Judicial Recognition of a Foreign Divorce Decree

Divorce is not allowed in the Philippines and divorce secured anywhere by a Filipino is not recognized in this jurisdiction.We already have a number of discussions on this. In certain instances, however, a divorce validly secured abroad may be recognized here in the Philippines.

What are circumstances that would make Article (Family Code) applicable?

We have a basic discussion on Article 26 of the Family Code (see: Divorce and Annulment in the Philippines). Included in that discussion are the two elements that must be shown before the second paragraph of Article 26 is applied:

  • 1. There is a valid marriage that has been celebrated between a Filipino citizen and a foreigner; and
  • 2. A valid divorce is obtained abroad by the alien spouse capacitating him or her to remarry.

Is this provision applicable to former Filipinos?

Yes. A Filipino who loses his/her Philippine citizenship is treated as a foreigner-spouse for purposes of applying Article 26. [See Mixed marriages]

This law provides that the divorce must be secured by the foreigner-spouse. What if the foreigner-spouse continually maltreats the Filipino/Filipina spouse, isn’t it unfair that the Filipino/Filipina can’t initiate divorce?

Prior to the change in jurisprudence, the Filipino spouse cannot initiate the divorce proceedings even if he/she is maltreated by the alien spouse. notwithstanding the fact of being abused. It resulted to an unfair situation. [This reply has been updated in light of recent jurisprudence. See Mixed Marriages and Divorce: When One Spouse is a Foreigner, Divorce is Recognized even if Initiated by the Filipino Spouse]

If there’s already a divorce validly secured abroad (by the foreigner-spouse or the Filipino spouse who became a foreign citizen, losing his/her Filipino citizenship in the process), can the Filipino spouse immediately remarry?

No. The existence of a valid divorce decree does not automatically entitle the Filipino to remarry in the Philippines. The foreign divorce decree must be judicially recognized in the Philippines. This means that the proper action or petition must be filed in a Philippine court. For purposes of re-marriage, the divorce validly secured abroad is not automatically recognized here in the Philippines. [See: Process of Judicial Recognition of a Foreign Divorce Decree]

Isn’t it enough that I already forwarded the divorce decree to the Philippine Embassy (or the Department of Foreign Affairs) and the National Statistics Office (NSO)?

No. The foreign divorce decree must be recognized here in the Philippines — a process which can only be done through the courts.

Why should we waste money in filing a petition in court for the recognition of the divorce decree?

This is the requirement of law, unfortunately. The divorce decree must be proven, just like any fact, in court. The presentation of the divorce decree is insufficient. Proof of its authenticity and due execution must be presented. This necessarily entails proving the applicable laws of the jurisdiction where the foreigner-spouse is a national. One of the requirements under Article 26 is that the decree of divorce must be valid according to the national law of the foreigner. [See Process of Judicial Recognition of a Foreign Divorce Decree]

Atty.Fred

148 thoughts on “Judicial Recognition of a Foreign Divorce Decree

  1. joel

    hi there! i have a christian friend married in christian wedding and got separated, then the husband converted to muslim and file a divorce under the muslim law in the phils, in short they were divorce in muslim law (PD 1083), the NSO/LCRO recognized the Shari’ah Court decision of divorce and annotation appear to their marriage certificate from NSO. the question is, IS THE GUY BECAME SINGLE APPEAR TO HIS CENOMAR? and IS THE GUY CAN RE-MARRY TO A CHRISTIAN WOMAN AGAIN? pls help advise sir/ma’am..thank you very much.

    Reply
  2. Joy

    Do you know where i can get the Specific provision of Law statating that my divorce in the US was acknowledge and that both parties can re-marry.? please help thank you

    Reply
  3. juliet

    gusto ko pong malamn kong may bisa pa po ba ang divorce ng mga muslim kasi doon po ako nag file ng
    divorce at hanggang ngayon ay hindi pa rin na approve sa NSO ,pabalik balik lang ang aking papel, ako po ay ikinasal sa aking unang asawa sa civil rights

    Reply
  4. rhea

    hi atty fred,
    i am married to a japanese in 2005 and got separated that same year. i then had live in partner and had 2 kids with him. they are using their biological father’s surname. is it right? i havent heard anything from my ex husband since then, i sent him letters tho. what should i do to end my marriage with him? he is not replying to any of my letters. thank you.

    Reply
  5. terence m. katoh

    i am a filipina at japanese citizen po ang xhusband ko at 5yrs. na po kaming ng divorce…pwde po ba akong mgfile ng petition? ksi wala na pi kming contact ng xhusband ko at ang huling pag-uusap nmin ay nasabi nya na di nxa mkikialam sa annulment o khit na anong my kinalaman sa pgppwlang bisa ng kasal namin d2 sa pinas…

    Reply
  6. Joyce

    Dear Atty,

    I am a filipina. I was married to a singaporean in the philippines also in singapore. Last 2013 he filed a divorce. Now im married to a filipino here in singapore. We have a registy of marriage. How can we nulify our marraige certificate with my previous foreign husband. So i can re marry in the philippines?

    Reply
    1. Olive

      Hi joyce and atty.
      Regarding of your question we have the same issue. Im a filipina and i was married with a singaporean..our married is been declared in singapore embassy..by then i was divorce with him for almost 8 years and did know his whereabouts now.. My problem is im still using his family name until now and i wanted to get back my singleness status.. Do u know how? Do u have any idea? Can i share it to me?
      The reason why i want to get back my singleness is because i am already remarry to a perfect man and we have 1 baby girl now.. I cant able to used his family name because of the issue of my X HUSBAND..

      Your reply is much appreciated.. Thank u

  7. Lyn

    Hello. Regarding the procedure of Recognition of foreign divorce,magkano po ang mag file sa court? Will it take long?

    Reply
  8. emerald

    Hi atty. Fred, its my first to see this forum , i was searching online for the answer of my situation and i saw this thread thought i might get some advise too…
    I’d like to ask some advise , im a filipina and currently living in japan for 7yrs already and now i got divorced to my japanese husband , i went through the japan family court and our divorced was granted ,

    so now i have a new canadian citizen boyfriend he is living in winnipeg canada , and he wants to marry me but the thing is i still didn’t applied to get a recognition of divorced, and the questions that runs in my mind are ,
    Can i marry him there in canada even though i didn’t get my recognition of divorced?
    Can i marry him and process the recognition of divorced later on?
    Assuming If we got married there under canadian law and i didn’t get or process the recognition of divorced , what are the posibility of getting any problems on my part in the future?

    I hope you can advise and help me
    Thankyou

    Reply
  9. alex

    hi attorney. gusto ko lang po mgtanong tungkol sa fiance ko .. kung pwede na po qame mgpakasal ng d kailangan ng petition decree.. divorce na po sila sa japan ng date nyang asawa pero dto sila kinasal.. ok lang po ba un ..

    Reply

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