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A. General Overview of the Procedures and
Requirements Related to the Marriage and Visa Application
Processes |
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I. Getting Married and Applying for the
Japanese Visa of the Marriage Partner |
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Step 1.
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Apply for and receive a certificate of
legal capacity to contract marriage.
This can be done at the Embassy of Japan in the Philippines. |
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Step 2:
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Apply for and receive a
marriage license
This can be done at the city hall or
the municipality in which the Philippine national
resides. |
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Step 3
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Legally marry and sign the
marriage certificate |
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Step 4:
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Submit a
report of marriage form to the appropriate
Japanese officials.
This may be submitted to either the
city hall in the city of Japan in which the
Japanese national resides or to the Embassy of Japan in the Philippines. |
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Step 5:
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Apply for and receive a certificate of
eligibility.
This can be done through the office of the Japanese
Regional Immigration Bureau that is closest to the
city in Japan in which the
Japanese national resides. : |
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Step 6
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Apply for and receive the Japanese visa
of the
Philippine national.
This can be done at the Embassy of Japan in the Philippines. |
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II. Applying for a Certificate of Legal
Capacity to Contract Marriage |
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When a
Japanese national wishes to enter into a
contract of marriage with a Filipino, the Japanese
national must apply for and receive a
certificate of legal capacity to contract marriage
from the Embassy of Japan in the Philippines. This
must be done prior to entering into a contract of
marriage (Family Code of the Philippines, Article 21). |
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Before receiving the
certificate of legal capacity to contract marriage
the following must be presented: |
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Japanese Nationals: |
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A.
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Certified true copy of your
Japanese Family Register
(Koseki Tohon) |
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B.
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Certified true copy of your
Removed Japanese Family Register
This will be used for the
divorced certification that is required by the
Government of the Philippines |
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C.
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Japanese passport |
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D.
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Consent to marry
If a male is over 18 years old or a female is
over 16 years old but he or she is under 20
years old, a
parental consent form must be submitted.
This form must be completed and signed the legal
guardian of the Japanese applicant. |
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Note:
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Japanese males below the age of
18, and Japanese females below the age of 16,
are not eligible for marriage. |
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Philippine Nationals:
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A.
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Certified true copy of the
applicant's
birth certificate
(The copy must have the original stamp/seal of a
certified true copy) |
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If
no birth certificate exists you must
submit the following:
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1. Certificate of non-record of
birth
This can be obtained from either the Local Civil
Registrar or the National Statistics Office (N.S.O) |
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2. Baptismal certificate |
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Note:
Male and female Filipino applicants
must be over the age of 18 to be eligible for
marriage. |
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The
certificate of legal capacity to contract marriage
will be issued one day after the application form is
accepted. All certificates will be issued after 2:00
p.m. (Monday - Friday). Please be sure to make photo
copies of the original
certificate of legal capacity to contract marriage.
These copies will be issued during the
report of marriage and visa application
submission phases of these processes. |
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III. The Marriage Procedure |
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Step I.
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After receiving the
certificate of legal capacity to contract marriage
both parties must proceed to the city hall or the
municipality in which the
Philippine national habitually resides.
(where he or she has lived for at least the last 6
months). You must then both present the
certificate of legal capacity to contract marriage
to the local civil registrar and apply for your
marriage license. (Family Code of the
Philippines, Article 9).
Please refer all questions
regarding the procedures and requirements
necessary to apply for your
marriage license directly to the local civil
registrar issuing the
marriage license. |
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Step 2.
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After applying your
marriage license, the information given in
the application will be posted for 10 consecutive
days inside the city hall or the municipality in
which the
Philippine national habitually resides.
The
marriage license will be issued after the
completion of this 10-day period (Family Code of
the Philippines, Article 17).
The
marriage license, once issued, is valid in any
part of the Philippines for 120 days. If it has
not been used during this 120-day period it will
then automatically expire (Family Code of the
Philippines, Article 20) |
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Step 3.
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The marriage ceremony must be
solemnized by an individual with the legal
authority to perform such a ceremony. Upon the
completion of the ceremony all participants (the
presiding official, the witnesses, and the husband
and wife) must sign the
marriage certificate (Family Code of the
Philippines, Articles 2-7). |
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Step 4.
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Following the signing of the
marriage certificate by all parties
involved, the
marriage certificate must be sent to the
city hall or the municipality in which the
Philippine national habitually resides. It
will then be registered by the local civil
register. (Family Code of the Philippines, Article
23).
Please remember to get certified
true copies of the marriage contract from the
local civil registrar. The Japanese national will
need these documents when the marriage is reported
in Japan. |
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IV. Mandatory Registration of the Marriage in
Japan |
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Japanese nationals
are legally obligated to submit a
report of marriage form to the city hall of the city
in Japan in which they reside, or to the Embassy of Japan in the Philippines, not more than 3 months after having
entered into a contract of marriage with a
Philippine national. The Filipino spouse of the
Japanese national can submit the report of marriage
to the Embassy of Japan in the Philippines on behalf of the
Japanese national provided that the necessary
columns are completely filled out. When submitting the
report of marriage to the Embassy of Japan in the Philippines please have with you the following documents: |
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A.
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Certificates true copies of the
Japanese national's Japanese Family Register (Koseki
Tohon) |
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B.
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Certified true copies of the
birth certificate of the
Philippine national
(These copies must have the original stamps/seals of
certified true copies) |
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I f
no birth certificate exists the following
documents and their Japanese translation must be
submitted:
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1.
Certificates of non-record of birth
These can be obtained at either the office of the
local civil registrar or the National Statistics
Office (N.S.O.)
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2 originals
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2.
Baptismal Certificates. |
2 originals
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3.
Certificates of Nationality
(or copies of your passport)
Please present the original passport when submitting
these copies |
2 originals
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C.
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Japanese translations of the
birth certicate of the
Philippine national
(The translator's name must appear on these documents) |
2 originals
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D.
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Certified true copies of the
marriage contract 2 originals These copies
must have the stamps /seals of certified true copies
and have the registration number in the city hall in
the Philippines where the contract was registered.
Do not submit abstracts of the marriage contract. |
2 originals
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E.
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Japanese translations of the
marriage contract
(The translator's name must appear on these documents) |
2 originals
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F.
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Copy of the certificate of
legal capacity to contract marriage |
1 copy
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G.
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Copy of the
marriage license and marriage license application form |
1 copy each
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Note:
If the Japanese national is changing the "Honseki"
then 2 originals and 1 copy of the above documents
must be submitted.
If the
report of marriage is to be submitted to the
city hall of the city in Japan in which the
Japanese national resides, you must contact
that city hall directly to inquire as to the
requirements and procedures of that particular city
hall.
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V. Visa Application Procedure for Citizens of
the Philippines Planning to Reside in Japan After Marrying a
Japanese National |
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A. Overview of the application
procedure |
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Step 1:
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The marriage must be officially registered at the city
hall of the city in Japan in which the
Japanese nationals resides. |
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Step 2:
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The
Japanese national must, on behalf of his or
her Filipino spouse, apply for a certificate of
eligibility at the Regional Immigration Bureau office
in Japan that is closest to the city in which the
Japanese national resides. |
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Step 3:
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After receiving the
certificate of eligibility, the
Philippine national must then apply for his or
her Japanese visa at the Embassy of Japan in the Philippines. |
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All Filipino visa applicants who intend to reside in
Japan after marrying a
Japanese national must first receive a
certificate of eligibility. The certificate
must be obtained at the Regional Immigration Bureau
office in Japan that is closest to the city in which
the
Japanese national resides. Please direct all
inquiries as to the procedures and requirements
necessary to receive a
certificate of eligibility to the Regional
Immigration Bureau office in Japan that will be
issuing the
certificate |
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B. Japanese visa requirements |
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Completed
visa application form and 2 photos (4.5 x
4.5 cm)
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Valid passport
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Old or expired passports (if any)
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Certificate of eligibility (1 original and 1
copy)
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Certified true copy of the
birth certificate of the
Philippine national on "Security Paper" from
the National Statistics Office (If no
birth certificate exists the
Philippine national must present a certified
true copy of his or her non-record of birth
certificate from the National Statistics Office)
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Certified true copy of the
marriage contract on "Security Paper" from
the National Statistics Office
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C. The procedure of marriage |
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By following the procedure outlined
above, the
Philippine national will no longer have to
change his or her status. The
Philippine national will now be recognized as
the spouse of a
Japanese national, and as such will be
entitled to reside in Japan upon entry and to renew
his or her visa before its date of expiration. |
Note:
The submission of a certificate of
eligibility along with a visa application form, to
the Embassy of Japan in the Philippines, does not
necessarily guarantee that an entry visa will be
issued to the spouse of a Japanese national.
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Remember:
If the Filipino applicant intends to
stay in Japan for more than 90 days, he or she must
register as an alien at the city hall of the city in
Japan in which his or her Japanese spouse resides.
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