Re-Registration of Marriage in Malaysia

Putra Jaya (2016)

Before one can apply for a spouse visa in Malaysia, your wedding must be re-registered in Malaysia in not more than 6 months, or else you will be fined a certain amount which you will soon be regreting about.

In my case, I am a Filipino and married to a Malaysian. We first took our wedding in the Philippines. The procedures were a bit tiring and expensive.  The Embassy of Malaysia in Makati, Philippines was a great help, especially with that smiley Filipino guy in that embassy. He was very helpful.

Anyway, going back to the re-registration, we made sure that we prepared our documents before our flight back to Malaysia. We prepared the following:

a. Marriage cert obtained from the National Statistics Office (NSO) in my hometown in Baguio City, Philippines

b. Birth Certificate of the Flipino spouse obtained from the NSO from the spouse's residence in the Philippines

c. Red Ribboned marriage cert issued by the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) in Manila, Philippines

d. Red Ribboned Filipino spouse birth cert issued by DFA in Manila, Philippines

e. Authenticated Red Ribboned Marriage cert by the Embassy of Malaysia Consular in the Philippines

f. Authenticated Red Ribboned Birth Cert of Filipino spouse by the Embassy of Malaysia Consular in the Philippines

Take note that the documents stated above was processed you a minimum of 3-5 working days, depending on how you process your document to the mentioned three offices in Manila, Philippines - NSO, DFA, and the Malaysian Embassy in Makati. Better to know the addresses of these offices so that you will be guided accordingly. Taking taxi is not the best way. Authentication in the Embassy of Malaysia is PHP 300 per document.  Make sure to know all the routes and bus lines, especially around Pasay and Makati. It will eat your budget around Manila. Other expenses include food, mineral water, and bus fare.

So, since we have completed all the requirements from these offices in Manila, Philippines, I as the Filipino spouse, had to get my Single Visa Entry in Malaysia while processing the document. One month is not enough for you to process your document. I was given a three month tourist visa by the Embassy of Malaysia in the Philippines. It was only PHP 550, then  my wife had to give her IC number and address as my sponsor to be checked by the consular.

As we touched down in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, we needed to photocopy the immigration chop of our passport when we exited the Philippines and immigration chop when we entered  Malaysia. You also need to  keep your boarding pass to make sure that you will not be questioned by Jabatan Pendaftaran Negara (JPN). The photocopy of your boarding pass is also part of the requirements by JPN.

Before we went to JPN, we went to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Malaysia in Putrajaya  to re-authenticate our Red Ribboned Marriage Cert and my Birth Certificate as a Filipino spouse. That cost me about RM20 per document.

After collecting our documents from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Malaysia, my dad in law drove us immediately to JPN. Please note that Putrajaya is a very wide place. Transportation is a must. 

Putra Jaya 2016

We went straight ahead to JPN to submit our re-registration form. Before that, my mum in law already gave us the form, that's why we just filled the document and presented the document to the JPN officer. During the submission, all documents were carefully checked by the JPN officer. She was very  friendly  and was able to assist us on the requirements needed. The application form must be certified  by the Commissioner on Oath and must be signed by a court lawyer for the declaration of interest to make sure that the non-Malaysian spouse understood what he/she had signed in the form. Note that the form was written in Bahasa.

So we went to the Palace of Justice for the translation purposes and also for the acquisition of signature by the Commissioner on Oath. We spent RM12  for the translator and RM4 for the Commissioner on Oath.

We submitted all the forms to JPN for the re-registration and it was processed on that day. We also got the Marriage cert on that day with RM20 for two copies (one for the husband and one for the wife).

Please note that when re-registering, you must wear proper clothes. No mini-skirt, short pants, sandals or slippers. Make sure that all your documents are prepared so that your transaction will be smoothly done.

For our case, we were so blessed that our in laws accompanied us in the re-registration of our marriage. They went up to KL all the way from Johor Bahru to assist us in the processing of our marriage cert. Vehicle is also a necessity because going to JPN via public transport is a bit of a hassle. So better to get your car to immediately reach JPN at the right time and also to some offices that you may need to go your documents.