CITIZENSHIP

Filipino Citizenship

The following are considered natural-born Filipinos under the 1987 Philippine Constitution:

  1. A person who, at the time of his/her birth, has at least one Filipino parent,

  2. A person born to a Filipino mother before 17 January 1973 who elected Philippine citizenship upon reaching the age of majority (21 years old), and,

  3. Those who were born under the 1935 and 1973 Philippine Constitutions to Filipino parents.

In other words:

Natural-born Filipino citizens are citizens of the Philippines from birth without having to perform any act to acquire or perfect their Philippine citizenship.

If they are born on and after 17 January 1973, their father or mother should be a Filipino citizen at the time of their birth.

If born before 17 January 1973, their father should be a Filipino citizen. If the father is not a Filipino citizen, the mother should be a Filipino citizen and the applicant should have elected Philippine citizenship upon reaching the age of majority.

Citizenship Retention and Reacquisition Act of 2003 (Republic Act No. 9225)

Republic Act No. 9225, otherwise known as the Citizenship Retention and Reacquisition Act of 2003 (more popularly known as the Dual Citizenship Law) enables former natural-born Filipinos who have become naturalized citizens of another country to retain/reacquire their Philippine citizenship by taking an oath of allegiance to the Republic of the Philippines before a Philippine Consular Officer. Upon retaining/reacquiring their Philippine citizenship, they shall enjoy full civil, economic and political rights as Filipinos.

The law equally applies to unmarried children below eighteen (18) years of age, whether legitimate, illegitimate, or adopted, if they are included in the parent’s petition for re-acquisition of Philippine citizenship, known as derivative application.

A child who is 18 years of age or older at the time of the parent’s re-acquisition of Philippine citizenship, but was born when either parent was still a Filipino citizen, shall be considered to have been a natural born Filipino and may apply for re-acquisition of Philippine citizenship on his/her own behalf.

What is the difference between retention and re-acquisition?
Those who were naturalized before the effectivity of RA 9225 or before 2003 were deemed to have lost their Philippine citizenship (under Commonwealth Act 63) and can re-acquire it under the same Act.

Those who were naturalized after the effectivity of RA 9225 or after 2003 were deemed to have kept their Philippine citizenship, in other words can retain it. However, to retain or re-acquire Philippine citizenship one still has to undergo the same procedure.

IMPORTANT!

The Philippines allows dual citizenship (Filipino and foreign citizenship); however, dual citizenship is not automatic upon acquiring a foreign citizenship. While a Filipino is deemed to not have lost their Filipino citizenship upon being naturalized as a foreigner under RA 9225, they still need to undergo the process to re-acquire/retain their Filipino citizenship.

A former natural-born citizen of the Philippines who is abroad and is not an alien registered with the Philippine Bureau of Immigration must file a petition under oath for re-acquisition/retention of Philippine citizenship at the nearest Philippine foreign service post for the issuance of an Identification Certificate (IC) under Republic Act 9225.

Dual Citizenship

The Philippines allows dual citizenship by choice (for those who have naturalized as a foreign citizen), and by birth (for those born of a Filipino parent and a foreign parent).

An individual can be considered a Philippine dual citizen by choice through the process under Republic Act No. 9225, while a Philippine dual citizen by birth is a natural-born Filipino who does not have to perform any action to acquire the citizenships.

Brazilian citizens born to one (1) Filipino parent who wish to have their Philippine citizenship recognized should follow the guidelines for filing a Report of Birth (ROB). The Filipino parent must have held Philippine citizen at the time of the applicant’s birth for this process to be applicable.

Former Filipinos who have acquired Brazilian citizenship through naturalization may apply for re-acquisition/retention of their Filipino citizenship.