Philippines Dual Citizenship Update
May 7, 2009
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Posted by dmihalia
As many of the readers know my wife took her Oath of Allegiance to the Republic of the Philippines yesterday, this finalizing her journey to obtain dual citizenship. The oath was given to what I would estimate 30-40 people at the Philippine Embassy in Washington, D.C. by Consul General Domingo Nolasco. There were people from all ages taking the oath yesterday. There were elderly couples, young people, and middle aged in attendance.
Prior to administering the oath the Consul General gave a break down of dual citizenship and answered questions from the people. Since some of the questions were asked and answered in Tagalog and I am only a beginning student of the language I will tell you what I understood from the lecture and questions. The most important thing he stressed is that the United States allows for dual or multi citizenships and will not take away US citizenship from dual citizens. In fact, he lets us know that if a child was born in the US to parents where one was a US citizen and one was a Filipino not naturalized yet that the child was automatically a dual citizen. The child would be a US citizen because of the US parent and a Philippine citizen because of the not naturalized parent, even though the child was born in the US. Another interesting matter discussed was income taxes with the Consul General stating that dual citizens do not have to pay income tax in the Philippines on income made in other countries only on income made in the Philippines.
Another question brought up and the main reason my wife did the dual citizenship is that there is no limit now on how long she can stay in the Philippines without leaving and that includes me as her husband too. Prior to dual citizenship she was required to leave after a one year stay. Also, she now can own a business 100% in the Philippines and can buy as much real estate as we can afford. She can vote in both the US and Philppines but if she ran for office in the Philippines she would be required to renounce any citizenships from other countries. There were other questions brought up but that’s all I can remember for now.
The only bad news we got was Philippine passports are only printed in the Philppines. This means that you have to either apply in the Philppines or go to an embassy in person and apply then wait for your passport to be sent to the embassy.
One last thing the Consul Genral wanted us to pass along was that they will be in the Atlanta Georgia area to give the oath sometime this month so if that is close to where you live prepare now to take the oath there. Contact the embassy at (202) 467-9300 for more information or visit their website.
Categories: Philippines General
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Congratulations to you and your wife for persevering. Also thanks for passing along some proper information from the “horse’s mouth” so to speak. In the years since the Dual Citizenship act was first passed, I have heard tons of bogus information, much of it passed around on blogs and in online groups with Filipino interests, The Consul General said most of what needed to be said, “if only” the rumor mongers would listen to accurate information rather than making up scare stories.
I know a number of foreigner/Filipino spouse couple where the former Filipino is denying him or herself the rights and privileges they were born with becuase of anti-dual citizen rumors. My wife wouldn’t even take up her US citizenship until she was sure there was a legal path to regain her Filipino citizenship, and I applaud her for staying true to her heritage.
One item of confusion … a former Filipino who chooses not to reacquire Filipino citizenship may stay, along with his or her spouse, in the Philippines as long as they choose to … no need to leave after a year … as a former-Filipino you are eligible for a 13g visa which allows permanent residency … so if for some reaon reacquiring is not for you, you and your spouse and your minor children can still live in the Philippines as long as you wish to.
Hi Dave
Yes it is nice to get some real info and not rumors but as I discussed with some people at the Embassy it would be great if they would offer information ahead of time rather than right before the oath.
Hi Dmihalia: My wife obtained her dual citizenship for exactly the same reasons you discussed above. We wanted to open a small business In Marinduque ( a beach resort and conference center), thus the business is registered in her name, not mine or a joint ownership. My wife has all the paper work for her Filipino dual citizenship, but I did not realized you need to go to the Philippines to get a Philippine passport. Are you sure you can not apply for Philippine passport in one of the Consul general offices here in US?
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i know you can apply for a phil. passport here in the u.s.. i have emailed and inquired about it and i was informed that after you take the dual citizenship oath, you may apply for phil. passport here at the u.s. embassy.
i would like to know though if someone can give me any idea how long the wait is from dual citizenship application submission until the oathtaking. i’d appreciate any info about this. thanks!
Hi Ima
Yes you can apply for the Phil passport here in the States but I believe the passport still has to be processed in the Philippines and takes up to 2 months to get back and then you have to make a trip to the Consulates office and get the pictures and all. But in the meantime you are allowed to use your dual citizenship certificate as a Phil passport. So if you are going there anyway it may be quicker to obtain the passport while in the Philippines. As far as how long for dual citizenship, I’ve heard as little as a couple weeks in some cases and a couple months in others depending on where you apply.