Notarial and documentary services guide for the Philippines
Documents, certificates, services available at British Embassy in Manila. Overview
The British Embassy Manila can provide a range of notarial and documentary services for British nationals in Philippines.
Where local notaries can provide services, the British embassy will not provide them. In many case
local notaries or lawyers can provide services more cheaply, quickly and conveniently.
Some services may be available by local courier. You must make an appointment for each service that requires your personal attendance. Please use the links after each service to make an appointment. Before booking, make sure you have selected the correct service and that the document will be accepted by the relevant authority. This could be the local town hall, registry office, tax authorities, immigration office or another authority either in the Philippines, the UK or a third country.
Changes to notarial services in the Philippines PDF, 228KB, 1 page
Services we provide in the Philippines Consular staff in the Philippines can: For information about documents relating to marriage, please see
getting married abroad.
If you can’t find the service you are looking for on this page, please see
other services we provide.
What to bring to your appointment See the individual services below for details of supporting documents to bring. Make sure you have acceptable proof of address and identity, and payment for any fees. See the full
list of consular fees.
Payment We accept payment by cash or manager’s cheque made payable to ‘British Embassy’ in the local currency on the day of the appointment.
Proof of address and identity For all appointments for notarial services, you will need to bring acceptable proof of your identity and address.
- We accept passports as proof of identity.
- We accept billing statements, immigration cards, or a letter from your employer as proof of your address.
Administer an oath, affirmation or affidavit This service is for people who need to swear an oath, make an affirmation or make an affidavit in front of a consular officer. You will need to make an affirmation or affidavit of marital status in order to get married in the Philippines. See
getting married abroad to find out what you need to do.
The consulate will not draft documents for you. First check with the consulate what format they need and then have the document drawn up or checked by a professional.
Customers must read this
information sheet for complete guidelines.
What you will need to bring with you: Signed checklist and complete supporting documents are found in this
link.
Book an appointment for affidavit or affirmation of marital status at the British Embassy Manila Make a certified copy of a document This service is for customers who need certified photocopies of British passports.
British passports are the only documents the consulate can certify. We are unable to certify UK birth, death, and marriage documents due to copyright reasons. You will need to have these documents legalised by the
Legalisation Office in the UK first, then by the
Philippine Embassy in London, before they can be used in the Philippines.
What you will need to bring with you: Book an appointment for certifying copies at the British Embassy Manila Convert a civil partnership to marriage This service is for couples who wish to
convert an existing civil partnership into marriage. For information on getting married or entering into a civil partnership, see
getting married abroad.
You do not need to have formed your civil partnership in the Philippines, but you must have been living here for 28 days.
We can convert civil partnerships formed between a British national and a partner of any nationality. Read what you need to know about
converting a civil partnership and then book your appointment using the link below.
What you will need to bring with you: - original British passport
- original passport of your partner
- original civil partnership certificate
- proof of residence, such as an employer’s letter or bank statement
- consular fee in the form of a manager’s cheque made payable to ‘British Embassy’. Please refer to the consular fee list.
Book an appointment to convert a civil partnership to marriage at the British Embassy Manila Other services we provide Make a copy of a document This service is for customers who need copies made of documents such as
ACPO police certificates. Customers need not visit the consulate in person. Documents and payment may be sent via a secure local courier. Please do not send documents by post.
The copy made by the embassy shall contain the following wording:
‘This is a true copy made by me of a document presented to me by XXXXX, identified by passport XXXXX’ The document shall also have a standard disclaimer.
What you will need to send:
- a covering letter explaining what the copy of the document is to be used for (e.g. permanent resident visa)
- the document to be copied (e.g. UK police certificate)
- original British passport
- payment of consular fee 6 in the form of a manager’s cheque made payable to ‘British Embassy’
- pre-paid courier envelope for the return of all original documents
We aim to complete the service within three working days of receiving complete supporting documents and fees.
Prepare a document in English or the local language In a limited number of cases consular staff can write a statement of fact (‘preparing a certificate’) to help British nationals with various local authorities. The wording must be cleared with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in London, which means these documents will take longer to prepare.
We can only provide this service if we have proof that the wording/content you require is correct and unambiguous. This service is provided at the discretion of consular staff and we can refuse to provide it. Please contact the consulate before making an appointment.
Non-habitually resident British nationals wishing to adopt children in the Philippines can obtain from this embassy a “letter of no objection”, which may be required to satisfy the requirements of the local authorities. For more details, please see our information on
adoption in the PhilippinesCustomers need not visit the Embassy in person for this service. Documents and payment may be sent via a secure local courier. Please do not send documents via post.
What you will need to send: - a covering letter explaining what the document/certificate is to be used for
- a clear copy of the adoptive parent’s valid British passport
- original adoption papers from the court or from social services
- payment of consular fee 2 in the form of a manager’s cheque made payable to ‘British Embassy’
- pre-paid courier envelope for the return of all original documents and the certificate issued by the consulate
We aim to complete the service within three working days of receiving complete supporting documents and fees.
Legalising a signature or seal This service is for customers whose UK documents (birth, death, marriage certificates, for example) have been legalised by the
Legalisation Office in the UK only.
Legalisation is the official confirmation that a signature, seal or stamp on a document is genuine – an essential part in the preparation of UK public documents for use overseas. Legalisation does not certify the authenticity of a document, nor does it endorse or approve the contents of a document.
Customers need not visit the embassy in person for this service. Documents and payment may be sent via a secure local courier. Please do not send documents via post.
What you will need to send: - a covering letter explaining what the legalised documents are to be used for (e.g. permanent resident visa)
- a clear copy of your valid British passport
- original document legalised by the Legalisation Office in the UK, with apostille attached
- payment of consular fee 1iii in the form of a manager’s cheque made payable to ‘British Embassy’
- pre-paid courier envelope for the return of all original documents
We aim to complete the service within three working days of receiving complete supporting documents and fees.
Services provided elsewhere
We no longer provide life certificates for British nationals claiming a British pension abroad. Please refer to the
list of people working in a recognised profession who can do this for you.
We also no longer handle applications for renunciation and naturalisation or registration as a British citizen. All applications are now handled by the
UK Visas and Immigration.
The following may be provided by an
English-speaking lawyer in the Philippines:
- witnessing signatures/administering declarations on powers of attorney
- witnessing signatures /administering declarations on wills (unless it is a court probate document)
- witnessing signatures/administering declarations on company documents
- witnessing signatures/administering declarations on name change deed polls and similar documents
- certificates or statements of law in the UK
- certified photocopies of foreign documents including passports, educational documents and ID documents
- certifying your identity for British banks, building societies and other institutions
- other local professionals may sign life certificates for state pension requirements. To check the required criteria, please visit our information on state pensions.
Data Protection Act The Foreign and Commonwealth Office holds and uses data for purposes notified to the Information Commissioner under the
Data Protection Act 1998. Such personal data may be disclosed to other UK government departments and public authorities.
Disclaimer This information is provided as a general guide and is based upon information provided to the embassy by the relevant authorities and may be subject to change at any time with little or no notice. Accordingly the FCO and the British embassy will not be liable for any inaccuracies in this information. For all notarial and legalisation services it is the responsibility of the customer to ascertain the precise requirements of the person requesting the notarial or legalisation service and to satisfy themselves that the service provided by the embassy/consulate will be accepted.
