Howdy folks,
Construction on our house on Biliran Island began exactly one year ago today and it is basically finished. Needs the driveway poured which is in progress and we are one fire extinguisher shy of having the electric turned on.
All toys and vehicles stateside are sold, settlement on our Georgia house is July 20, flight to the Philippines is July 22 and 60 to 70 balikbayan boxes have been sent and most have arrived.
I have 10 days booked at a RedDoorz and plan A is to have our dog arrive on the 10th day but plan B is to have the dog dropped off at a friend in Las Pinas City. Hopefully after we clear quarantine we will have an opportunity to collect our dog and board her on one more 40 minute flight to Tacloban where my brother in law will pick us up in his L300 and whisk us away to Biliran Island where the dog and I will finish out our days.
Issues I haven't worked out yet. Return ticket, 'BI Travel Requirements' #11 "Who are exempt from the return ticket requirement?" "2. Former Filipinos and their dependents (immediate family members)". Seems clear enough since we will be availing of the balikbayan visa, but, I've also read that it is required even for balikbayans. Maybe I need to talk Delta but last time I tried to call the wait time was over 4 hours.
I just read today that in order for the spouse to avail of the balikbayan visa the marriage license must be "apostilled", that one has me scratching my head. Will our original Texas marriage license work? It has a few signatures and a stamp on the back.
Well that's basically the plan, comments and criticism welcome. Thanks for reading.
New Adventure
Have you lived here before? Be prepared to be scratching your head for a very long time.
First time living there. Bought the property 10 years ago with plans of some day building a house so I've been back and forth a few times. The barangay is the families home town going back many generations so my wife has deep roots there so I'll be well taken care of. I sometimes need a little watching.
Congratulations and welcome, Moondog. An "apostille" is certification by the relevant authority, for the type of document in question. In your case, your marriage certificate is a certification of marriage by your state or county. So it should be fine.
Hey thanks, one less thing!
Welcome to the forum Moon Dog. Hope your move goes well.
Cheers, Steve.
Actually I may have misled you Moondog. I did a little further reading and apparently some documents DO need to be apostilled if they are going to be used outside the US in countries which participate in that process. Philippines is one.
So I looked up State of Georgia, assuming you were married there. Found this link:
https://www.gsccca.org/notary-and-apost … nformation
Hey Moon dog, I arrived in the Ph last January and I had to have my marriage license "apostilled" and the embassy in Chicago had to explain it to me; it is a state issued letter that is attached to your marriage license, stating that this is a legal official document. I have since discovered that most countries only accept this as proof of a marriage. Anyway, good luck with your move. Mike
Thanks but I was actually married in Houston, Texas. Harris county.
When you are "Apostilled" the 1st time does that mean you have to be apostilled 11
more times? JOKE LANG!
Moon Dog wrote:First time living there. Bought the property 10 years ago with plans of some day building a house so I've been back and forth a few times. The barangay is the families home town going back many generations so my wife has deep roots there so I'll be well taken care of. I sometimes need a little watching.
I've been living here 13 years and I am still scratching my head. You can't change the culture so just go with the flow.
The part about getting the Marriage license "apostilled" is the Philippine equivalent of a U.S. Notarized document. My wife and I got lucky on that one. We had the original copy of the marriage certificate from when we were married in the Philippines.
I had the same question about getting a document "apostilled" when I was doing the paperwork for my SRRV visa. The lady I dealt with at the Philippine Retirement Authority office (PRA) in Angeles cleared it up for me. Turned out she was certified as an apostille authority.
Carl
I sent the marriage license, request for apostlle form, a return envelope and a check for $15 to Austin, TX. Hopefully it will be returned in time. I'll be working on the 13a visa when I get there. I already had the physical and they gave me the chest x-ray cd. My wife sent in the papers for dual citizenship back in April but that may not happen in time. I wonder if she can finish what she started in the Philippines are would she have to start all over again?
Hi Moon Dog. After we got married in the U.S. in November 2019 I applied for a 13-a visa there. To do it we had to first go through the process of getting a "Report of Marriage" from the Philippine embassy. That satisfied the Philippines that we were married. I got my visa and then, long story short, we moved to Tacloban in March 2021, in spite of the travel restrictions and extreme regulations and documentation. We began to build our house in May and it is now nearly complete.
Hi when you got 13-a visa what documents did you need that had to be apostle certified from the states? Thanks. Jim
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