Our ROM Ceremony

Pre-ceremony

On the actual day, we arrived at JPN Putrajaya about 8am. There were already three couples in front of us. When our number was called, we were seated at the counter for the officer to key in ours and the witnesses’ details such as I.C. No. and asked to check the details on the marriage certificate before the final printing. Thereafter, we were waiting for our ROM ceremony to take place. While waiting, I had my bestie to be my camerawoman to capture some ROM photos of ours together with my parents and relatives.

During the ceremony 

Time was well spent and after about an hour, it was our turn. We went into the ceremony room and the officer instructed us what to do, where to sit and to give her our I.C. and passport together with the witnesses’ I.C. for checking. I asked my parents to be our witnesses, which was perfectly fine. After all the checking, the ceremony started. Despite waiting for about an hour for the ROM, the ceremony itself took merely 15 minutes to finish. And again, we took some photos in the room and adjourned to the outdoors for photo-taking. 

While waiting for our turn...

Made good use of time LOL!

Post-ceremony : Photo-taking session

It was a brilliant decision having our ROM there since we could take photos with different backgrounds. The buildings and greenery there were so much different compared to other ROM offices. However, if you would have your marriage photos taken professionally, ROM photos might not be unnecessary to you. As we are still uncertain whether we would want to have proper wedding shooting with wedding gowns and suits, ROM in Putrajaya would then be a better option for us.

Absolutely love these photos taken outdoors~

Why Having Our ROM in Putrajaya?

After much research done obtaining information on the related sites / the respective offices and reading posts shared by FSSG (Foreign Spouses Support Group), though JPN Jalan Duta is so much nearer to our house and my I.C. address is W. Persekutuan, we eventually opted for JPN Putrajaya.

A trip to Putrajaya is a must regardless of which JPN we choose

For us to have ROM in JPN Jalan Duta, we were required to make a trip to JPN Putrajaya to obtain a marriage form together with an official letter issued by JPN Putrajaya, and then send them back to JPN Jalan Duta in order to register there. However, by having ROM in JPN Putrajaya, we could get the form straight without the need of the official letter, then got every document checked, signed and submitted. It would save the trouble going back and forth choosing JPN Jalan Duta.

Preparation of documents: Time and trouble saving

I personally felt that though Putrajaya is relatively far, we could easily get things done. With the thought that we might miss out some details to be done for the documentation, choosing JPN Putrajaya seemed to be more secure since all related offices are nearby, so that missing details could be rectified more quickly. Well, the only downside was the ROM ceremony would be carried out there, and our family and friends needed to make a further trip there.

All in all, we do not regret choosing JPN Putrajaya, but in fact, are glad to have done there as we went around taking some amazing photos. Afterall, Putrajaya is one of the tourist attractions, isn’t it?

Preparation of Documents for Registration of Marriage (ROM) with a Polish Husband

Disclaimers:

(1) This blog is solely written for the purpose of experience sharing. It is not deemed to be any form of legal advice.

(2) As our ROM was in March 2019, the latest requirement of documents and fees may differ now, kindly check with the respective office for the latest update. Fees may be different on a case-by-case basis.

(3) My husband came to KL with me holding a 90-day visa as a tourist. Hence, the application process / documents are likely to be different from those are holding a student / working visa and wish to register for marriage in Malaysia.

Step 1: Inquiring about what you need

In February 2019, a few weeks after flying back from the U.K., we were planning for our ROM. We were thinking whether to register our marriage in JPN Jalan Duta (10-min trip from our house) or JPN Putrajaya (about an-hour trip). We were uncertain as it seemed that registering in Putrajaya would be much easier after much research done reading some online posts shared by foreign spouses (and we ended up choosing Putrajaya, for the reasons, please read Why Having Our ROM in Putrajaya?). To be sure, we made a trip to JPN Jalan Duta to inquire about the documents needed to apply for ROM. We were given some information to do the necessary.

The checklist we obtained back in February 2019.
Kindly ignore my scribbles and crosses on the list. 

Step 2: Getting ready of the TWO most important documents - Translated (if need) and certified

Before heading to any JPN to apply for ROM, TWO documents must be obtained / translated (if needed) and certified.

1. Foreign Spouse’s Letter of Single Status

2. Foreign Spouse’s Birth Certificate – original and photocopy

**Both documents are to be certified by the embassy (Poland Embassy, in my husband’s case) and the Ministry of Foreign Affair.

As the above documents of my husband are in the Polish language which we obtained in Poland in early January, we got them translated and certified by the Polish Embassy in KL. With the original and translated documents, we then went to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Putrajaya in February to get the documents certified. We paid RM40 for the two documents certified, it took us about an hour to get things done.

Despite the fact that it was about 11am, we naively thought that we could proceed to JPN to submit the documents for ROM since these two offices are near to each other. Unfortunately, when we arrived at JPN, we were told that the number tickets had finished, the officer advised us to re-visit JPN on the other day in the early morning.

Step 3: Fulfilling all the requirements / documents and reaching Putrajaya at dawn

Following the officer's advice, we reached a lot earlier a few days later to submit the documents. Upon submission, we were required to have the below documents.

1. Foreign Spouse’s Letter of Single Status – translated and certified by the Embassy and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs

2. Foreign Spouse’s Birth Certificate – original and photocopy - translated and certified by the Embassy and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs

3. Foreign Spouse’s Passport – original and photocopy

4. Malaysian Spouse’s Birth Certificate – original and photocopy

5. Malaysian Spouse’s I.C. – original and photocopy

6. Passport-sized photos for both spouses

7. Form (Malay Language) – It was given after presenting our documents at the queue.

**Foreign spouse must reside in Malaysia for at least 7 days (based on the date stamped on the passport) before the submission of documents.

Before the submission, we got the application form filled. However, it was in Malay language and that was a part which required a translator to sign together with the foreign spouse who does not understand the Malay language. As such, we were taught to go to the Court (the Federal Court, 5-min walking distance from JPN Putrajaya) to look for a certified translator. They offer translation in Chinese, Malay and English. It took only 5 minutes for the translator to explain to my husband in English and both signed on the form and the fee was RM30.

After we had submitted the above documents and duly signed form attached with passport photos, we were given the dates to choose (20 days after the submission date), and of course, we picked the earliest availability then paid RM30. We were told that on the ROM actual day, we needed to be there as earlier as we could since the ROM was carried out on a first-come, first-served basis, thus reaching there earlier would be better. 

Final step: Getting prepared for the fateful day to come

We were given a confirmation letter with the ROM date and some reminders below.

1. Formal attire (T-shirt, jeans and slippers are not allowed)

2. Spouses’ I.C. and passport (original and photocopy)

3. Two witnesses aged 21 or above with their I.C. (original and photocopy), one for each spouse

Basically, this is our documentation preparation and submission process before the actual day. I would say it is not difficult but requires time, planning, travelling, checking and a lot of patience. Last but not least, I would like to thank FSSG (Foreign Spouses Support Group) for providing me tremendous information and guidance on how to go through the tedious process.