My Move to the Philippines

Dual Citizenship in the Philippines

On September 17, 2003 President Arroyo signed Republic Act 9225, Citizenship Retention and Re-acqusition Act of 2003 also known as the Dual Citizenship bill. This act declares that former natural born Filipino citizens who acguired foreign citizenship through naturalization are deemed not to have lost their Philippine citizenship.

The procedure for reacquiring/retaining their Philippine citizenship begins with proving he/she is a natural born Filipino by acquiring an NSO-authenicated copy of his or her birth certificate. The birth certificate is submitted with the Petition of Dual Citizenship and Issuance of Identification Certificate form and (3) 2″X2″ photos. These items are then turned in to a Philippine Consulate/Embassy with a copy of a valid ID. If married and the citizen wants to retain their married name a copy of the marriage certificate must be included. There is also a US $50 processing fee to be paid with submission. After turning in the forms you have to schedule an appointment to take the Philippine Oath of Allegiance by a consular officer. Foreign spouses of Filipino citizens cannot become citizens under this act but unmarried minor children under 18 years old retain the same rights as the dual citizen.

There are a few advantages that my wife and I can see to her obtaining dual citizenship. First, with her being a Filipino citizen/dual citizen I can stay longer without a visa because I will be eligible to enter the country as a Balikbayan. I would be able to stay for one year without a visa vice the 21 days I can now. Secondly she has no limits on the amount of land/real estate she can own.

There is a government website that answers just about every question you would have on this act and it can be accessed at http://www.gov.ph/faqs/dualcitizenship.asp . So what do you think? Are there any disadvantages of getting dual citizenship or do you see other advantages that I missed?