Find Romance: Relationships with Filipinas
Often am wondering the real reason why foreigners retiring in Philippines seek a Filipina bride or a Filipino husband. It is no longer rare that even women abroad seeks Filipino husbands already but let us stick to what is obvious that is foreigners seeking Filipina brides.
Why are they interested with a Filipina wife? I have asked this question to several expats here in our place and I listed below the most common answers:
- Filipinas are family oriented and are conservative.
- They are slim, beautiful and feminine.
- As partner, they are not demanding.
- Age difference is certainly not a problem to Filipinas (even if the age difference is more than 20 that is just fine with them).
- Because of the recommendations of their friends who have a married a Filipina.
These five answers is the most common and out of the five almost fifty percent of those who answered believe that Filipinas are family oriented and sticks to their tradition followed by beauty of course. So with that you now get the bigger picture why foreigners preferred Filipina wives.
They believe that Filipinas are family oriented and traditional which is the opposite of their women back home. Divorce is a common event in their country but in the Philippines divorce is not even accepted. There is no divorce in the Philippines and that is what they want. Unfortunately the great mistakes that some of these expats did is marrying their Filipina women for the wrong reasons. Getting married for the reasons above is not enough to keep and raise a happy family. Getting married to a Filipina just to avoid a feminist wife is doom to fail unless both of you decided to stick together and work it out in the end.
Are you sure you want a Filipina wife or Filipino husband? What is the best venue to find your special someone? Many Filipinas today find their love over the net or online. This is the last thing that you should do. The best place for you to find your love is through recommendations of friends. Perhaps you have a friend or your friend’s friend who is married to a Filipina. The wife can recommend someone from the Philippines to you. It is a good thing too because the Filipina who recommends you can stand for your character and even your income to the girls family.
Not only that, the Filipina wife can also vouch for the character of the girl to you. This decreases the risk of you ending up with gold diggers. Anywhere you go, you always find this kind of people and Philippines is no exception. Also, when time comes that you decide to visit your girl, your Filipina contact and her husband can help you and guide you with immigration documents and travel customs.
If you do not have any friend who is married to a Filipina then the next best venue for you is of course through correspondence but be very careful in choosing one. Make sure that the service only specializes in Filipinas. It will be great to know if the service is partly served by Filipinas or Filipinos. One thing that you need to keep away is services where they use Filipinas as sex objects. Filipinas who work for such services are in for the money only so keep out of such.
When searching for the right service, look for testimonials. If possible e-mail those people and see how they are doing. For sure they are just too happy to share with you their experiences. Be wary with any service that is operating within the Philippines. Mail-order brides are definitely illegal in the Philippines. There might be some operating but if you found one then just do not brag about it.
When you have chosen the right service for you then start writing not just one girl but several so you will have choices. Besides there is a possibility that the girl is responding to several guys too. So just enjoy getting to know and the rest is in your hands already.
A few things to remember though when communicating with your girl:
- Do not be too aggressive and talk about sex and virginity or anything pertains to that topic. Filipinas are conservative and they shun away of such especially if she just start communicating with you.
- Refrain from sending her money before you have exchange a dozen or more letters to her. Most Filipina women are honest and true but still there are a few that is not what they say they are, so be careful. Later on when you think you really know the girl, you have now the capacity to make an informed judgment.
- Write often. Communication is the best way for relationship to flourish. Also make sure to keep all letters or e-mails for future use since this will come handy when you decide to marry the girl.
- As early as possible try to learn the girl’s local language so get your own dictionary so that you know what your girl is telling you especially when she gets angry. Filipinas do have the tendency to talk in their native tongue whenever they are angry.
- If you are really convince with the relationship and is ready to get married then you will have to face the processing of documents and believe me, it sure will take all your patience but take heart and do not panic. Just persevere and be patient and you sure will accomplish what you have to do.
- It is time to meet her! Prepare for your travel to the Philippines and see her in person and see if the chemistry really exists between the two of you. It is either you propose or not.
Things to know about marriage in Philippines
You can have a civil wedding or a church wedding in the Philippines. But knowing the Filipino people who are religious and conservative they sure will choose the church wedding. Well, getting married in the Philippines is definitely much cheaper than getting married in your home country. The only disadvantage is that your family might not be able to attend the ceremony because of the distance. It will be expensive to fly them all in the Philippines just to attend the wedding.
One more thing that you should know is, in the Philippines expect to pay for almost everything. If in your place, the father of the bride must pay for the wedding; in the Philippines it is different. The tradition here is that the groom will have to pay for the wedding. Also expect a lot of fun and you will get to experience several Filipino wedding traditions like pinning pesos to the bride and groom as they dance, sharing a veil and many more.
Cost of a Traditional Wedding in the Philippines
Generally a wedding in the Philippines can cost around 50,000 php to 250,000 php depending on the kind of wedding your bride wants to have whether she wants a simple or extravagant wedding. This cost will cover the reception dinner and drinks, the venue rental for the wedding, flowers and decorations, wedding gown, the whole entourage dress, wedding rings and engagement rings, hotel accommodations, wedding cake, photographer/videographer, transportation and other things that you might have to spend for the wedding.
Getting Married in the Philippines
Getting married in the Philippines may require some time to prepare the documents and planning for the wedding. Whether you are a foreign or a Filipino still you need to comply with the documents needed. What are the basic requirements if you want to get married in the Philippines? The following are the basic requirements for a foreign and Filipino couple to marry in the Philippines;
- The couple should be at least eighteen years old.
- Parental consent is required for any partner under twenty-five years old.
- Both partners are not married.
- For a foreigner, a declaration of no objection to marry should be obtained from his embassy.
- A marriage permit is obtained.
- How to obtain a marriage permit?
A marriage permit is obtained in the municipality where the Filipino partner lives. As long as you submit the required documents then everything should go smoothly. It usually takes ten days before the permit will be release. The following documents are required to both partners;
For the Filipino. A birth certificate, non-occurrence statement from the National Marriage Registrar, a notarized statement from two persons that you are not married and this two person cannot be your family or relatives; If you are under 25 years old then a notarized statement from the parents is required stating that they do not object to the marriage and community tax proof.
For the Foreign National. Birth certificate which is legalized first by his country’s foreign affairs department and of course by the Philippine embassy; Official certificate which shows that you are not married and it should be duly legalized as the birth certificate; Statement from the foreign embassy stating that they do not object to the marriage; If you are under 25 then a notarized statement of consent from the parents should be obtained.
When all this required documents are submitted along with the filled-up form for the marriage permits then this application will be enlist in their books and will paste a public announcement in their board where everybody can read it. It takes ten days for your permit to be release. However before the permit will be released you might be required to attend two government seminars about marriage and family planning. At the culmination of the activity you will be given a certificate for completing it successfully. With this certificates, you can now get your marriage permit and you can start with your wedding plan.
What follows is the wedding. Just as mentioned above, you can have a civil or church wedding depending on what your bride and its family wants. In any case, you need to present your marriage permit and finally set the date. After the wedding you will have your Marriage Certificate which is very important especially if both of you decide to settle abroad. This Marriage Certificate should be fully legalized by National Statistics Office in Manila on security paper.