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Family Law

<p>Recognition of Foreign Divorce Decree in the Philippines requires a court case to recognize a valid foreign divorce between a Filipino and a foreigner. It allows you to correct your Philippine marriage record to reflect the divorce.</p>
<p>There are a number of myths about Foreign&nbsp;<a href="https://lawyerphilippines.org/12-faqs-divorce-in-the-philippines/">Divorce in the Philippines</a>. My article&nbsp;<a href="https://lawyerphilippines.org/recognition-foreign-divorce-myths-misunderstandings-foreigners-regarding-process/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Recognition of Foreign Divorce Myths</a>&nbsp;covers nine of them. It is worth reading especially if you have heard different things from different people on the subject.</p>
<p>Recognizing the Divorce&nbsp; Decree in the Philippines is possible regardless of whether the divorce was obtained by the Filipino or by the foreigner.</p>
<p>The requirement for Recognition of Foreign Divorce is just that at least one of the Spouses was a non-Filipino at the time of the divorce.</p>
<p>This follows from the second paragraph of&nbsp;<strong>Article 26</strong>&nbsp;of the&nbsp;<strong>Family Code of the Philippines</strong>:</p>
<p><em>&ldquo;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.&rdquo;</em></p>
<p>If you need to discuss a Recognition of Foreign&nbsp;<a href="https://lawyerphilippines.org/12-faqs-divorce-in-the-philippines/">Divorce in the Philippines</a>&nbsp;case or issue&nbsp;<a href="https://lawyerphilippines.org/contact-us/%20">contact us here</a></p>

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<p>In the&nbsp;<a href="link: https://lawphil.net/executive/execord/eo1987/eo_209_1987.html">Family code, Article 26, Paragraph 2</a>,&nbsp;provides the basis for the recognition of foreign divorce.&nbsp;</p>
<p>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).&nbsp;</p>
<p>This is the legal basis for being able to recognize divorces between a Filipino and a foreigner.&nbsp;</p>
<p>If you read the law, you might be a little confused. Is recognition of foreign divorce only applicable if the foreign spouse files the divorce?&nbsp;</p>
<p>In the landmark case of&nbsp;<a href="https://lawphil.net/judjuris/juri2018/apr2018/gr_221029_2018.html">Republic of the Philippines v. Manalo</a>, the Court en banc clarified the scope of paragraph 2, Article 26 of the Family Code to even cover instances where the divorce decree is obtained solely by the Filipino spouse. In subsequent cases, the Court noted that the prohibition against Filipinos participating in divorce proceedings will not protect our own nationals. Thus, the Court held that it does not matter if it is the Filipino spouse who acquired the decree of divorce abroad.</p>
<p>So, even if the Filipino spouse files for divorce, the foreign divorce can still be recognized so long as the divorce is between a Filipino and a foreigner.</p>
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<p>There are a number of reasons why filing a recognition of divorce case in the Philippines is important.</p>
<p>First, this allows you to correct your Philippine&nbsp;<a href="https://psa.gov.ph/civilregistration/requesting-civil-registry-document/marriage-certificate" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Marriage Certificate</a>&nbsp;so that&nbsp;<a href="https://lawyerphilippines.org/a-simpler-way-to-divide-conjugal-property/">Conjugal Property</a>&nbsp;Rights are given to the correct Spouse.</p>
<p>You will also be able to&nbsp;<a href="https://lawyerphilippines.org/how-can-a-divorced-filipina-revert-her-philippine-passport-to-her-maiden-name/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">correct your last name in your Philippine passport</a>.</p>
<p>And Philippine banks can issue loans to you without worrying about interference from the ex-spouse.</p>
<p>It is also specially important when you marry another Filipino or if you decide to live or retire in the Philippines. Without the case, there will be confusion as to which spouse should be given rights to conjugal property.</p>
<p>Lastly, recognizing the foreign decree of divorce may be needed to get a&nbsp;<a href="https://psa.gov.ph/civilregistration/requesting-civil-registry-document/cenomar" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Certificate of No Marriage</a>&nbsp;(CENOMAR) so that you can remarry in the Philippines. Without the case, you will still be considered married here.</p>
<p>Local Civil Registrars will only issue a marriage license when a CENOMAR can be obtained.</p>
<p>To check your Marriage Record, you can make a request with the Philippine Statistics Office for an Advisory on Marriage or a CENOMAR.</p>
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<p id="caption-attachment-3130" class="wp-caption-text">Philippine Certificate of No Marriage (CENOMAR)</p>
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<p>With your CENOMAR in hand, think about your situation.</p>
<p>Do you have property or assets in the Philippines?</p>
<p>Do you plan to live/retire in the Philippines or are remarrying another Filipino?</p>
<p>If so, Recognition of Foreign Divorce will help avoid legal issues concerning Properties, Legitimacy, Inheritance, Spousal Support and Marital Rights down the line.</p>
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Recognition of Foreign Divorce in the Philippines (Process)