Picture for illustrative purposes only. ARCHIVE

Dubai-based lawyer Barney Almazar answers the most common questions regarding your legal options in various cases related to living and working in the UAE.

A reader asks: I'm a Filipina who was married to a British national. After two years of marriage, he filed for divorce in the UK, and it was granted. Now I’m living in Dubai and have met someone new. We want to get married. Am I allowed to remarry under Philippine law even if the divorce wasn’t filed in the Philippines? And is it legal for me to remarry here in Dubai? Atty. Barney says: A foreign divorce decree—like the one granted to your British husband—does not automatically allow you to remarry in the Philippines. Under Article 26(2) of the Family Code, a Filipino married to a foreigner may remarry only after a Philippine court recognizes the foreign divorce. This means you must file a Petition for Judicial Recognition of Foreign Judgment in the Philippines. Once approved, the court’s decision will be recorded with the Local Civil Registrar, and your marital status will officially change from "married" to "single"—allowing you to remarry. In the UAE, foreign divorce decrees are recognized as valid, especially if issued by a competent foreign court and properly attested. As such, a Filipino who is divorced abroad can legally remarry in the UAE without prior recognition from a Philippine court. However, while your UAE marriage will be valid in the UAE and internationally, it will not be recognized in the Philippines unless your prior divorce is first recognized by a Philippine court.
This column also appears in the Expat Media Special Edition magazine. Do you have a question for Attorney Barney? Contact him at barney@gulflaw.info or know more about him here. Barney Almazar is a director at Gulf Law in the UAE, Philippines, UK and Portugal. He is a member of the Philippine Bar and holds a UAE legal consultancy license. He is listed by Thomsom Reuters as one of the Super 50 lawyers in the Middle East and North Africa. Asian Legal Business has ranked him as top lawyer in the Philippines, Southeast Asia and Middle East.
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