Mag-nanay o mag-ate??? ECO-Friendly clients (mother and daughter) Jeannette and Jennessie just chillin' during mom's birthday! Happy Birthday Jeannette! In applications for a UK Fiancée Visa, both parties (the Filipina applicant and her British fiancee/sponsor) must be free to marry each other within six (6) months from arrival in the UK if the application is approved.
According to the rules, there must be "NO IMPEDIMENT" to the future marriage of the Filipina applicant and her British fiancée/sponsor at the time the application is filed, otherwise the application shall be automatically refused.
"NO IMPEDIMENT" here means that both parties must be legally free to marry each other and all previous marriages must have been divorced, dissolved or nullified, as the case may be, before the application for the UK Fiancée visa is filed.
Therefore even if the Filipina applicant for a UK Fiancée Visa has been separated from her Filipino husband for several decades already, if that husband is still alive and their marriage has not yet been decreed nullified by the Philippine courts, even if they have not been living together for the past several decades, the application for the UK Fiancée Visa will still be refused.
So in order for the application for the UK Fiancée Visa to be successful, it is a good idea for the parties to have a bit of knowledge regarding the law on the declaration of nullity of marriage under the Family Code of the Philippines. Of course the services of a lawyer is required for their marriage to be dissolved as this is a legal procedure.
WHAT ABOUT FILIPINA APPLICANTS FOR THE UK SPOUSE VISA WHO ARE STILL MARRIED BUT ARE ALSO ALREADY SEPARATED FROM THEIR HUSBANDS AND PLAN TO FILE A UK SPOUSE VISA?
ECO-Friendly would also like to inform our readers that knowledge of the rules on the declaration of nullity of marriage is also helpful to those planning to file for a UK Spouse visa sometime in the future but are still married to their Filipino husband who is still alive.
In the case of an application for a UK Spouse Visa, where the Filipina applicant who plans to file for the UK Spouse Visa here in the Philippines is also still married to her Filipino husband, they are also required to have the marriage dissolved by filing a declaration of nullity of marriage before the Filipina applicant can marry her British partner here in the Philippines.
This legal procedure is admittedly a very long, tedious and stressful process, but once the court having jurisdiction over the case issues a declaration of nullity of marriage, only then can the Filipina be allowed to marry her British boyfriend/sponsor and subsequently file for the UK Spouse Visa once they obtain a copy of their Certificate of Marriage duly issued by the PSA.
ECO-Friendly earlier discussed the Requisites of Marriage and enumerated the ESSENTIAL and FORMAL requisites of marriage which are grounds to file for a decree of nullity of marriage or annulment.
Articles 35, 36 and 37 of Chapter 3 of the Family Code of the Philippines provide the grounds for Void and Voidable Marriages:
Article 35 - The following marriages shall be void from the beginning:
(1) Those contracted by any party below eighteen years of age even with the consent of parents or guardians;
(2) Those solemnized by any person not legally authorized to perform marriages unless such marriages were contracted with either or both parties believing in good faith that the solemnizing officer had the legal authority to do so;
(3) Those solemnized without license, except those covered the preceding Chapter;
(4) Those bigamous or polygamous marriages not failing under Article 41;
(5) Those contracted through mistake of one contracting party as to the identity of the other; and
(6) Those subsequent marriages that are void under Article 53.
Article 36 - A marriage contracted by any party who, at the time of the celebration, was psychologically incapacitated to comply with the essential marital obligations of marriage, shall likewise be void even if such incapacity becomes manifest only after its solemnization. (As amended by Executive Order 227)
Article 37 - Marriages between the following are incestuous and void from the beginning, whether relationship between the parties be legitimate or illegitimate:
(1) Between ascendants and descendants of any degree; and
(2) Between brothers and sisters, whether of the full or half blood. (81a)
According to the UKVI rules, once the previous marriage of the Filipina who intends to marry her British partner/sponsor is dissolved by reason of a court order declaring the nullity of this previous marriage, she can then file for a UK Fiancée Visa immediately.
On the other hand, in the case of a Filipina who is still married to her Filipino husband but is planning to file an application for a UK Spouse Visa, after the court orders the declaration of the nullity of this marriage, the former can now marry her British partner/sponsor any time after the court order and later file for the UK Spouse Visa after their marriage.
According to the rules, there must be "NO IMPEDIMENT" to the future marriage of the Filipina applicant and her British fiancée/sponsor at the time the application is filed, otherwise the application shall be automatically refused.
"NO IMPEDIMENT" here means that both parties must be legally free to marry each other and all previous marriages must have been divorced, dissolved or nullified, as the case may be, before the application for the UK Fiancée visa is filed.
Therefore even if the Filipina applicant for a UK Fiancée Visa has been separated from her Filipino husband for several decades already, if that husband is still alive and their marriage has not yet been decreed nullified by the Philippine courts, even if they have not been living together for the past several decades, the application for the UK Fiancée Visa will still be refused.
So in order for the application for the UK Fiancée Visa to be successful, it is a good idea for the parties to have a bit of knowledge regarding the law on the declaration of nullity of marriage under the Family Code of the Philippines. Of course the services of a lawyer is required for their marriage to be dissolved as this is a legal procedure.
WHAT ABOUT FILIPINA APPLICANTS FOR THE UK SPOUSE VISA WHO ARE STILL MARRIED BUT ARE ALSO ALREADY SEPARATED FROM THEIR HUSBANDS AND PLAN TO FILE A UK SPOUSE VISA?
ECO-Friendly would also like to inform our readers that knowledge of the rules on the declaration of nullity of marriage is also helpful to those planning to file for a UK Spouse visa sometime in the future but are still married to their Filipino husband who is still alive.
In the case of an application for a UK Spouse Visa, where the Filipina applicant who plans to file for the UK Spouse Visa here in the Philippines is also still married to her Filipino husband, they are also required to have the marriage dissolved by filing a declaration of nullity of marriage before the Filipina applicant can marry her British partner here in the Philippines.
This legal procedure is admittedly a very long, tedious and stressful process, but once the court having jurisdiction over the case issues a declaration of nullity of marriage, only then can the Filipina be allowed to marry her British boyfriend/sponsor and subsequently file for the UK Spouse Visa once they obtain a copy of their Certificate of Marriage duly issued by the PSA.
ECO-Friendly earlier discussed the Requisites of Marriage and enumerated the ESSENTIAL and FORMAL requisites of marriage which are grounds to file for a decree of nullity of marriage or annulment.
Articles 35, 36 and 37 of Chapter 3 of the Family Code of the Philippines provide the grounds for Void and Voidable Marriages:
Article 35 - The following marriages shall be void from the beginning:
(1) Those contracted by any party below eighteen years of age even with the consent of parents or guardians;
(2) Those solemnized by any person not legally authorized to perform marriages unless such marriages were contracted with either or both parties believing in good faith that the solemnizing officer had the legal authority to do so;
(3) Those solemnized without license, except those covered the preceding Chapter;
(4) Those bigamous or polygamous marriages not failing under Article 41;
(5) Those contracted through mistake of one contracting party as to the identity of the other; and
(6) Those subsequent marriages that are void under Article 53.
Article 36 - A marriage contracted by any party who, at the time of the celebration, was psychologically incapacitated to comply with the essential marital obligations of marriage, shall likewise be void even if such incapacity becomes manifest only after its solemnization. (As amended by Executive Order 227)
Article 37 - Marriages between the following are incestuous and void from the beginning, whether relationship between the parties be legitimate or illegitimate:
(1) Between ascendants and descendants of any degree; and
(2) Between brothers and sisters, whether of the full or half blood. (81a)
According to the UKVI rules, once the previous marriage of the Filipina who intends to marry her British partner/sponsor is dissolved by reason of a court order declaring the nullity of this previous marriage, she can then file for a UK Fiancée Visa immediately.
On the other hand, in the case of a Filipina who is still married to her Filipino husband but is planning to file an application for a UK Spouse Visa, after the court orders the declaration of the nullity of this marriage, the former can now marry her British partner/sponsor any time after the court order and later file for the UK Spouse Visa after their marriage.
| For help in filing for a declaration of nullity of marriage and subsequently filing for a UK Fiancée Visa or UK Spouse Visa, please do not hesitate to contact us.  Click this ECO-Friendly contact box for your queries |  Mr. and Mrs. Paul and Jeannette Rayner celebrating the latter's birthday. Their love for each other still going strong after all these years in the UK! Stay safe in the UK guys! |
RSS Feed