Consular marriage
Under certain conditions, it is possible to celebrate a marriage at the Embassy between Italian citizens or between an Italian citizen and a foreign national. Pursuant to Legislative Decree No. 71/2011, the Italian Embassy in Manila celebrates consular marriages exclusively between Italian citizens registered with AIRE, provided that both parties are resident within this consular district.
The procedure must be initiated by submitting a request by email (consolare.manila@esteri.it), addressed to the Head of the Consular Chancellery.
For further information, please refer to the website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation (Farnesina): Marriage – Ministero degli Affari Esteri e della Cooperazione Internazionale.
Consular fees are applicable and must be paid in local currency at the Consular Office of the Embassy.
Nulla osta al matrimonio (cd. Legal Capacity)
Per la documentazione indicata per il nubendo cittadino italiano e’ possibile avvalersi dell’autocertificazione (sottoscrivendo l’apposito formulario disponibile anche presso lo sportello), ma trattandosi di procedimento che riguarda un cambiamento di Stato Civile, prima di emettere e consegnare la certificazione di cui trattasi l’Ufficio Consolare dovra’ effettuare opportune verifiche su quanto dichiarato, richiedendo analogo documento al relativo Comune o Rappresentanza Diplomatica competente, con la conseguenza di far slittare i tempi di consegna della documentazione.
Certificate of No Impediment to Marriage (so-called “Legal Capacity”)
In order to marry before the Philippine authorities, it is necessary to obtain a Certificate of No Impediment to Marriage, referred to as “Legal Capacity”. For the issuance of this certificate, the parties (both those registered with AIRE and non-residents) must attend the Consular Office by prior appointment and submit the following documentation:
- Passports of both parties;
- The Italian citizen must submit an original combined certificate of birth, residence, and civil status (attesting that they are free to marry), bearing the wording “valid for use abroad” and issued no more than six months prior to submission, issued:
- by their municipality in Italy, if resident in Italy (ensuring that the certificate includes a QR code to enable verification by this Office without the need to contact the municipality, thereby significantly reducing processing times);
- by the competent Italian Embassy or Consulate, if resident in another consular district;
- The Philippine national must instead submit:
- their birth certificate issued by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), the central civil registry authority of the Republic of the Philippines;
- a CE.NO.MAR (Certificate of No Marriage Record), also issued by the PSA.
With regard to the documentation required from the Italian citizen, self-certification may be used (by completing the relevant form, also available at the counter). However, as this procedure concerns a change in civil status, the Consular Office is required to carry out appropriate checks on the declarations made, by requesting equivalent documentation from the relevant municipality or competent diplomatic mission; this may result in longer processing times.
Property Regime
Prior to the marriage, it is advisable to decide on the matrimonial property regime, namely whether to marry under community of property or separation of property. Should the latter option be chosen, a prenuptial agreement (Marriage Settlement) must be executed before a local Notary Public prior to the celebration of the marriage. The agreement must then be authenticated by the Regional Trial Court with regard to the notary’s signature and licence number, and subsequently apostilled by one of the offices of the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA).
This document must be presented to the civil registrar officiating the ceremony, so that the parties’ express intention may be duly recorded in the marriage certificate.