Progress in Visa Processing

It's been 5 months since I've last written here! Whoa! I've decided to continue blogging about the steps on how to process marriage visa from scratch because I want to see my progress and so I would be able to look back on all the things I've done so I could be with my future husband! Anyway, we've completed all the requirements needed on his side..in Standesamt. There were additional requirements requested by Standesamt by the way, such as full body photo of myself, marriage contract of my parents, birth certificates of my siblings, and a few more. I sent it to my fiance through postal service (express) and he received it after a week. He then submitted the additional requirements to Standesamt last March 2014. He was charged €300 for the processing of our papers and was told to wait 3-4 months for the approval.

It was May 20, 2014 when I called the embassy to set up an appointment since I have the requirements on hand. (It took more than a month for my passport to be renewed even if I paid for express! Too much delays!) My interview is set on the 1st week of June..So I will be going to Manila in a few days! Hopefully everything goes well! That's it for now. I'll probably write another one when I get back from Manila and will talk about my experience during the interview, and CFO seminar as well! Til next time! Bye!

Translation of Documents

It's a long time since I've last written here. Almost 4 months!!! Well I've been busy and I waited for his birth certificate for months that's why I cannot proceed with the translation. Anyway, I've completed all of the requirements except for the sketch which I will print tomorrow. I'll just discuss the translation process for now. Here are the documents that need to be translated:
1. My Birth certificate
2. My fiancee's birth certificate (because he's Filipino and born in the Philippines)
3. Cenomar
4. Barangay certificate

I had my documents translated just via email. I scanned all my documents and sent it to the certified translator (should be recognized by the German Embassy). I deposited 50% of the total amount then they started working on the translation. It took about a week when they sent me the final draft. There were like 7 mistakes so I sent them the list of corrections and they sent me the revised draft the next day. I paid the remaining amount and they sent the documents through LBC. I thought everything is okay since I've paid for the full amount and then I received a call from one of their staffs that the quotation they sent me was incorrect. The birth certificate was 2 pages each so the charge supposedly is "per page". I really didn't know that it's per page since I thought all along that the charge was per document. They've already sent the documents when they informed me so I guess I don't have a choice but to pay the remaining amount. What an inconvenience! If I've known earlier, I should have chosen the much cheaper one. :(

So here's the rates:
1. Birth certificate (2 pages) - 1,200
2. His birth certificate (2 pages) - 1,200
3. CENOMAR - 600
4. Barangay certificate - 600
   Shipping fee : 300
All in all, it's 3,900.

I'll be sending the documents on Monday. Here's the rates (post office):
*Regular (3 weeks-1 month) - 420
*Express (1-2 weeks) - 1,270
---upto 250 grams---

I'm Working on It

So yesterday, I went to DHL and asked how much is the fee for authentication (red ribbon) of my birth certificate and CENOMAR. It's only 650php for both documents. I expected like 500 each. So this is better compared to travel agencies (where I've read in some posts they paid 1,900 per document, imagine that!) I think my fiancee's birth certificate doesn't need to be authenticated and besides I cannot process it myself anyway.

Then I went to the National Government Center and requested for a local birth certificate 'coz it's needed for the red ribbon. I paid 50 pesos.

I then went to SM and requested for NSO birth certificate and cenomar. For both documents, its 375 pesos. It will be released on the 21st.

And good thing I found the list of translators from the German Embassy website. I emailed like 7 of them and so far received 3 replies. One was 700/document, the other was 750/document and the other one was 600/document (650 for the barangay certificate). So I only replied to the less expensive one and I told her I will let her know if the documents are already on hand.

What's left to do:

1. Get birth certificate of my fiancee. (request should be made by his parent)

2. Get barangay clearance.

3. After getting all requirements by the 21st, scan and email to translator. and pay the fees.

4. Then have cenomar and birth authenticated through DHL.

5. Get certified copy of passport.

6. Prepare 3 pcs passport sized photos

7. Make and print sketch

That's it!!! Still so much to do but I'm positive I'm going to finish everything in a month, probably less. :)

Getting There

So these are the things I need to do:

1. Get birth certificate for him and for me. And CENOMAR for me.

2. Get Barangay Certificate. (yup registration certificate is the Barangay Clearance) as what I've read in internet sites.

3. Ask DHL or other travel agencies how much red ribbon costs. I need about 3 documents to be auhenticated by DFA.

  a. Birth certificate (mine)

  b. Birth certificate (his)

  c. CENOMAR

5. Ask how much is the translation from English to German. I need 4 documents to be translated.

  a. Birth cert (mine)

  b. Birth cert (his)

  c. CENOMAR

  d. Barangay certificate

6. Then I need to secure the other requirements:

  a. sketch

  b. 3 passport size photos (w/ name & DOB at the back)

I think that's it! Oh and about the certified copy of passport I think mine is incorrect coz DFA-Bacolod just stamped the photocopies of my passport. We'll see....but I think I'm getting to understand the requirements better...

Understanding Better

So I went to his dad's house yesterday and showed him the letter that was from Standesamt containing our requirements.

These are my takeaways from him: 

1. Only the birth certificate and CENOMAR should be authenticated by DFA Manila (red ribbon).

  In this case I will use a travel agency..I mean it would be cheaper I think..considering the roundtrip ticket (BCD-MNL, vice versa) plus hotel accomodations if I choose to process it myself..I heard documents will be released 3-4 days after processing..So a travel agency would be a much wiser choice.

2. According to his dad, I won't be needing an Affidavit for Parental Advice since by the time we get married, I'm already 25. But it was stated in the letter from ages 21-25 that a Parental Advice is necessary. So I don't know..I guess I'll follow his advice 'coz even if I secure the affidavit I don't know where to process it. (regional court, general console whattt????) So yeah..nevermind.

3. As for the Certified Copy of the Passport, I already have that and I hope it's correct.

4. Registration certificate..I'm not sure what this is..maybe like the voter's registration? or barangay clearance? or cedula? I'll make some research about this.

5. And lastly, I'll try to find a certified translator..I'll talk to my fiancee first which is better, if he'll be the one to have the documents translated there in Germany, or I'll have it translated here. Whichever's cheaper and easier would be the best choice.

So I'm not so confused anymore..I'll try to process whatever I can and we'll see what happens.