International dating — Philippines

Location map — Philippines — Philippines. Simplified location map — Natural Earth data, public domain.

The context

A very large overseas workforce, wide use of English, and one legal fact that shapes every relationship: divorce is not available to most Filipino citizens. Annulment exists, but it is slow, expensive and granted on narrow grounds.

Entering the country

Visa-free entry for many nationalities for a limited period, extendable locally. Passport validity of six months beyond stay is required.

Marrying in this country, proving it elsewhere

The local civil registrar issues the licence after a ten-day public posting. A Filipino partner provides a CENOMAR — a certificate of no marriage record — and a foreign partner must obtain a certificate of legal capacity to contract marriage from their embassy; where the embassy does not issue one, an affidavit is used instead, and acceptance varies by registrar. See civil marriage in the Philippines.

Getting there

Direct flights from the Gulf and across Asia; from Europe usually one connection. Typhoon season runs roughly June to November and disrupts domestic flights.

Customs and family

The veil, the cord and the arrhae — thirteen coins — are placed by sponsors, the ninong and ninang, who take a lasting role in the couple's life. See wedding customs in the Philippines.

Points to watch

A previous marriage is not easily undone

If your partner has been married before, establish exactly what their status is before making plans. A foreign divorce may be recognised in some circumstances, but the rules are narrow and require a court recognition proceeding.

Romance scams targeting foreign partners are a documented problem; the usual rules apply.
Check that the embassy issues a legal capacity certificate before travelling.

Two offences that distance does not erase

Travel changes nothing about these two rules. Sex tourism and any relationship with a minor are crimes here, and the law of your own state stays with you. Almost all states, for a sexual offence against a child, require neither that it be punishable locally nor a local complaint; you can therefore be prosecuted and tried at home, whatever the local law and whatever the local authorities do. See sexual offences committed abroad.

If you met online

The pattern of a romance scam is identical from one country to another. Feelings escalate fast, the person will not appear on video, money is asked for with urgency, and you are steered away from the platform. Hold to this rule here as anywhere: no money to anyone you have not met face to face. Someone genuine takes the video call, agrees to a public meeting and introduces you to relatives.

Spotting and reporting a romance scam — Philippines

The Philippines: the pages, section by section

The site has 35 other pages about this country, drawn from all of its sections, and they are collected in the list that follows.

Sexuality

Health

Advice

Marriage

Names

Names

Rights

Official sources and links

Your own foreign ministry's travel advice — read it before each departure: it also conditions your travel insurance. Official portals: United Kingdom · United States · Canada · Australia · New Zealand · Ireland
Your consular post there, or the one covering the country — civil status, marriage, emergencies; note the number before you go. Official directories: United Kingdom · United States · Canada · Australia · New Zealand · Ireland
World Health Organization — health recommendations by destination
Hague Conference on Private International Law — celebration and recognition of the validity of marriages

The complete dossier and its question pages

Getting married

What the local authority requires, the ceremony, and recognition at home.

Getting there, and what it costs

Flights, seasons, internal transport, cash, insurance and orders of magnitude.

Things to do together, and meeting the family

What to do together, the customs to respect, and the money question.

Visa and entry

The regime that applies

Most nationalities enter visa-free for thirty days, extendable locally in increments up to a considerable total — the Philippines is unusually flexible about long stays. Passport validity of six months beyond the intended stay is required, along with an onward or return ticket, which airlines check at boarding and immigration checks on arrival.

An electronic travel declaration must be submitted online in the seventy-two hours before arrival.

Extending, and the exit clearance

Extensions are obtained at a Bureau of Immigration office, and the process is routine. Note one detail that catches people out: anyone who has stayed more than six months needs an emigration clearance certificate before leaving the country. Obtain it in advance rather than at the airport.

Health and typhoons

No vaccinations compulsory from Europe; hepatitis A, typhoid and routine boosters advised, and dengue is present year-round. The typhoon season runs roughly June to November, peaking in the autumn, and it disrupts domestic flights and ferries regularly.

What to see

Islands, rice terraces and some of the best diving on earth — and a domestic flight between most of them.

Where to go

Palawan

El Nido and Coron for limestone karst, lagoons and wreck diving; the Puerto Princesa underground river is a World Heritage site. Consistently rated among the best islands in the world, and increasingly busy — go outside Holy Week. Five to seven days.

The Banaue and Batad rice terraces

Two thousand years old, carved into the Cordillera mountains and a World Heritage site. The bus from Manila is an overnight journey; the reward is a landscape unlike anywhere else in Asia.

Bohol and Cebu

The Chocolate Hills, tarsier sanctuaries, and the diving and whale sharks off Cebu. Five days.

Siargao

Surfing at Cloud 9, lagoons and a slower rhythm, with direct flights from Manila and Cebu. It has grown quickly but remains gentler than Boracay.

Vigan and the north

A World Heritage colonial town with cobbled streets and Spanish-era houses, plus Sagada's hanging coffins and the mountain province.

Manila

Intramuros, the walled Spanish city, the National Museum complex — free and excellent — and the food. Most visitors transit; a day and a half rewards those who stop.

Building the itinerary

Three stops a week, no more.