Can you get annulment of your marriage in the Philippines even though you are married in the UK to a British man?

Although I am, admittedly, not familiar with Philippine Law, Divorce and Annulment are two entirely different legal processes. You probably can file for a divorce, but seriously doubt that you could have the marriage actually annulled. If your husband is not in the PI but is resident in the UK, it is not impossible, but it may prove somewhat more troublesome to comply with the legal steps.

Answer

Actually, you need to obtain an annulment if you want to do it right since your British marriage isn't valid because you are already legally married in the Philippines. Although you may go through life without it becoming known, your marital status could become an issue at any time, especially in the case of the death of your partner and your right to inheritance as his "spouse".


This is an extremely complicated legal question. You need expert legal advice since divorce is not available in the Philippines. In order to legally end a marriage in the Philippines there must be a court order declaring the marriage null and void. See the following for grounds for annulment and grounds for a declaration of nullity. Since you live in Britain you may have other options regarding divorce. See the related links for more information.

The grounds for annulment are:

• Lack of parental consent in certain circumstances
• Insanity at the time of the marriage
• Fraud
• Force, intimidation or undue influence
• Impotence
• Sexually transmitted disease at the time of the marriage

The grounds for a declaration of nullity are:

• Minority- below the age of consent
• Lack of authority of solemnizing officer
• Absence of marriage license
• bigamous or polygamous marriage
• Mistake in identity
• Failure to record an annulment
• Incestuous marriage
• Void by reason of public policy
• Psychological incapacity