Top 5 Reasons from actual cases

People often wonder why they should go through Judicial Recognition of Foreign Divorce.

After processing so many of these cases, several common reasons repeat over and over.

The outcome of a Recognition of Foreign Divorce are official Philippine documents showing that couple are divorced even under Philippine law. These documents are very, very useful in the below situations:

         1. Remarriage

2. Immigration

3. Register a new spouse as your legal spouse in the Philippines

4. Remove married name on passport

5. Property issues

Reason 1: Remarriage

You may need the document to remarry in the foreign country you live in.

Take Japan – one among several countries that require this.

A Filipina called from Japan saying she needed a Recognition of Foreign Divorce case.

She wanted to remarry and the Japanese government would only allow it after the case. The Japanese needed proof that she was legally single in her home country to provide a Japanese marriage license.

She went to the Philippine embassy to get advice. The Philippine embassy recommended that she go through the Recognition case and she ended up reaching out to us one Monday morning.

Reason 2: Immigration

Immigration is a very real reason people process this case.

Take a Norwegian man who married and divorced a Filipino woman.

Years later, he remarried another Filipina and the couple then prepared for her immigration to Norway.

But, before the Norwegian government would allow the 2^nd Filipino spouse to reside in Norway, it first required proof that the Norwegian divorce of the first marriage had been recognized under Philippine law.

We handled the case for the couple and the wife was able to travel abroad to start her new life there a few years ago.

Reason 3: Register a new spouse as your legal spouse in the Philippines

A Filipina married and divorced a European citizen.

She later remarried. She wanted her new spouse to be formally recognized by the Philippine government. She wanted him to legally identified as her spouse when they bought property or started a business.

But – the Philippine civil registry still recorded her as being married to her first spouse, and so she had to go through Recognition of Foreign Divorce and register her second marriage.

Completing the case allowed them to invest in property together.

Reason 4: Removing your former married name from your passport

“Do you mean,” said one client incredulously, “that just changing my name on my passport back to my maiden name means I have to go through judicial recognition of foreign divorce?”

“Yes,” I told her, “because the passport law will only allow reversion to your single name after proof that you are legally single.”

For those divorced abroad, the proof that our Department of Foreign Affairs requires is a Philippine court decision granting recognition of the divorce.

So – because she really wanted no reminder of her previous marriage – she decided to go through the case.

We went to trial, obtained a favorable judgment, and she now no longer has to carry her ex-husband’s last name.

Reason 5: Property

Say you, a Filipino, want to buy property in the Philippines.

You are now in a new relationship after your divorce from an Australian citizen.

You go to the bank to get a loan for the condo you want to buy.

The bank requires that your foreign divorce be legally recognized to provide financing.

The bank is doing this to be absolutely sure that your foreign spouse cannot make a claim on the property later on.

This can certainly happen and well, if it were me, I’d rather be safe than have problems down the line.

People contact us from all over to file a Recognition of Foreign Divorce Case only to realize that their situation might not be eligible for it.

An eligible case relies on ONE thing: at least one partner must be a non-Filipino at the time of the divorce.

Let’s go through a few examples. 

Example 1: A foreigner and a Filipino divorce: Eligible

If a foreigner and a Filipino divorce, they can have this foreign divorce recognized in the Philippines.

Example 2: A dual citizen and a Filipino divorce: Not Eligible

We’ll often have a dual citizen email us on recognizing his divorce from a Filipino.

If the dual citizenship is a citizen of a foreign country and the Philippines, then he must go through annulment instead. They are both Filipinos and can only end their marriage through annulment.

Example 3: A dual citizen and a dual citizen divorce: Not Eligible

We also may get inquiries from couples who are both dual citizens. For example, a couple who were both dual citizens of the Philippines and the United Kingdom when they divorced.

Years later, they settle in the Philippines and decide that it is time to recognize their foreign divorce so that they can clear their marriage record. They approach us for Recognition of Foreign Divorce. They are not eligible. They will have to go through annulment since they are both Filipinos.

Example 4: A former Filipino and a Filipino divorce

“Wait,” ask some, “What if my spouse was a former Filipino?” When a Filipino becomes a citizen of another country, the Philippines generally considers him have lost his Philippine citizenship. So that person is a foreigner and their foreign divorce will be eligible for recognition.

Remember though that one of you has to actually be a foreigner BEFORE the divorce.

If the change of citizenship happens AFTER your foreign divorce, then the divorce cannot be recognized and the marriage can only be dissolved through annulment in the Philippines.

You also must not have reacquired your Filipino citizenship before your divorce. The key is that at least one of you must be a non-Filipino at the time of the divorce.

So, the date when you become a foreign citizen is very important and determines whether you go through Annulment or Recognition of Foreign Divorce.

Requirement 1: Collect documents

Your lawyer will likely do an initial assessment before accepting the case.

He will look at the following documents:

        1. Marriage certificate or report of marriage if married abroad

2. Divorce decree

3. Proofs of citizenship

4. Foreign divorce law

5. Other documents as needed

He’ll do a more in-depth interview when you’ve decided to go through with the case.

This in-depth assessment will start with reviewing the documents you have. It will first check to make sure that the documents are accurate.

It will also check to see if the documents are admissible in courts in accordance with Philippine rules on Evidence.

(We sometimes get detail minded clients who ask about Philippine court rules on evidence. These can get very technical and involved. What you really need to know is that Philippine courts require evidence, particularly foreign documents, to be collected in accordance with our Rules of Court before they may be accepted as proof.

So, while you might have a document, needs to be vetted for compliance with Philippine requirements.)

Your lawyer might find a flaw in the translation of the document (yes, this has happened). Or he might find the document is incomplete or lacking. Or he might find the document has to go through further authentication.

In these situations, he’ll ask you or someone you know to collect the documents after giving detailed instructions. (He should and we do.)

Requirement 2: Testify or arrange for someone to testify

Your lawyer might ask you or a representative to testify. (One court out of the many, many cases that we have done required that they needed the petitioner herself to be the witness.)

The witness will prepare and coordinate with us. There have lately been changes to the Rules of Court which allow video conference testimony because of the COVID pandemic. This allows for a great deal more flexibility, particularly if the witness located outside the Philippines.

It’s important to work on this together and to get it done as smoothly as possible.

For in-depth information on the process, see this post: Recognition of Foreign Divorce – Process, Cost, Timeline