go to a pre marriage counsling session but many couples seem to find a way round that or the local area does not seem to be to concerned with checking if the session is held.
Others may have more info on this subject than me.

Do see where your Girlfriend or her family plan to have the wedding, and check on the plans. My Wife and her family seeme to be a bit laid back on the planing side and needed a little nagging from me to book venues etc.
Also work out how much the wedding is going to cost you can have a lovely guest list but its sure to increase.
The Wifes family turned down the venues offer of doing the catering so that the family did it. In the end we gave both family members, friends of the family and women who came round to do the washing at the lolas house a few days of pay which i insisted was at a far higher rate than normal in phil. We also seemed to have even with the huge crowds which turned up enough food for the family to be eating leftovers for the next two weeks solid. Cost slighty more than the venues offer im sure but was far better for the family. but do keep an eye on costs as you don't want to be worrying on the day trust me.

I have never heard/read this mentioned but its worth checking about security at the venue. The venue we booked supplied security (seeing guys walking round with pump action shotguns and a holster with a handgun was a bit odd to me but also reassuring. That might be over the top but i don't where your planning to gett married in phill and how many people might be attending from each family.


On this trip make sure you get bucket loads of Photos together (good for both of you as well as for the visa and cfo), also with family and friends in lots of locations.

Have you decided if your Wife to be is keeping her family name or taking yours? Need to decide now so you can sort out getting the passport changed once you are both married. This can add a few weeks to the application but..

We did it and it made things easier once in the uk as we have the same surname much easier for proof of address and when opening bank accounts etc.

The most important thing i can think off is spend lots of time together and relax as much as you can as the next time it might be hertic with regards all the wedding last mintue details.

Im sure others can think of things to add to the to do list

mike1
26th November 2006, 20:59
thanks for that info ANDYPAUL. Its been most helpful. -(the security bit suprised me somewhat).:xxgrinning--00xx3:

andypaul
27th November 2006, 19:53
thanks for that info ANDYPAUL. Its been most helpful. -(the security bit suprised me somewhat).:xxgrinning--00xx3:

Sorry sounded more of a worry than it should be.

But it maybe something the Wife to be and her family might not think about. Also it depends on circumstances where will the reception be held, how many Brits might be there etc.
Some weddings will have door staff in the UK to keep out gatecrashers depending on the location and other factors. We had a guard or two on the front gate of the resort and one guy strolling round, which by Phill standards is nothing out of the ordinary compared to most shops and banks.

Also seeing dave and his wifes problem with getting the NSO copy of the marriage cert. Its worth asking the registrar what can be helped to speed the process up.

Other things which have come to my mind are ensure your wife is aware how she can obtain her NBI, Brangary clearance and i think a few other bits of paperwork which say that your Wife to be is law abiding, has no outstanding taxes etc.
The NBI clerance is very important and needed (well we supplied it for both the CFo interview and Visa information) as it basically from what i know says your Wife is not wanted by the Police or a known villian (please correct me if that is not correctly peeps)

Also now is the Time to start bringing over the copies of Documents and evidence. On one of my later vists my suitcase was weighed down with the amount of copies and paperwork i brought i also had to fed ex loads of paperwork which cost an absloute fortune best to keep the weight down and personally deliver as much paperwork as you can.