Certificate of Eligibility
QUESTION 1
I want to call my two children who have now left the Philippines to Japan, and to live together with me in here. But, the Immigration Bureau does not accept this. How should I do or what shall I carry out to accept my request? I overheard that you, as an expert lawyer, could solve these problems when I asked many of my friends in our community.
Please give your wisdom and power to me, and help us.
ANSWER 1
I am so sorry I could not solve your case and other cases by telephone conversation only, but I can solve it only if you could consult with me in person at our office showing the materials (Ex: passports, residence card, birth/marriage certificates and etc.,)
(She visited our office 2 days later.) First, please explain me about your Identification including your children in more detail and show me the documents and certificates what you have now.
QUESTION 2
My name is Marylyn Agaton SABANGAN (*assumed name). I was born as a child of the Filipino father, Thomas P. SABANGAN and Filipino mother, Flora R. AGATON on March 28, 1975 in at Ermita Manila in the Philippines. I had been working in Japan as “entertainer” so often.
Then, I got married with Japanese “Hiroki KUDO” (hereafter called “KUDO”) with the formalities of the Republic of the Philippines on August 22, 1997, and gave birth the first son “John Sabangan KUDO” on June 18, 1998 and the second son “Michel Sabangan KUDO” on February 23, 2000 two years later at the said place. My son’s birth registrations were carried out to the Local Civil Registration Office in Las Piňas city where we were living, and the surnames were entitled their father’s name “KUDO”.
However, “KUDO” did not report and file his children’s birth with our marriage contract to the Japanese Embassy in Manila at all.
Then, as a result of that I strongly doubted his behavior and questioned closely, he confessed finally that he has already got married and having a family in Japan. It is exactly what is called plural marriage. Henceforth, upon this accident happened, I have been supporting and custodian my children after we lived in separate. Next year, I became acquainted in “Masao SATO (hereafter called “SATO” by the will of heaven, and carried out our marriage on April 18, 2003. Since there were bitter memories with “KUDO”, there was very much hesitation in marriage with Japanese, but “SATO” was good-natured, and also showed generosity that my children with whom blood is not connected are taken over and brought up them. Moreover, he presented me that he will adopt my children in the near future. However, we got divorce on May 20, 2011 finally since his women’s issues were revealed after our marriage life encountered the catastrophe about eight years later.
ATTY MIYOSHI’S RESPONSE:
When did you apply for the Certificate of Eligibility of you children to the Immigration and was denied it?
MARYLYN’S RESPONSE:
Although “SATO” also tried to correspond earnestly calling my children, all applications were denied, so I applied for them by myself after divorce. Although the applications for the certificate of eligibility about my children carried out four times in total until now, they were disapproved entirely as follows;
- Mar. 21, 2010
- Sep. 11, 2010
- Jun. 17, 2012
- Feb. 13, 2013
ATTY MIYOSHI’S RESPONSE:
Did you ask for the reason why the Immigration authority denied your children’s case?
MARYLYN’S RESPONSE:
No, I didn’t.
I know that I should inquire its reason and background to the authorities essentially each time when I received the notices of these disposals in principle. However, I was just in the case of having merely repeated the application of the same content in vain without any understanding of “Disapproval Notice” because I could not fully understand Japanese and was ignorance of law, etc.
ATTY MIYOSHI’S RESPONSE:
Now, you understood that you must inquiry and confirm what you pointed out it to the Immigration. So, why won’t you visit to the Immigration office to inquire the reason of denial showing the “Notice of Decision” even if you could not fully understand Japanese?
For your information, I am sure that your children’s case would have been denied by the following reasons based on your explanation and materials, which you showed me.
- The truth of the late registration for birth certificate of the children (named of “John Roy SABANGAN” and “Michel Roy SABANGAN”) in the explanatory data is strongly doubtful . Because, it is so hard to recognize the truth of it as there are unnatural and mysteriousness since the applicant (= I) signed on the signatures on these certificates in home country while you had been residing in Japan at that time.
- There is a difference between the name of their mother (“Chris Marylyn Agaton SABANGAN”) on the birth certificate concerning the children (named of “John Sabangan KUDO” and “Michel Sabangan KUDO”), and her name (“Marylyn Agaton SABANGAN”) on her birth certificate concerning their mother, then, it cannot recognize as the same person.
- There is no materials concerned about correction of name and other identification, in spite of that the explanatory data, as a rule, should be submitted from the authorities which has competent to testify the identification after the competent home authorities (Ex. Regional Trial Court etc.) examined and decided with justice.
- It is admitted that the annual income and amount of tax payment at the time of application are considering scarce to support your children.
MARYLYN’S RESPONSE:
I am so surprised to hear how you found out it. Yes, it’s exactly right. When I visited the Immigration office resolutely after first interview with you, the Immigration officer in charge explained me same reasons as you pointed out (=the above mentioned reason).
Then, how should I do from now on?
ATTY MIYOSHI’S RESPONSE:
First, you must find the Filipino lawyer in the Philippines, who is well expert in the law of registration and identification, and request to file your case referring to the correction and cancellation of certificates to the Regional Trial Court by yourself or through your family.
That is, you must file the following petitions to the Regional Trial Court through your lawyer:
- That the “Late Registration Birth Certificate” of the name “John Roy SABANGAN” and “Michel Roy SABANGAN”, which caused original disorder to this application, should be cancelled by order since the facts is not clear and unknown.
- That the arbitration referring to the difference of your first name such as “Chris” used on your baptismal certificate, “Marylyn” used on your birth certificate, “Chris Marylyn” used on your marriage certificate with “KUDO” and “Chris Marylyn” used on your children’s birth certificate (named of “John Sabangan KUDO” and “Michel Sabangan KUDO”).
That is, it is actually arbitration that these other names belongs to the same person as the name on a certificate of birth of ” Marylyn Agaton SABANGAN”, although it is surely admitted that there is a difference.
Then, the name of the mother on the birth certificate of “John Sabangan KUDO” and “Michel Sabangan KUDO” must be corrected from “Chris Marylyn” to “Marylyn”. Moreover, these corrections have been made and fixed by LCR and NSO based on the decision of the Regional Trial Court.
On the other hand, you should request “KUDO” for your children’s cognition through professional lawyer who has known well about law based on relative documents aforementioned, such as “RTC Decision” etc. the recognition facts were written in his family register after he completed his recognition of your sons.
Finally, referring to your “Maintenance Capability”, which is one of the reasons for disapproval, I am sure that you have no problem at all at preset since you are now working for TMC as full time worker and have been obtaining the annual income of a little more than 3,310,000 yen which is corresponding by about 3 times of the annual income at the time of disapproval decision.
I will create and make up the whole documents for the application as you trusted me, and am sure that your children’s case will be granted this time.
Office name: Miyoshi International Legal Counsel Office
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