Legitimation with either parent abroad.
During passport application at DFA, I was instructed to apply for the annotation
of my child' birth certificate regardless if the child is carrying the surname of the father.
Process this at the municipality where your child was born.
(This steps were conducted in Manila City Hall)
Legitimation process begins here.
★They will require you to submit the following:
1. LATEST LOCAL CERTIFIED TRUE COPY of the child.
(Ask the location because the Hall is too big and maze-like so keep on asking). When you're done filling up the form you will be interviewed then they will ask you to go to the tax payers room. After payment you will show the receipt to the Local Civil Registrar beside the cashier they will give you a claiming stub.
2. LATEST copy of MARRIAGE CONTRACT of parents.
- If issued in Manila, Certified true copy only.
- If issued outside Manila, NSO copy only.
3. LATEST copy of NO MARRIAGE of both parents from NSO(CENOMAR).
4. Original BAPTISMAL CERTIFICATE of the child.(Not the certificate the church provided after baptism, that's only a receipt,it must be claimed from the registrars office of the ]church.)
If the child has not been baptized, secure school record/document wherein the name of the father is declared and signature of the father is affixed.
4. Authenticated foreign documents(Affidavit of Legitimation) that has been re authenticated by DFA.
5. Cedula.
6. Photocopy of the valid ID of parents.
Upon inquiring(Manila City Hall), they gave me a copy of the requirements as listed above. The presence of both parents is required so after I told them that my spouse is abroad they instructed me to process additional documents.
A. They required my (OFW) spouse to prepare an authenticated
AFFIDAVIT OF LEGITIMATION which will be executed at the Embassy of the Philippines of that state/country.
●A consulate of the Philippine embassy will authenticate so have the OFW spouse prepared for the following documents:
•Affidavit of Legitimation form at least 2 copies (but only 1 is needed)
•Marriage Contract
•Birth Certificate
•Photocopy of valid ID
●I went to an attorney to make 2 copies of the Affidavit of Legitimation form,you will be required by the attorney to bring with you a copy of your marriage contract and birth certificate of the child for reference.
●Then I sent the forms,marriage contract and birth certificate to my spouse via air mail.
●After receiving, my spouse went to the consulate of the Philippine Embassy and signed them for authentication.
●Then sent them to me by mail.
B. I went to Manila City Hall to submit requirements.
Eventhough it has been authenticated abroad,the legitimation officer will require you to have it authenticated in DFA here.
C. At DFA, they asked for an authorization letter with signature and photocopy of my spouse's ID (preferably passport) with signature. Make sure the signatures on authorization letter and photocopy are the same as the ID(they're very strict about those).Then ask your spouse to fax the papers in or have them scanned and sent to you by email.
Give the documents(foreign document,authentication letter,photocopy of ID) to the DFA officer. There they will ask for your ID then you will pay for an authentication fee which depends on the processing time you prefer,after payment you will come back after a day/week.
TIP: On step A, ask your spouse to prepare an authorization letter with signature and photocopy of a valid ID so that after you receive the documents you can go to DFA and have the foreign documents re-authenticated before you submit them to Manila City Hall.
D. Submit the requirements to the legitimation officer. Once they have been evaluated, they will conduct an interview.
Interview schedule for legitimation(TUESDAY & WEDNESDAY ONLY).
After that, they will ask you to have the documents notarized which will cost 50php. Then you will pay at the tax payers office for the Legitimation with Paternity 540php. Then the civil registry officer will give a stub which indicates the date and time you will claim the annotated birth certificate(City Hall copy) which they forwarded to the NSO main office.
E. After claiming the documents at the City Hall, proceed to NSO main office. There you will fill out a form and pay at the cashier once you are done you can claim the annotated birth certificate by NSO that indicates that your child has been legitimated.
