While most people would go crazy for a garden or beach wedding, we went for the one in Asia’s concrete jungle.
Friends have been asking us why we opted to get married in Hong Kong. We have a lot of points to consider as an international couple. Time and recognition of the marriage in Europe were just a fraction of these considerations.
If you come to think of it… then.. Yeah, who would prefer to marry in a foreign country without family or friends?
It all boils down to the practicality a wedding in Hong Kong can bring to us, and perhaps to the many other couples who opted to go the same way. When I say practicality, I don’t mean CHEAP as Hong Kong isn’t the cheapest place to begin with. But, with the right information and proper planning, you can absolutely save some money, time, and spare yourself from the trouble of the never-ending paper trail that haunts those who wanted to marry a foreigner in the Philippines.
***** TIPS! *****
GET THAT PLANNER READY, SERIOUSLY.
Plan your schedules way ahead. This includes noting the public holidays of Hong Kong and the Philippines.
You have to maximize the “working days” you will be in Hong Kong. If there is a holiday on a weekday, count that as one day more for you to stay. (Mind the expenses too). The Philippine Consulate observes both the legal holidays of the Philippines and Hong Kong, and you will not want to stay there a day extra for nothing, right?
Ask for your preferred wedding schedule. Although there is no guarantee that your preferred schedule will be available, never hesitate to indicate your desired date and venue. Though the Marriage Registration Office will email you the time of the wedding, you can always ask for another schedule.
Never hesitate to request for some changes, and ask questions to the Marriage Registration Office. Really, they are efficient in addressing concerns and this is one of the things we love about Hong Kong! Absolutely no frills.
(For the list of documents needed to marry in Hong Kong, check out the previous post. )
***** Here is our recommended itinerary for your Hong Kong Wedding: *****
Of course, if you wish to stay longer for your honeymoon and go around a bit like we did, you can always stay as long as you wish. 🙂 But, if you are on a tight budget or schedule, a week is just enough to finish all the necessary paperwork. So, make use of all the available working days to get your documents done.
It should be noted that the Philippine Consulate is open from Sunday to Thursday. This is to cater the needs of the majority of the Filipino workers whose only chance to transact business at the Consulate is on Sundays.
*** Mein Mann would joke that I am a “master of plans”, but we were really happy at how efficient the tasks were done. 🙂
Getting married in the Philippines involves intricate paperwork, a waiting game, and the trouble with having to make countless trips to the government offices and courier service. We hope this can help you decide on whether a wedding in Hong Kong is an alternative to the lengthy process.
Did you also marry abroad? How did the process go?
BECOMING DEUTSCH 
Yes, I married abroad but to my husband’s home country through Marriage Visa. It took us about 7 months to have everything sorted out but I’m glad it all worked out in the end.
Congratulations on your wedding! 🙂
Thanks, Nina! We would have opted for the same route only if he lives in DE, but it is not the case. We’ll do it again in PH in the future, but for now, it’s practical to skip the complicated paperwork.
And oh, congratulations to you and your hubby. ☺
Hi! I find all your blogs very helpful to me. My partner and I are both OFW in different countries and we have no chance of going home to Manila fix all those needed documents, so I thought of HK. With your kind indulgence, I hope I can get in contact with if I have some questions. I would want to get answers based on your experience. Thank you so much.
Hello! Great to know it has been of help to you. Yes, the process in PH is quite exhausting. Drop a line should you have any questions.
Hi, is it necessary to go to the Marriage Registration Office 2 days before the Wedding Ceremony? I’m planning our itinerary and I’m finding a way to have the Wedding Ceremony on a Friday but still be able to fly out on a Sunday with our Report of Marriage from the Philippine Consulate.
Hello. Yes. It is a must to report to the Marriage Reg. Office as they will give you the appointment letter for the wedding venue (city hall or cotton tree)
Thanks a lot! I’ve just mailed all the required documents. Your blog is extremely helpful!
You’re welcome! Congratulations in advance! 🙂
Thank so much, Fraum! I received confirmation just now. I thought about updating you because your blog was my go-to page all throughout the process. It’s in my favorites. 🙂
One final question, how many people can we bring along apart from the 2 witnesses?
Yay! Great to hear that!! Congratulations in advance.
You can bring some people.. the wedding room can take in about 15 people.
Is this the one in Cotton Drive or City Hall?
City Hall.
Hi,
Thanks to you, now I can plan my Wed I don’t want to marry here in Philippines because of the docs need to comply..
Great to know that! I had the same relief when I found out about HK. 🙂
I’m planning to get married in Hong Kong next year but we’re only having a four day visit, is it possible to do all paperwork and oath in the. morning then have the ceremony in the afternoon?
Hi Kaye… I think 4 days is only good for reporting to IMMD 2 days before the wedding, to report the wedding (depending on what day) and fly back home. If it is possible, that would be a really tight sched.. running against the clock, so to say. Or if you wish to fly in the earliest time and fly out at the latest sched.
Hello maam, Pwedi po ba kung sa pinas nalang namin i report yung kasal namin sa hong kong?
No… you MUST report your marriage at the PH embassy/consulate in the country/territory where you got married.
Okay po maam , akala ko pwedi dito na sa pinas namin i report yung MC..ilang days po ba dapat asa hong kong na kami before the wedding?
Miss. Fraum, ano pa po ba yung paperworks 2days before wedding, At ano po yung oath?.
You will show the original copies of your submitted documents and your bf will take an oath (panunumpa) na everyrhing there was correct.
So isa lang yung manunumpa yung boyfriend ko lang ms. Fraum?
yes…. but you should be there.
Salamat po ms. Fraum.
Hi!i just wanna ask about my case. Im planning to hve a wedding in hk with my foriegner bf. but im married in philipines.but im aready divorced here in canada. Is it posible that we can marry in hk? Thank
I think you need to show your divorce papers / recognition of divorce.
Hi Ms. LADYVERGZ we have the same case my fiance is previously married in the Philippines and got divorced by a Canadian citizen wife and now got his Canadian citizen as well. Since their divorced is not acknowledge in the Philippines we are planning to get wed in HK this year for less hassle and fast processing. As for me I am single we hope that it will push through since we’ve been in a long distance for 7 yrs now.
Thank you so much Ms. Fraum for this blog your so generous to share all the details and now I am confident on what we should do. God bless.
Hello Elle! I am happy to know that it has been helpful. Getting married with a foreigner in PH is a loooooooong process.
Hello! Thanks for your blog! It is really helpful for me.
I want to ask, how about the inspection in the airport? Are they strict? How did you manage at the airport? Im sorry, it is my first time to go out of the country
Great to know it has been helpful! 🙂 Based on my experience, PH immigration was a lot stricter than that of HK. I have read stories of girls who got offloades coz they cannot convince the PH immig authorities. What you need is a copy of your round trip ticket, hotel reservation with or including your name, employment ID and certificate of employment (just in case they ask more). And oh.. I think it would be safer if you say you will have a vacation with your bf (not to get married) as some officers will ask for the CFO certificate.. Dress up smart and decent, and talk with confidence. 🙂
Heya! first i want to thank you for your blog as it really help me and bf a lot. We are planning to get married in hk and we already email the marriage registry about the docs we need and what we need to do. My question is about the Apostille of the MC. Coz i’m a little bit confused if we can get it day after we get the stamp? or do we have to wait a week? and is there a way so we can get it day after we had it stamp?
Thanks a lot for your reply.
Hey hey! Great to know it was helpful.. 🙂 As with the Apostille, you can have it sent to your address instead. They cannot release it right away. Happy planning! 🙂
Hallo Fraum! First, report of marriage in PH consulate can be claimed Sunday as stated on your sample itinerary. If the wedding falls on Wednesday, can we really claim it Sunday? I am asking this because I want to book airfare leaving HK at night and also Friday is Holiday. Second, the sample wedding day is Thursday and it is stated on the blog to get the Apostille Stamp for marriage certificate. In our case, will we get it Thursday because our Wedding day is Wednesday?
I am really following your sample itinerary. So I assume it is accurate before we book airfare. Thank you!
Hi there! Yes.. the itinerary here is accurate. Yep.. you can get the ROM on Sunday.. the consulate has office from Sunday to Thursday :). Just be sure to double check this year’s holidays in PH and HK so there will be no hassle on transactions with offices.
Hello Fraum, do i need an appointment to go to the marriage registry 2 days before the marriage or can i directly go there without an appointment? the same for the highcourt to get the appostille, do i need an appointment? and how did you get the witnesses? i think we could manage everything only getting two witnesses gives me a headache 😀
You will be required to go to the IMMD 2 days before the wedding date. For the rest of the offices, there is no appointment needed.
Hi! It’s a blessing finding this site. I have a question, though. If the Consulate is open only until Thursday, how did you get an apostille on a Friday? I have yet to email the registry but also planning potential dates to get married. Do we really have to report to the registry office 2 days prior to the wedding or is it ok to do that the day before the wedding itself? If we’re planning to wed on a Wednesday, would this itinerary work?
Monday – arrival in Hk
Tuesday – report to the registry
Wednesday – Wedding day, report marriage to Consulate, get an apostille
Thursday – Claim report of marriage
Friday – departure
Just wondering if we could complete everything in just 5 days. Would love to get your feedback on this. Thank you heaps!
Hello! Great to know it has been helpful. As for your question… (1) after reporting the marriage to the consulate.. they returned our original MC. We got back only on Sunday for the ROM and its attachments. (2) i believe the registry requires you to be there 2 days prior to your schedule. I am not sure if they will consider special cases like yours. (Should they do, please let us know).
As for your itinerary… yes.. it is possible to have it done in 5 days with a minor adjustment provided there are no holidays. Here’s what i think is possible:
Monday – arrival in Hk and report to registry (you can go anytime of the day)
Tuesday – FREE DAY
Wednesday – Wedding day, report marriage to Consulate, get an apostille
Thursday – Claim report of marriage
Friday – departure
I hope that helps! Happy planning! 🙂
Hi, Fraum! Thanks for the detailed feedback!
No worries! 🙂
Hi fraum
Kumusta po.
Balak po naming magpakasal sa hk po.
Ano po ang pinaka una nming dapat gawin?
Thanks a lot
Hi… please follow the link for more info. https://becomingdeutsch.wordpress.com/2016/05/03/getting-married-in-hong-kong-1-getting-started/
You can also check the series of posts for getting married in HK through the homepage/archives on this blog. 🙂
Hello Fraum, we now have our wedding date 🙂 thank you for your help.
Could you explain what you did after the marriage? did your husband needed to go to the german embassy to report the marriage? or did he do it in germany? and when did you aplly for the ehegatten nachzug?
Hi Timo! Great to hear that! After the marriage, we went only to PH consulate in HK to report. Our situation was different coz my husband used to live in the Netherlands, so he just brought our MC with Apostille to the city where he lived and that’s all. I guess you must go to Standesamt and change your status as soon as you get back in DE, and she has to get an appointment for Family Reunion Visa at the DE Embassy Manila while waiting for the PSA copy of your Report of marriage to be available. All the best!
Hey Fraum, here is an update 🙂 today we finally got married and went afterwards to the Philippines consulate. Tomorrow we will go to the high court and get the apostill. Thank you so much for your help and your detailed explanations on this site, it helped us a lot.
Best wishes to both of you and thanks for the update! 🙂 great to hear it has been helpful to you.