Becoming a Filipino citizen
Apparently, there are a number of aliens (as in, migrants TO the Philippines) who wish to embrace the Philippines as their country of citizenship. Pakistanis, Indians, Hong Kong residents and other nationals (even some Americans) pledged their allegiance to the Philippines at the last amnesty call a few years ago (and no, I’m not talking about the rebel amnesty program). Because there won’t be an amnestry invitation anytime soon, how does a foreign national become a Filipino citizen? Three ways, according to ManilaTimes.net:
The courts. Administrative proceedings apply to native-born persons of foreign parents; judicial proceedings are for foreigners who immigrated to the Philippines and have married a Filipino.
The Office of the Solicitor General. The OSG has the authority to review petitions for naturalization, and to approve or disapprove them. A unanimous vote on either action is required.The processing fee is P40,000. The petition also declares that the applicant shall not be a public charge, that he is serious about getting Filipino citizenship and shall renounce loyalty to the country he was a former subject of.
An act of Congress. Immigrants who have made significant contributions to Philippine society may also be sponsored by a congressman or senator for naturalization.
[Source: Manilatimes.net]
42 Comments
I am a natural born citizen of the United States of America. I married a natural born citizen of the Republic of the Philippines. She is a naturalized citizen of the USA, and is eligible to have dual citizenship according to Philippine law. I would also like to hold dual citizenship. As I understand it, I should be able to become a dual citizen through the judicial process of the Philippines, without having to renounce my USA citizenship, as seems to be a requirement if I was to go through the Office of the Solicitor General. Am I right? Thank you.
I am also curious to find out the answer to Roy’s question.
I am also eager to find out the answer to Roy’s question.
“Roy Sheaks
Nov 13, 2007 at 1:58 pm
I am a natural born citizen of the United States of America. I married a natural born citizen of the Republic of the Philippines. She is a naturalized citizen of the USA, and is eligible to have dual citizenship according to Philippine law. I would also like to hold dual citizenship. As I understand it, I should be able to become a dual citizen through the judicial process of the Philippines, without having to renounce my USA citizenship, as seems to be a requirement if I was to go through the Office of the Solicitor General. Am I right? Thank you.”
I’m chinese, and my husband is chinese too. I will born a baby here, what’s his/her nationality? can she/he be a filipino ciziten or chinese as we are? If he /she can’t get the natinality of philippines, can she/he get chinese nationality when back china
Im an American citizen and I married a Filipino and now we have a little girl I want to become a dual citizen so I can love there but not give up my right in the US how is this done
Is there someone here who is already a dual citizen?
I to am an american by birth, Im married to a Filipina and have a son born in the usa. How do I go about getting dual citizenship or is this possible without renouncing my US citizenship??????
i was born in phiippines and now im us citizen. my son was born in america. we are planing live in philippines, i know i can re-acquire my filipino citizenship right? but how about my son can he apply for filipino citizenship too without losing his US citizenship? we want to be dual citizen. laiza999@yahoo.com and also do u have any idea how much is the fee
@yueffe
Chinese citizen(your citizenship). The Philippines follow jus sanguinis
I am a filipina, I was born in the Philippines. . I lost my filipino citizen. Now I am willing to get dual citizen. I would like an advice where I can get my dual citizen or can I just send the form? or where I can get the form? how much is the fee?
My apologies for not getting the answers to you quickly. But for those asking if you, a foreign national, can acquire Filipino citizenship without losing your original citizenship (e.g., american)?
The answer is no. The law does not apply to the foreign spouse. He/she has the following option if he/she wishes to reside permanently in the Philippines: (a) apply for naturalization; (b) apply for a permanent resident visa.
Evelita, here are the procedures for applying –
http://www.gov.ph/faqs/dualcitizenship.asp
the fee is $50. You need to present proof of your natural-birth as a Filipino, and then submit a petition for dual citizenship to the Philippine Consulate / Embassy. Take the oath of allegiance to the Philippines. Then your information is submitted to the Bureau of Immigration who will issue you the certificate.
[...] been getting a lot of questions from our readers about becoming a Filipino citizen. Instead of posting my replies from the comments one by one, I will summarize the answers as posted [...]
I posted a more detailed response in this post. It answers most of the questions in this comment thread about dual citizenship, and what a foreign spouse can do to acquire filipino citizenship.
http://www.filipinasoul.com/becoming-a-filipino-citizen-part-2/
My grandparents were Chinese, who came to the Philippines. Both my parents were born in the Philippines years before the 1935 Philippine Constitution was established. Does this make my parents native born Filipinos and as such natural born Filipinos, too?
Grace –
I am curious as to the 2nd point you posted in your detailed document. I am referring to:
2. A child born of parents who are both Filipino citizens (living in a country such as the US) at the time of the child’s birth is a dual citizen. For example, Mr. and Mrs. Cruz are immigrants or have working visa in the US, you have a child born in the US. The child has dual citizenship under Philippine laws.
_____
I was born to 2 parents that immigrated to the U.S and I was born in the States. According to this rule under Philippine law I can be considered for filipino citizenship. My question is whether or not there is a time period in which this expires. If my parents were both filipino citizens but then gained U.S citizenship before I was born does this affect me and if I can gain duel citizenship? Thanks for you response in advance.
Hi! Can foreign national be filipino citizen?
What is the requirements & procedure?
I was born in the philippines. My mother was a Filipino citizen, my father was a naturalized american citizen when I was born. They say I took my father’s nationality which automatically made me an American citizen. I married a Filipino citizen and naturalized as American citizen. My wife just became a dual citizen. I there a way I can become a dual citizen and not relinquist my rights as an American citizen.
i have a daughter who is natural born us citizen
im planning to move back to philippines, im a filipino citizen
what will be the process for my daughter to stay longer in the philippines, for her studies, and does not have to pay penalty, over stay,etc…
i am a chinese national married to a filipino, and i applied for naturalization here in the philippines and my application was approved. Does that mean that i am now just a filipino? or can i still retain my chinese citizenship? is it still possible for me to have dual citizenship
how does a foreign national become a Filipino citizen? what are the qualifications for them?
what are the qualifiction of a foreigner to be a filipino citezen?
Im a natural born Filipino, migrated to Canada and looking forward to be a Canadian citizen, I am getting married to a guy who is a US citizen and soon will move to US. Is it possible for me to hold a Canadian, US citizenship and Philippine citizenship all at the same time?
i am a naturalized us citizen.a have a 20 yr old son in the phil.he has been there for the last 5 yrs.my question is will he be penalized for over staying?he was born in the phil.and got his us citizenship thru me when he was still a minor.
I am a filipino american my wife is also a filipino american. My parents were born in the philippines and became citizens of the USA before I was born because their fathers were in the US military (WWII). My father has been a dual citizen for more than 10 yrs. Can I get a dual citizenship even though i am a fil-am? thank u
Jo,
I think you are a dual citizen. Here’s an excerpt from one of our other posts –
Who are eligible for dual citizenships?
1. Those persons who have previously been Filipino citizens by birth and became naturalized citizens of another country.
2. A child born of parents who are both Filipino citizens (living in a country such as the US) at the time of the child’s birth is a dual citizen. For example, Mr. and Mrs. Cruz are immigrants
or have working visa in the US, you have a child born in the US. The child has dual citizenship under Philippine laws.
3. A child born of one parent who is a Filipino citizen and another parent who is a foreign national, and was born in the foreign state, is a dual citizen and entitled to apply for both Philippine and that foreign state’s passport.
http://www.filipinasoul.com/becoming-a-filipino-citizen-part-2/
Check with your lawyer to be sure, and what you must do to apply for it.
Is there lawyer’s in the USA that can process my papers or answer my questions for dual citizenship or do I have to go to the Philippines and get it done there. Note; I would like to know which lawyer’s I can go to in las vegas, nv area. Filipino preferred. Thanks
Hello. I live in the USA. Where can I go in the US to get my dual citizenship? Can fil-am get there dual citizenship in the USA or do we have to go back to the philippines to process dual citizenship.thanks
All my immediate family are now Canadian citizens, but my wife was born in the Philippines. Under a 2003 law my wife can pay a fee and swear an oath and she and our children can then be dual citizens of both Canada and the Philippines. (I’m not eligible and that’s ok).
However I’m told a former Canadian government employee cautioned her against going ahead with this procedure, as she apparently warned that if my wife and children are in the Philippines and some unjust government official (somewhat vague) puts our family in jail or ? that Canada can do nothing for us because the Philippines would recognize only Philipino citizenship. But if she was only a citizen of Canada, then she has some protection or immunity from the arbitrary actions of the powerful and corrupt. We are ordinary law-abiding people of no particular importance and I was surprised and disappointed at this advice, which my wife is carefully following. My oldest just turned 15, and I’m afraid that he will lose out on the opportunity to have permanent, inheritable, dual citizenship because of what may or may not be valid advice from a former Canadian government employee.
Please advise.
Thanks for your time.
my grandfather was a filipino who migrated to U.S.
my father is half filipino and half swedish born in the U.S.
can i get a dual citizenship through my grandfather’s filipino background or my father
Hi,
Im a natural born filipino but married to a moroccan lady 10 years ago, we have two sons who are also filipino citizens, We dont live in the philippines as im working here in the middle east thought we visited the country almost every year. My wife is eager to have her filipino citizenship for us to live in the philippines in the near future. We certainly know that we may have problems later on visas if in case that it will not be renewed on time or she might not be granted with permanent visa in the philippines which may land her on deportation process. Im scared to think of that matter as we both respect and love each other more on our beloved kids and certainly no one will allow his family to get disarray because of nationality problem. We already owns house and lot in the philippines and planning to do small business here. we are not a rich family who cannot afford a continues chances of visa,,,,,Please advice me if what are the procedures for me to aquire a citizenship for my wife..Our marriage is legitimate and our marriage contract is done according to “SHARIA LAW” our papers are clean but what shall i do????
i am filipino with american husband.How can i get dual citizenship for my son? how much would it be? and pls give me an idea in getting immigration visa
I a 62 year old U.S. citizen married a Philipna in the Philippines (Mar 2009), I returned back to the States, I wish to move to Philippines permanently, My income is a small VA pension. What do I should apply for (a) Naturalization or (b) Permanent Residency Visa?
If I apply for Naturalization what is the process and would that effect my VA pension?
If I apply for Permanent Residency Visa what are the requirements and the process?
Also what happens to my U.S. passport (I cant afford to make trips to the U.S.)?
Hopefully you can answer some of these questions via this website or thru my email? I am having difficulty finding anything out.
Im mixed race ,my late father is filipino and my mother is from west africa,i was born in africa but now live in europe with my european husband,i was told i can obtain a philippines citizen by taking an oath and paying some fee,is this correct? cos i still want to have some identity that connects with my late father origin. can anyone help by giving me details on how this works and lawyers that can help me with this plus i can travel to philipines if necessary.thanks,Eve
You know I read the post and have not heard anyone say why we as people have to jump thru all of these hoops to come and go from place to place. So I will tell you. It’s all about ownership of people and the tax money they summons us for each year, who belongs to who. It is not right, it has never been right, and as far as I can tell it will never be right.
im natural born philippine i’v would like become filipino citizen how and when
I am interested to know about Roy’s question,.(box 1),Thank you,Mark
I am a us citezen, my girlfriend of two years is in the fillipenes for college and I’m going there to visit I was wondering how long I can stay there I want to go for at least a month and a half. Is it possible for me to get citizenship without renouncing my u.s citizenship? Please get back to me as soon as possible.. thank you
Both of my parents are chinese but they are born and raised in the Philippines. My mom is already a naturalized citizen (she’s now a filipino citizen) but my dad is still chinese citizen.Im a chinese citizen(that is whats written in my birth certificate) but my 2 brothers are already filipino citizen since my mom was already a filipino citizen when they were born. Every year im paying a fee at the Immigration. i want to be a filipno citizen because im born and raised here. Im practically a filipino exept for what is written in my birth certificate. how can i be a filipino citizen?If i marry a filipino citizen will i became one?My boyfriend is filipino.why am i not a filipino citizen since i was born here?pls enlighten me on this matter.my aunts and uncles are also born here but until now they are not granted to be a filipino citizen. i need advice on this matter.
i am a british. i entered Phil more than maybe 15 yrs ago using tourist visa. i was maybe 12 by that time. my dad is also a british but i do not know where he is right now. Together with my dad, I also lost all my documents in London. My mom is a filipino citizen. I stayed here in the philippines, studied here, now working and paying taxes, sss, and everything. I married 3 yrs ago to a natural born Filipina. I married without the Cert of Legality to Contract a MArriage. I know the marriage is null and void. Am I right? I didn’t know that that time. I just did a research recently. What I wanna know is how can I be a Filipino citizen? Considering that my dad is missing and my mom is a Filipina. My only problem is I was born in London. Also my dad and mom were not married. Can I gain the citizenship of my mom? How? Can I get married to a Filipina? How? Pls email me. Also if you can help me get a lawyer about this, pls let me know asap. email me and ill give u my contact #.
it’s good to be a filipino..
I am a pure filipino citizens. sometimes i hate some people from other country ‘coz generally they are the root of whatsoever illegal transactions in our country. But then on the other side I am happy because they are also the root of discovery of our beautiful nature’s….