Article 34 of the Marriage Certificate

I am a Canadian citizen and husband ko ay Filipino citizen currently residing sa phils. We got married last year and now I'm trying to sponsor him papunta to come to Canada. Yung marriage certificate namin says na we got married under Article 34 but hindi kami nagsama for more than 5 years. Pwede pa ba kami makakuha ng marriage license and pwede ba revise ang marriage certificate namin from Article 34 to having that marriage license #? Maraming salamat po sa tulong.

no, that cannot be revised.

Can we still apply for a marriage license?

Hi sakura101182,

Why do you want to apply for a marriage license? Is there someone questioning the validity of your marriage?

Under the law, No license shall be necessary for the marriage of a man and a woman who have lived together as husband and wife for at least five years and without any legal impediment to marry each other.

For more free legal info about family and marriage, you may visit www.domingo-law.com

Thank you for your prompt reply attyjoyce. The problem was we never cohabited for more than 5 years. The only reason Article 34 was done was because if we try to get the marriage license, I would have to stay in the Philippines for almost a month just to attend those seminars and I can't afford to stay in Philippines for almost 1 month. I'm just concerned because I will be sponsoring my husband to come to Canada and to submit our marriage certificate stating Article 34 might result in immigration to ask for more information. That's why I was thinking if we obtain a marriage license maybe it would make it ok. I'm just asking for an advice on how to approach this. Thanks so much for your input.

Hi sakura101182

It seems like you have nothing to worry about, after all your marriage is valid. I believe the Canadian embassy will just ask for Certification at the NSO to check/verify if your marriage certificate is authentic. If the NSO issued a certification that your marriage certificate is indeed authentic, I don’t think the embassy will further ask about the exemption of getting a marriage license (Article 34).

Just in case the embassy will make further inquiry, maybe they will just trace the years you have stayed in the Philippines, so if you have stayed in the Philippines for at least five years prior to the date of your marriage then that will suffice the exemption of getting a marriage license. So for now, check the stamps in your passport (going in and out the Philippines).

For more free legal info about family and marriage, you may visit www.domingo-law.com

Thank you attyjoyce for giving me your input. If I need more info, I will ask you again. I also asked an immigration consultant here in Canada (now retired but was an immigration consultant from Korea for over 7 years) and he just urged me to go ahead because having a marriage certificate is just one aspect of the sponsorship process. The other big part is trying to prove to immigration that we indeed love each other and we are real . I will go ahead and submit all my paperwork to them. I hope everything will go as planned. Thanks again attyjoyce for all your help .

23 OCTOBER 2013

Magandang Araw po.

Hi Atty,

MSG OF MY HUSBAND PO..

may mga tanong po ako.

para maihabol po namin ang pagpapakasal..
nag Apply po kami UNDER ARTICLE 34, declaring na nagsasama na kmi ng
5 years ng asawa ko.. kahit nasa 2 yrs palang kmi. dahil yun po Requirements para article 34. bago po ako sana umalis papuntang CANADA mapakasalan ko na cia.

sa Application ko po last year 2012 sa work permit SINGLE po status ko. hindi ko po nilagay yung COMMON-LAW RELATIONSHIP kht nagsasama napo kami. magkaka problema po kaya sa documents namin ng asawa ko? baka po pag dumating yung time na petisyonin ko cia, ma question po yung records ko sa application. di ko po kasi nilagay yung common-law.

Pacencia napo, paki bigyan lang po ako sagot. sa Friday (24 OCT.) po sana kmi haharap sa Mayor sa city hall para sa kasal, madalian nga po yun. Dahil sa sunday (27 OCT.) napo ang alis ko. hindi napo aabot kung nag apply kami ng para sa marriage license dahil 10 days daw po kasi yung process.

Thank you po.

Randy

23 October 2013

Ask po uli ng Asawa ko..

sa WORK PERMIT APPLICATION po sa Canada, sa Passport po single status nia.
before umalis nagpakasal under article 34, pano po nia mababago yung status from single to married  nia pagdating po ng canada, para po sana ma petition nia rin ako.. kung sakaling ok napo documents.

maraming salamat po.

Rose Anne.

same as above, your marriage will be considered valid until it is proven that you did not actually live together for five years