| Planning a wedding on the other side of the world can | | | | Once you have your embassy issued CNI, you must |
| be a time consuming progress, and you need to allow | | | | take it to the local registry department in the town |
| plenty of time for this to complete before your | | | | where you plan to marry your Filipina bride. |
| wedding. | | | | The law of the Philippines requires that you must give |
| Setting the Wedding Date | | | | notice of your intention to marry your Filipina bride at |
| First you need to talk to your Filipina bride and set a | | | | least ten days before you want your marriage license |
| wedding date, then you can arrange an appointment | | | | issued. |
| with your local registry office in the UK. | | | | What Happens Next? |
| Doing the British Paperwork | | | | You need to give some thought to what happens |
| You need to make this appointment quite early in the | | | | after the wedding. Assuming that your Filipina bride is a |
| process, as you need to obtain from them a | | | | citizen of the Philippines and you are not, then neither |
| 'Certificate of no Impediment to marriage' (CNI). To get | | | | will have any automatic right to live in the others |
| this certificate you must have notice for your | | | | country, and therefore unless you make your plans |
| forthcoming wedding to your Filipina bride displayed in | | | | beforehand, you will very soon be separated after the |
| their office for 21 days, after which time they will issue | | | | wedding. |
| you with your CNI. | | | | Coming to UK? |
| Visit the British Embassy | | | | If you wish to apply for your wife to live with you in |
| You need to take your CNI to the British Embassy in | | | | the UK you will need to apply for a settlement visa |
| Manila. They will take your CNI issued by your British | | | | from the British embassy. This takes at least three |
| registry office and, in exchange for a fee, they will | | | | months to be issued, and sometimes it can take much |
| issue you with a CNI that is acceptable to the Philippine | | | | longer, it is also possible that they may want to |
| authorities. Get to the embassy early in the morning, | | | | interview your Filipina bride before granting the visa. |
| before the embassy opens if possible. They should be | | | | At some point your Filipina bride will need to obtain a |
| able to issue the certificate the same day but there is | | | | stamp in her passport from the 'Commission on |
| always a queue to get into the embassy and it may | | | | Filipinos Overseas (CFO). This will involve the payment |
| be some time before you can be seen. | | | | of another fee, and another interview before she is |
| Getting the Wedding License | | | | free to join you in the UK. |