The joint affidavit of continuous cohabitation, explained
It is the one genuinely new document required when you convert a probationary 13A to permanent, and it is the hardest thing in the whole process to find a clean template for. Here is what it must contain, a full sample, and how to get it notarised.
When you convert your probationary 13A to permanent status, the checklist is almost identical to the one you used the first time. The marriage certificate and your spouse’s birth certificate drop off. One document is added:
A joint affidavit of continuous cohabitation of the applicant and the petitioning spouse.
That is the entire description the Bureau gives you. No format, no sample, no guidance on wording. Search for a template and you land on document-sharing sites, downloading scanned affidavits of variable quality uploaded by strangers years ago. One such sample letter for this process has fourteen thousand views, which tells you how many people are hunting for it.
So here it is, plainly.
What the document actually is
A sworn statement, signed by both spouses and notarised, saying that you married on a specific date and have lived together continuously as husband and wife since then. It is the Bureau’s way of confirming that the marriage that got you the probationary visa is still a real, functioning marriage a year later.
That is all it is. It is not an interrogation, it does not require evidence attached to it, and it does not need to be long. Mine was a single page.
What it must contain
| Element | Why it is there |
|---|---|
| Both full legal names and nationalities | Identifies the affiants |
| Your shared home address | Establishes that you live at the same place |
| Date and place of the marriage | Ties the affidavit to your PSA marriage certificate |
| A statement of continuous cohabitation since that date | The substance of the document |
| A statement that the marriage is valid and subsisting | With no pending legal separation, annulment, or declaration of nullity |
| The purpose | In support of the application to amend the 13A from probationary to permanent |
| Both signatures with ID details | Affiants must be identifiable |
| Notarial acknowledgment block | Document, page, book and series numbers, completed by the notary |
A sample you can copy
Modelled on the one my own application used. Replace everything in brackets. Type it rather than handwriting it, then print two copies.
[PROVINCE OR CITY] ) S.S.
JOINT AFFIDAVIT OF CONTINUOUS COHABITATION
We, [PETITIONER FULL NAME], Filipino citizen, and [APPLICANT FULL NAME], [NATIONALITY] citizen, both of legal age, husband and wife, and residents of [COMPLETE ADDRESS], after having been duly sworn to in accordance with law, hereby depose and state:
1. That we were lawfully married on [MARRIAGE DATE] at [PLACE OF MARRIAGE], as evidenced by our Marriage Certificate issued by the Philippine Statistics Authority;
2. That from the date of our marriage up to the present, we have been living together continuously as husband and wife at our residence at [COMPLETE ADDRESS];
3. That our marriage remains valid and subsisting, and there is no pending case of legal separation, annulment, or declaration of nullity of marriage between us;
4. That we are executing this affidavit to attest to the truth of the foregoing and in support of the application of [APPLICANT FULL NAME] for the amendment of [his/her] 13(a) visa from probationary to permanent status.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, we have hereunto set our hands this [DAY] day of [MONTH], [YEAR], at [CITY OR MUNICIPALITY], Philippines.
_______________________________ _______________________________
[PETITIONER FULL NAME] [APPLICANT FULL NAME]
Affiant Affiant
[ID TYPE AND NUMBER] [PASSPORT OR ACR NUMBER]
SUBSCRIBED AND SWORN to before me this [DAY] day of [MONTH], [YEAR], at [CITY OR MUNICIPALITY], Philippines, affiants exhibiting to me their competent evidence of identity indicated above.
_______________________________
NOTARY PUBLIC
Doc. No. ______;
Page No. ______;
Book No. ______;
Series of ______.
The document, page, book and series numbers at the bottom are completed by the notary public, not by you. Leave them blank.
Getting it notarised
Any notary public in the Philippines can do this. It is a routine document and they will have seen dozens.
- Do not sign it in advance. Both of you sign in front of the notary. That is the entire point of an acknowledgment.
- Bring both IDs. The notary needs competent evidence of identity for both affiants: your passport, and her passport, national ID, or another valid government ID.
- Both spouses must attend. This is a joint affidavit; one person cannot swear it for two.
- Expect to pay a few hundred pesos. Rates vary by location.
- Do it before filing day, not on the way. Give yourself a day of margin.
Two things that are not required
A great deal of published guidance on the 13A conversion lists documents that were not on my accepted folder and are not on the official checklist. Worth knowing before you spend a week assembling things nobody asked for.
- Evidence attached to the affidavit. No photographs of the two of you, no utility bills in joint names, no lease agreement. The affidavit is the evidence; that is why it is sworn.
- An affidavit of support and guarantee, or proof of financial capacity. Neither appeared on the official checklist for either stage, and neither was in my accepted folder. If your office asks for something, provide it. Do not assemble it in advance because a blog post said so.
Where it goes in the folder
In my accepted conversion folder, the affidavit was the third document, after the letter to the Commissioner and the CGAF form, and before the passport photocopies. Rules that apply to everything in the folder:
- All capital letters on the forms, blue or black ink
- No staples, anywhere
- Bring your own correction tape, because corrections happen at the window
- Bring complete photocopy sets; the permanent stage at my office wanted four folders
The accompanying letter to the Commissioner is addressed to a named person, and Commissioners change with administrations. Sample letters circulating online are addressed to at least three different ones across recent years. Verify the current name on the Bureau’s directory of key officials before printing, and download the CGAF form fresh the week you file, since the revision number changes.
Get the free 13A document checklist
One page, both stages, every document with the lead times that actually matter, including the clearance that takes six weeks instead of three days.
Send me the checklist