Franco-Philippine Marriage
FR

Translated into English.

Original post
DA
Hi, the situation is complicated... My son would like to marry his girlfriend (married to a Filipino in the Philippines but separated for 14 years), who is from the Philippines... but... what complicates things is that she lives in Switzerland illegally—her visa expired after a divorce from a Swiss national, and she received a deportation order in 2022 but never left. Just to clarify, she’s been working in Switzerland for 10 years and pays Swiss taxes... Recently, she reapplied for a work visa to request residency rights so she could marry my son, but they refused, and she’s already received an order to leave the country... What can we do? We don’t know who to turn to
TC Tcvoyageur Veteran ·
Hello,

Understanding your message isn’t entirely clear. Given the situation is as complicated as you describe, it would help if the details were as clear as possible so we can give you the best advice.

What nationality is your son? French, I assume, but you don’t specify. What nationality is his girlfriend? Philippine, if I understood correctly, and currently living illegally in Switzerland. Is that right?

she reapplied for a work visa to request the right to stay

Where? I assume in Switzerland, but we’d need to be sure.

Where do they want to get married, and more importantly, where do they plan to settle after the wedding?

Since the laws are different in France and Switzerland, any advice you receive could be off the mark if it’s not based on the right country.

With the limited information you’ve provided and while waiting for your clarifications, the best advice I can give at this point (even if it’s probably hard to hear) would be: - either to consult a lawyer, - or for her to return to her home country to handle the paperwork. It’s extremely difficult to manage administrative procedures (and practically impossible to get a favorable outcome) in a country where you’re considered "illegal."
Thierry

On dit souvent "Fermez la porte, il fait froid dehors !" Mais une fois la porte fermée, il fait toujours aussi froid dehors.
DA Damange74 ·
Hi, he’s French, she’s Filipino. My son works in Switzerland but lives in France, and she works in Switzerland as a nanny. She had a visa that was canceled with an order to leave the country after their divorce (they were married in Switzerland, but she registered it in the Philippines). She never left, and now, 10 years after receiving that order to leave, she tried to regularize her status, but they just refused her, saying she didn’t respect the first decision. So, she has until April 28th...

My son proposed getting married in France, but the town hall is asking for a certificate of no prior marriage—something she can’t provide since she was already married, and in the Philippines, divorces are illegal... unless you pay 10,000 €, and even then, she’d be forced to return to the Philippines without any guarantee of being able to come back.

It’s really complicated.
TC Tcvoyageur Veteran ·
Hello,

If she isn't actually divorced and can never be (since the Philippines doesn’t recognize divorce), I really don’t see how she’ll be able to get married in France—or have her marriage recognized by France, even if she manages to marry a second time in another country.

My traveler knowledge and experience don’t go any further than this.

Your only hope here, in my opinion, is that a lawyer is logged in and reaches out to you.

Good luck
Thierry

On dit souvent "Fermez la porte, il fait froid dehors !" Mais une fois la porte fermée, il fait toujours aussi froid dehors.

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