Australian Visa, Down Under Visa, Fiancee Visas, Philippines to Australia

One of the most common issues that Australian men have questions about in regards to getting visas for the women they want to bring to Australia - is the legal status of a prospective partner who is married.

Down Under Visa recently had a client contact us because he was concerned that an attorney in the Philippines had told him that he must get an annulment in the Philippines because he had married his estranged wife in the Philippines. This was going to take a very long time and cost an exorbitant amount.

No doubt, the attorney saw him coming and decided it was time to have his house renovated! Things like this do happen in Philippines, unfortunately.

There are some Filipinos who want to get married outside of the Philippines. Some do, and there is nothing wrong with this. However, if they think they are going to get a divorce out of the country, it is not going to happen. There is no divorce in the Philippines, and leaving the country isn’t a legal loophole.

Art. 15 of the Civil Code states:

“Laws relating to family rights and duties or to the status, condition, and legal capacity of persons are binding upon citizens of the Philippines, even though living abroad.”

In other words, Filipinos, no matter what part of the world they are in – are bound by Philippine laws, including those of divorce. Therefore if your Filipina is married, it won’t matter where she gets the divorce, as it will be void or invalid in the Philippines.

However, here is the catch. This means a Filipino who is married to another Filipino. In the case of a Filipino citizen and a foreigner, it is different story.

Divorce decrees secured outside the Philippines are recognized in certain instances.

Article 26 (Paragraph 2) of the Family Code says:

All marriages solemnized outside the Philippines, in accordance with the laws in force in the country where they were solemnized, and valid there as such, shall also be valid in this country, except those prohibited under Articles 35 (1), (4), (5) and (6), 3637 and 38. (17a)

Where a marriage between a Filipino citizen and a foreigner is validly celebrated and a divorce is thereafter validly obtained abroad by the alien spouse capacitating him or her to remarry, the Filipino spouse shall have capacity to remarry under Philippine law. (As amended by Executive Order 227)

Just to make this clear - Philippines Law recognizes overseas divorces, and allows remarriage; however, this only applies to you as an Australian who needs a divorce.

Don’t be fooled by dishonest lawyers, as our client’s lawyer tried to do before we informed him of the truth. You will have to wait much longer than you need to. You can easily get a divorce in Australia, and it’s simple, quick, and inexpensive!

As stated in the first part of this blog - If you meet a Filipina who is already married to another Filipino, then she is bound by Philippine Law if she wants to end her marriage legally. This is by no means an easy thing to do.