Clerical error on marriage certificate - will it be a problem?
Apr 12th 2018, 1:52 pm
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Clerical error on marriage certificate - will it be a problem?
Hi. My Filipina wife is about to apply for a UK Family visa to return to live there with me. I am British and have been working in the Philippines for the last two years, but have now have secured a job offer in the UK to commence in July. We got married in the Philippines earlier this year.
We have noticed that on the official marriage certificate, where it asks for my mother's maiden name it actually contains my mother's married name. I didn't notice this mistake earlier unfortunately and it would likely take at least 2 months to correct, which is then running late for the job offer I have in the UK if we have to wait that time to apply for the visa.
Having checked UK law it states that as long as the marriage is valid in the Philippines then it is considered valid in the UK. Having then checked Philippines laws on the subject, the mistake does not affect the validity of the marriage, as the marriage followed all applicable laws and process, and was carried out by an appropriate officer (Vice Mayor of that municipality). It is simply a clerical error.
My question is whether this is likely to cause a problem when an ECO is checking our documentation? (or would they recognise that it is a clerical error rather than material to the validity of the marriage?)
An option I have considered is asking the Vice Mayor that married us to sign an affidavit to state that the marriage followed all applicable laws and is therefore valid. I could then include that in our application pack along with the marriage certificate and potentially include a printed copy of the relevant Philippine law. Does anyone think this is a viable option?
We have noticed that on the official marriage certificate, where it asks for my mother's maiden name it actually contains my mother's married name. I didn't notice this mistake earlier unfortunately and it would likely take at least 2 months to correct, which is then running late for the job offer I have in the UK if we have to wait that time to apply for the visa.
Having checked UK law it states that as long as the marriage is valid in the Philippines then it is considered valid in the UK. Having then checked Philippines laws on the subject, the mistake does not affect the validity of the marriage, as the marriage followed all applicable laws and process, and was carried out by an appropriate officer (Vice Mayor of that municipality). It is simply a clerical error.
My question is whether this is likely to cause a problem when an ECO is checking our documentation? (or would they recognise that it is a clerical error rather than material to the validity of the marriage?)
An option I have considered is asking the Vice Mayor that married us to sign an affidavit to state that the marriage followed all applicable laws and is therefore valid. I could then include that in our application pack along with the marriage certificate and potentially include a printed copy of the relevant Philippine law. Does anyone think this is a viable option?
