Tying the knot between two persons of different nationalities, governed by 2 varying legal codes, is a tedious process. As soon as I made up my mind that I will settle here in Indonesia permanently (with my Indonesian groom) I decided to set my wedding here and follow their laws to make my marriage valid.
Basically, the law requires (for a non- Muslim marriage like mine) that:
First: my marriage has to be solemnised in a church,
Second: it must be affirmed and registred in the Civil Registry within 60 days after the church wedding.
Totally opposite of what I will go through had I rather set my marriage in the Philippines😇
Below details the preparations that I did in order that my mixed marriage is legal and binding here.
A. Church Requirements
My groom and I went to his church asking for the requirements to have a wedding ceremony. These are what they gave me to be accomplished.
a. Birth Certificate, Baptismal Certificate, Valid Passport Copy, Copy of Entry Visa to Indonesia ( which in my case is my work permit) , and other identification papers.
b. Letter of No Impediment to Marry from the Philippine Consulate or Embassy
c. Photo with the bride and groom side by side
Letter of No Impediment
a. I called the Philippine embassy in Jakarta asking about the 'Letter of No Impediment.' They told me that they will issue an LCCM (Legal Capacity to Contract Marriage).
i. However, the LCCM can only be issued if I have to submit an authenticated Birth Certificate and Certificate of No Marriage (CENOMAR).This means that I have to take my Birth Certificate and CENOMAR from Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) then, bring it to the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) for authentication.
ii. As soon as the red ribboned documents arrived from the Philippines, I applied for the LCCM . I thought I just have to hand- in the requirements. Unfortunately, it does not work like that. I have to pay the corresponding fee and fill up the application and affidavit forms.
B. Civil Registry
For my groom who is an Indonesian, he has to submit N1,N2,N3 and N4 forms. Luckily, I do not need to hand- in these forms. Apparently, what the Civil Registry requires are:
a. Notice of Intention to Marry
- Birth Certificate( with Indonesian Translation), Valid Passport Copy or other Identification
b. Letter of No Impediment to Marry (with Indonesian Translation)
c. Photo ( with the bride and groom side by side)
Since, the church already asked for these requirements in advance, marriage under the Civil Registry proceeded without all the fuss of bureaucracy.
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| @ the Kantor Catatan Sipil/ Civil Registry Office |
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| Add caption |
Unfortunately, it is not over yet after the marriage. I have to comply to Philippine laws,too. According to our Family Code, marriage contracted outside of the Philippines has to be reported to the Philippine Statistics Authority within 1 year of marriage. If not, I will be subjected to sanctions. For this reason, 5 months after marriage when I got the chance, I had to fill-up this form and submitted it to our embassy in Jakarta.
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| Marriage cert issued by PSA |
While a regular bride would be very busy preparing for her gown, reception and wedding day, I ,a bride from a mixed couple, was very busy preparing for my marriage,hoping that my mixed marriage will go smoothly in terms of its constitutionality.
With this regards, my next post will be about the other very important paper that needed to be drafted and filed before entering into marriage, 'The Prenuptial Agreement'
Attaching below the DFA and PSA links for you to browse the requirements in processing your documents.
https://www.psaserbilis.com.ph/Secure/PaymentInstructions.aspx
https://consular.dfa.gov.ph/
https://psa.gov.ph/
Congrats mrs xenia for your wedding.
ReplyDeleteI am glad you wrote this. Your blog really gives me hope and boosts me to getting married here.
I am indonesian and my fiance is a filipino, i almost desperate about this because a lot of things should be done yet my fiance is not living in indonesia and he wont have much time visiting indonesia. So i think i need your help.
I would like to ask you about:
1. How did you get your cenomar and birth certificate? Did you need to go back to PH or just ask someone at hometown to help?
2. How long you did you wait for the CLCM to be published?
3. How long you did you wait for the registration of marriage in PH embassy Jakarta?
Thank you
Hi. Thanks for visiting. I am so sorry I was not able to reach out to you the soonest.Anyway to answer your queries:
Delete1. I did not go back to PH to get my papers. My family did it for me. In PH, it is allowed that someone will take these documents for you for as long as they are your immediate family members, say, a sibling or parents taking it.
2. It takes around 2 weeks for the LCCM to be published.
3. The registration of marriage was quick. I registered my marriage in Dec 2016. When I went back home in June 2017, my records were already in order.That means, my status was already married by Philippines law.
For further information, please do not hesitate to leave comments. Thanks and I am hoping that you will have a smooth processing of your legal papers.
Hi, i just want to ask.. Me and my fiance(indonesian) will get married in Medan and a little far from Jakarta to process the rquirements at the PH embassy... Is it ok if i process my papers at PH embassy Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia? Since i'm working in MY...
ReplyDeleteHello there.I am so sorry but it could not be. If the marriage will be solemnized here in Medan, all the papers have to be issued inside Indonesia. If the documents are coming from outside Indonesia, it always has to go through the PH Embassy here in Indonesia. Anyway, the PH Embassy here accepts courier or representatives. YOu do not need to file personally. Payments are also accepted through bank transfers. Thanks and hope it goes well.
ReplyDeleteThanks. For the info. For filing LCCM with representative, does the embassy requires SPA?
DeleteHi. There was a change in the requirements in applying for LCCM. Personal appearance by the Filipino applicant is needed. Fee also increased to 412,500 Rupiah, cash only. Thanks.
DeleteHi! Congrats! Just wanted to say thank you for the detailed information, it was very helpful! I wanted to ask, how many CENOMAR and birth certificate copies did you need when you processed your papers? From my understanding it was for the Embassy, Civil Registry and church? Does it make it 3?
ReplyDelete1. I had only one copy of the original authenticated documents for all the processing. When I submitted the original copies to the embassy, they gave them back to me together with the LCCM that they issued.
ReplyDelete2. The church accepted all photocopied documents but they have to see the original copies as well. They did not keep the original copies though.
3. The Civil Registry needed the documents (Birth certificate & LCCM) with the Indonesian translation so the documents that I presented to the Embassy weren't used in the Civil Registry.
4. The translation service centre required the original copies of LCCM and Birth Cert. I used the ones I received from the Embassy.
In processing the documents, make the embassy as your starting point, everything else follows. Thanks and enjoy the journey!
Oh I see! Thank you so much! Gbu always Ms. Xenia :)
DeleteHi im ph and my bf is indonesian we plan to get marry here in ph .. i ask if i still need to change my last name if ever we done marry?
ReplyDeleteHi there. On my part, I did not change my last name on the following reasons:
Delete1. My Indonesian husband has no family name.Almost all people here do not have family names. They only have their given names and they are using their national ID.
2. We are living here and most documents do not need family names, so I do not feel the need to change my last name. Until now, I am using my maiden name.
3. All my passport, SSS, PHILHEALTH records still use my maiden name. The only thing that was changed was my civil status- From single to married.
4. The Philippine laws allow us to use our maiden name after marriage. We have the option to change or not to change our last names. It is not illegal if we do not carry our husband's family name.
In this case, it is really your choice and preference. If you want to change or not to change it, it is totally fine and acceptable. ;)
I am just curious (if you do not mind,,you may not answer it), does your fiance carry a family name? Most Indonesians like my husband do not.
Anyway, thanks a lot. Hoping that your marriage preparation is going smoothly.
Hi Xenia! :) When you registered your marriage at the Philippine Embassy in Jakarta, did they ask you to have the akte nikah authenticated by the Ministry of Law and Ministry of Foreign Affairs?
ReplyDeleteHi there. No. At that time,there was no authentication coming from those ministries. They only asked for the original Akte Nikah with English translation. Unfortunately, the Phil Embassy requires for authentication nowadays. Thanks!
DeleteHello there..i want to ask i am a filipino and i am married to a Indonesian and i have a plan to visit my family in philippines this week i want to ask if what can i show to the Immigration of the Philippines if im going back here again in Indonesia and my plane ticket is spounsored by my friend.thank you so much and godbless
ReplyDeleteHi. In my case I am using OFW/Overseas Employment Certificate (OEC) from POEA.
Delete1. If you are not an OFW here, I am assuming that you are using the IKUT istri/ikut suami visa. This spouse visa should be enough to apply for MERP ( multiple entry/exit permits) in Indonesian Immigration.
2, If you have the multiple entry permits stamped on your passport, then you are supposed to be cleared for departure in the Philippines.
3. If you do not have the spouse visa yet, and you will be travelling as a tourist, I am assuming you have the Report of Marriage issued by the Philippine Embassy in Jakarta. This Report of Marriage allows you to get a marriage certificate from PSA. It might not be enough for departure clearance, but it might help. Just be truthful with the immigration in case they will question you.(That you are married with an Indonesian and you will come back here to arrange all your legal papers). Thanks and praying for a safe and trouble-free holiday travel.
hi good day.l'm filipina. and i have bf. and we both are plan to get married. what are does i need to bring? is cni. cenomar is same do i need to get also cni? from philippine embassy or. do i get through indonesia embassy for my cni?
ReplyDeletemy fiancee is from indonesia
ReplyDeleteHi there. I am so sorry for this overdue and very late reply. I hope all your legal documents went well. You get the CNI here in the Philippines embassy. We call it the LCCM. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteHi, I'm so grateful I saw your blog. I'm sorry to disturb you but I just want to ask something. I'm a filipina and a catholic, my boyfriend is indonesian, he's living in Bali and hes religion is Hindu. We're planning to get married nextyear in Bali, Indonesia. What are the things I have to do and documents I have to provide? Is it complicated? Because we are from different religion and country as well. And do you have any idea how much it will cost in provinding all the documents before marrying him? Please let me know, give me some piece of advice. I badly need your help 😔 thank you in advance
ReplyDeleteHi, there.
ReplyDeleteA. DOCUMENTS: For a start, you have to prepare your documents such as Birth Certificate and CENOMAR that is duly authenticated by DFA. After you have these 2 important documents, then you go to the Philippine Embassy to apply for a Certificate of No impediment (Legal Capacity to Contract Marriage). This Certificate of No Impediment is the important document that you have to present to the Civil Registry/ CAtatan Sipil of Indonesia.
B. FEES: This is an estimate breakdown of the processing of papers
a. Fee to get CENOMAR and Birth Ceritficate at PSA- PHP 155 + PHP 210, not including all transportation costs to process all the papers.
b. Authentication from DFA- PHP 100 per document (different fee if you want a travel agency to do the authentication for you)
C. DHL Courier Fee (Phils-Indonesia)- PHP 1,000
D. LCCM fee application- 475,000 rupiah (1700 PHP)
These are the government links that you can browse for documents:
https://www.psaserbilis.com.ph/Secure/PaymentInstructions.aspx
https://consular.dfa.gov.ph/
https://psa.gov.ph/
C. PROCESSING: It is not really complicated if all our documents are in order.
FOr your marriage ceremony, I guess Bali is more flexible. Since there are many foreigners there, many agencies can help you to process all. I knew a friend who arranged their marriage in BAli because they find it easier there. Please do let me know if you still have questions. You can do it! You've got one year to prepare.
Congrats po .. ahh maam I'm working po here sa Malaysia ngayon . Isa po akong filipino at GF ko ay Indonesian sa medan.. plano ko pong umi sa pinas at ano2x po ba ang mga requirements na dapat kunin ko sa pinas para dalhin sa indonesia.. don po kasi namin plano magpakasal.. pero baka sa pinas manirahan.. salamat po.
ReplyDeletesalamat, bale ang kakailanganin mo is CENOMAR tsaka Birth Certificate na naka red ribbon (authenticated ng DFA).Pagkatapos nyong makuha eto, pumunta kayo sa embassy sa jkarta para sa iba pang requirements na kakailanganin nyong ipakita sa Indonesian government. Eto po ang complete list:
ReplyDelete1. Duly accomplished Application form * (madodownload sa PH embassy in Jakarta website)
* The application form should be notarized. If notarized by an Indonesian notary public, the accomplished application form should be legalized by the two (2) Ministries in Indonesia (Ministry of Law and Human Rights and Ministry of Foreign Affairs).
If the applicant wishes to have the application form notarized at the Consular Section of the Philippine Embassy, personal appearance of the applicant and a notarial fee of IDR 412,500 are required.
2. Certificate of No Record of Marriage (CENOMAR) issued by the PSA and duly apostilled by DFA;
3. Birth Certificate issued by the PSA and duly apostilled by DFA;
4. Original and photocopy of Passport of the Filipino citizen
5. Photocopy of Passport/KTP of the foreign partner
6. 2 x 2 in inches individual photo taken against white background of the couple