I’ve been ask several times for advise regarding marriage. I’ve exchanged emails with women whose boyfriends are Korean and are planning to get married. Let’s talk about the legal matters first. Let’s reserve the life of a married woman here in later posts.

Where are you getting married? Is it in the Philippines or in Korea? It doesn’t matter where you’re gonna get married, it’s important to plan ahead because the process takes time. First you’ll need to prepare the necessary documents. The following are based mainly on experience. It is recommended that you go to the relevant government offices for more information.

Getting married in the Philippines to a Korean. Apply for a marriage license. For the Filipina/o, you’ll need a birth certifcate issued by the NSO. If you’re 18-21, you’ll also need a Parents’ Consent or if you’re 21-25, a Parents’ Advice. Your Korean fiance needs to get a certificate of eligibility to contract marriage. He needs to go to the Korean Embassy in Makati and present his Korean Family Register and passport. There is a small service fee for this.

Apply for the marriage license in your city hall with the documents mentioned previously. You also have to attend a seminar for pre-marital counseling and family planning. Wait ten days before you can get your license. You can choose to have a church wedding, but that would include more paperwork. My husband and I chose not to have a church wedding since we have different religions (and I’m not too crazy about the Catholic wedding ceremony).

After getting married. Apply for a marriage certificate at the NSO (takes about two to three weeks during my time - two copies). Proceed to the Korean Embassy and apply for your visa. Both of you will have an interview with the consul. When we were there, we were told that interviews are only conducted on Tuesday and Thursday afternoon. However, my husband had to fly back to Korea ASAP to start on a new job. (He quit his previous job because he needed time for us to get married.)

When you apply for a visa after marriage, you’ll only need an invitation from your husband, marriage certificate, application form (with photo) and your passport. After the interview, your husband can go back to Korea (if necessary).

While waiting for the NSO certificate, attend the Guidance and Counseling Requirement at the CFO (Commission on Filipinos Overseas).

After getting your NSO marriage certificate, send it to your husband and ask him to translate it to Korean. He should have it registered at his “Dong Samuso” or “District office”. He should send you the family register. When you receive the family register, bring this together with the NSO marriage certificate to the Korean Embassy.

It will take about three days for you to get the visa. You will receive the F-2-1 visa or the temporary resident Korean spouse visa. Now, you still can’t leave for Korea. You have to register at the CFO (again?!). Present your GCC (guidance and counseling certificate) and other requirements found on the link above. This is the only time when you can finally leave the Philippines.

Make sure to dress to impress when you come to Korea. I made the mistake of dressing comfortably (jeans, shirt, Keds and no makeup). Make a good first impression to your in-laws. Bring (expensive) gifts if you can. Before you come to Korea, make sure to bring with you NSO copies of your birth and marriage certificates. You’ll need them in the future

Getting married in Korea. If you prefer to get married in Korea, you’ll need to prepare more documents. First, apply for a tourist visa so you can come here. Attend the Guidance and Counseling Requirement at the CFO (see link above).

Make sure you have the following documents before you leave (check with the DFA first or the Philippine Embassy in Seoul, as the following is just based on info from a friend who got married here):
- Birth certificate (NSO copy)
- CENOMAR (NSO certificate of no marriage - takes about two to three weeks)
- Parents’ Consent or Parents’ Advice
- CFO Guidance and Counseling Certificate (refer to the link above)

A friend had to present other documents when she got married here:
- Affidavit of Singleness (from the parents)
- Certificate of Singleness (from the barangay???)

Once here, apply for the Certificate of Single Status at the Philippine Embassy. Translate the document to Korean. Go to your fiance’s district office and apply for marriage there. You don’t need a ceremony at this point. Make sure that your name is added to the family register. (You’ll need this when you apply for a change on your visa). If your name is not there, you are not legally married and you won’t be able to apply for an F-2-1 visa!

There are two kinds of family register in Korea. The one where your name will appear (if you’re legally married) is called the 호적등본 “ho-jeok-deung-bon”. The other one is called 주민등본 “ju-min-deung-bon” but your name will not appear here until you get a Korean citizenship.