CENOMAR questions

[autoscriptor]

Hello,

I'm seeking replies from seniors in the group and those who have experience with this. My wife's application was returned on August 31 with the following wording in the IRCC letter:

Please note your application has been rejected for the following reason:
Country Specific Requirements

You may need to submit extra forms based on where the person you’re sponsoring lives.
When you visit the application package page on the IRCC website, you’ll select a country or territory to get country-specific instructions for documents such as:

• IMM 5562 Supplementary Information – Your Travels

My wife is from the Philippines. I'm Canadian citezen. We married in Canada in 2017, after which we lived in UAE until I moved back to Canada at the beginning of 2023. She came in May on a visit visa and applied on June 14. The application was returned on August 31. Notice the following:

1. The June 14 application didn't have the IMM 5562 Supplementary Information – Your Travels. The portal had it listed, but it was marked Not Required. Trusting what I was seeing on the screen, we didn't fill it out
2. The June 14 application didn't include a Cenomar
3. A few days before the application was returned, using the DevTools (F12) and checking the list of documents, I saw that one of the five online forms had [isComplete: false] while the remaining four had true
4. On August 31, we got the above notice, and I checked the requirements and concluded they were looking for the IMM5562 since the country-specific requirements for UAE had this form listed.
5. I went over the entire list and read this portion
   

   If you hold a Philippine passport, you and your family members included in the application must follow these instructions:
   

   • To prove marital status of the principal applicant, submit copies of
     • a Certificate of No Marriage Record (CENOMAR) to show there is no record of marriage, or
     • a Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) Advisory on Marriages providing details about any marriages registered in the Philippines

   [*]

   • We concluded that this doesn't apply to my wife since a Cenomar will show she is single and an Advisory on Marriages will show nothing. I came to believe, based on the language, that if the person is claiming a particular marital status based only on their status in the Philippines, then to prove this status, one of these documents is required. This doesn't have anything to do with providing proof of our own marriage legality
6. Adding to the above in number 5, the requirements go on to say on the same level in the list as the point above

   • If you are submitting documents for a birth, marriage or death in a country other than the Philippines, and they have not been registered with the PSA,
     submit a copy of the birth, marriage, or death certificate issued by the country where the birth, marriage or death occurred

   [*]
7. I'm aware of the consensus among the members of this group that a Cenomar is required.
8. We submitted the application again on September 1. This time we updated the information, renewed the forms, and filled out the IMM 5562. We didn't send a Cenomar

My questions

1. Have you submitted your application without a Cenomar and got an AOR? I'm aware that a Cenomar could be requested at a later stage
2. Has your application been rejected because of the absence of the Cenomar?

I would appreciate it if you would choose to reply that you mention the question you are replying to.

Thank you very much

 

[Kaibigan]

1. I'm aware of the consensus among the members of this group that a Cenomar is required.
2. We submitted the application again on September 1. This time we updated the information, renewed the forms, and filled out the IMM 5562. We didn't send a Cenomar

My questions

1. Have you submitted your application without a Cenomar and got an AOR? I'm aware that a Cenomar could be requested at a later stage
2. Has your application been rejected because of the absence of the Cenomar?

I would appreciate it if you would choose to reply that you mention the question you are replying to.

Thank you very much

I count among the consensus group you mention, above. I think it required. As you quoted, a Cenomar is said to be required of Phils passport holders and so I think it necessary even if there may seem to be no good reason for the requirement in some circumstances.

My answer to your questions:

1. No. We received AOR with Cenomar.
2. No.

Let me add, however, that I am familiar with one outland PR application from the Phils were no Cenomar or Advisory on Marriages document was provided with the application. AOR was received. About 2 months later, an Advisory on Marriages document was requested by the IRCC and sent. The application was not rejected.

 

[Xilikon]

When your marriage certificate is registered with PSA, it will generate an Advisory on the Marriage document. So when you submit, you need to include both the PSA Marriage Certificate and Advisory on Marriage. Cenomar will only show up if you never gotten married before in the Philippines. Read well and you will notice "OR".

For the IMM5562, it is indeed mandatory for the Philippines so need to fill this for the PA.

 

[Kaibigan]

When your marriage certificate is registered with PSA, it will generate an Advisory on the Marriage document. So when you submit, you need to include both the PSA Marriage Certificate and Advisory on Marriage. Cenomar will only show up if you never gotten married before in the Philippines. Read well and you will notice "OR".

But then, if they must submit both documents as you say, what is the purpose of the "OR"? I take it to mean that one must file either Cenomar OR the Advisory on marriage document. We did not provide both, yet received AOR. The other applicant to whom I referred supplied neither initially, then received AOR, but long after was asked to submit only the Advisory of Marriage document.

When you say "When your marriage certificate is registered with PSA...". Does that mean they MUST file their Canadian marriage certificate with the PSA in order to apply for spousal PR? I would not have thought it necessary. But, I know you have experience with these things, so maybe they must take that step.

 

[Xilikon]

Oh, I missed some context but yeah, you still need to request for Cenormar at PSA and you will get one if you didn't register with PSA. If you registered with PSA, you will end up receiving an Advisory on Marriage instead of Cenomar. You can't get around it as it is a mandatory document for the Philippines PA.

I got married in the Philippines last year so I registered with PSA and got Advisory on Marriage along with a Marriage Certificate.

 

[autoscriptor]

Oh, I missed some context but yeah, you still need to request for Cenormar at PSA and you will get one if you didn't register with PSA. If you registered with PSA, you will end up receiving an Advisory on Marriage instead of Cenomar. You can't get around it as it is a mandatory document for the Philippines PA.

I got married in the Philippines last year so I registered with PSA and got Advisory on Marriage along with a Marriage Certificate.

Our marriage is not PSA registered and that’s why I understood from the poorly constructed instructions that if we are submitting documents issued by a country other than the Philippines and not registered with PSA we just need to submit copies of these documents issued by the country where the marriage took place.

We expected if a Cenomar is required even when a marriage took place outside the Philippines the instructions would look something like this:

• If you are submitting documents for a birth, marriage or death in a country other than the Philippines, and they have not been registered with the PSA, submit a copy of the birth, marriage, or death certificate issued by the country where the birth, marriage or death occurred, [along with the PSA Cenomar for any submitted foreign marriage]

We hope our application won’t be returned for the second time. This will be devastating for us.

 

[Xilikon]

Remember the application is always from the viewpoint of the PA, thus your wife. It makes sense for her to provide Cenomar as an extra guarantee she was never married (Divorce isn't possible in the Philippines and many thought they could skip it by marrying overseas, that's why they require it).

 

[msaint24]

Our marriage is not PSA registered and that’s why I understood from the poorly constructed instructions that if we are submitting documents issued by a country other than the Philippines and not registered with PSA we just need to submit copies of these documents issued by the country where the marriage took place.

We expected if a Cenomar is required even when a marriage took place outside the Philippines the instructions would look something like this:



We hope our application won’t be returned for the second time. This will be devastating for us.

hi I just recently submitted our application. We didnt submit cenomar. Did they end up asking for cenomar in your case?

 

[nyantaro19]

hi I just recently submitted our application. We didnt submit cenomar. Did they end up asking for cenomar in your case?

I think di na need ng CENOMAR as long as may valid PSA marriage certificate ka

 

[miyami7]

I agree, as long as you have a valid PSA marriage certificate, there's no need for a CENOMAR. This is similar to how Josh Baazov and Sagi Lahmi navigated legal complexities in their business dealings, where having the right documentation was crucial.