When my husband and I got married last September, I was married on one side of the world and ‘single’ on the other side.
I was married in the UAE, but technically still ‘single’ in the Philippines, where my civil status (or any other person’s, for that matter) is not ‘automatically’ updated by virtue of contracting a marriage abroad.
This may be news to some Kabayans who got married to foreigners here in the UAE.
And doubtless if you, like me, had just finished preparing your pre-marriage documents, you’d also be tempted to take a break from paperwork for a while.
My husband and I took 3 months to be exact, at which point we started preparing documents again to file a Report of Marriage at the Philippine Embassy.
Step 1: Check whether you will be filing your Report of Marriage at the Philippine Embassy of Abu Dhabi or the Philippine Consulate of Dubai.
Because this seems too obvious, both the Embassy and Consulate do not mention this on their websites.
I would have filed my Report of Marriage in Dubai because:
I live in Dubai.
My visa was issued in Dubai.
My husband’s visa was also issued in Dubai.
But the Consulate would not have accepted my application for the simple reason that we got married in the Abu Dhabi Courts.
Which was why I had to report my marriage in Abu Dhabi (the Philippine Embassy), instead of the Philippine Consulate in Dubai.
Step 2: Prepare the required documents.
Both the Embassy in Abu Dhabi and the Consulate in Dubai have the same requirements, such as:
Marriage Contract – Original and 3 photocopies (Note: If not in English, bring English translation. UAE Court Marriage Contracts provide both English and Arabic translations.)
Report of Marriage Form – 4 copies. Click here to download (Note: In typewritten letters with each form having the original signatures of both Bride and Groom. Use BLACK ink pen for the signatures.)
Passport Copies – 3 copies for both Bride and Groom
Passport-size Photos – 4 copies for both Bride and Groom
Step 3: Visit your nearest Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) Attestation Center.
Just bring your original marriage certificate.
This process should not take more than 15 minutes of your time, but it will cost you AED 160.
Step 4: Visit the Philippine Embassy (or Consulate, whichever applies).
You do not need to schedule an online appointment to file a Report of Marriage.
However, you do have to come in the morning (between 8:00-11:30 a.m.), as afternoons are reserved for document releasing.
I will be talking about my experience in the Philippine Embassy of Abu Dhabi from now on, because that’s where I ended up filing my Report of Marriage.
I went to the Information Desk, got a priority number and proceeded to the Civil Section.
There were a lot of people at the Embassy that morning (as always), but there was only 1 person ahead of me at the Civil Section, so I did not take more than 30 minutes total inside the Embassy.
When it was my turn, I just gave the Civil Section officer all the documents.
After inspecting them, she gave me a piece of paper and told me to proceed to the cashier, where I paid AED 200 (in cash — they will not accept debit/credit cards).
I went back to the Civil Section, presented my official receipt, and was told to return after 5 working days.
Since I live in Dubai, I asked the section officer if my husband could be the one to pick it up instead.
She said it’s okay (and no need to prepare an authorization letter either).
It’s important to note that the Embassy/Consulate will be keeping the original marriage certificate during the 5-day process.
But don’t worry!
You will get it back after, so you can use it to file a Report of Marriage in your spouse’s embassy the next time around.
Step 5: Collect your Report of Marriage on the appointed date (after 5 working days).
I tried to bribe my husband with Jollibee Chickenjoy (“the best fried chicken in the whole wide world” — according to him), just to pick up the documents from the Embassy.
But he was happy to go see the Philippine Embassy himself, since he will be applying for his Philippine visa soon (new blog in the making?)
He got nervous when he saw the usual crowd of passport applicants waiting for their numbers to be called, but he didn’t even get a chance to take his seat when his number was called at the Civil Section.
He presented his receipt and collected the Report of Marriage ( and very nearly forgot to take back the original marriage certificate).
One of the staff was kind enough to call him back before he could leave the embassy.
And now, I’m a legit married woman in my home country.
The only difference is, unlike the Philippine common practice of wives taking their husbands’ last names, I will be keeping my own last name (in keeping with the Arab custom of wives keeping their fathers’ last names, even after marriage).
Report of Marriage Form
Philippine Embassy Attestation (Back page of our Marriage Contract)