Philippine dual citizenship under RA 9225: who can get it back

Who counts as a natural-born Filipino, the oath at a consulate for US$50, children under 18, foreign spouses, the rights of a dual citizen and taxes.

In detail

The Philippines allows dual citizenship. A natural-born Filipino who became a citizen of another country gets Philippine citizenship back by taking an oath of allegiance under Republic Act 9225 of 2003, and keeps the other passport. Unmarried children under 18 become Filipino together with the parent. More than 150,000 people had applied by 2018, most of them Filipino-Americans.

Rules and fees follow the Bureau of Immigration and the Commission on Filipinos Overseas in 2026.

Who qualifies under RA 9225

The law covers natural-born Filipinos who lost Philippine citizenship through naturalisation abroad. Under the 1987 Constitution, a natural-born Filipino is someone who had at least one Filipino parent at birth, or who was born to a Filipino mother before 17 January 1973 and elected Philippine citizenship on reaching majority.

• Re-acquisition: for those naturalised abroad before the law took effect on 17 September 2003.
• Retention: for those naturalised after that date. The procedure is the same in both cases.
• Dual citizens by birth, such as a child of a Filipino parent born in the United States or Canada, need no petition: they already hold both citizenships and only file a report of birth at a Philippine embassy or consulate.

The law does not cover people who became Filipino by naturalisation themselves. Residence in the Philippines is not required: the oath is taken at any Philippine embassy or consulate.

Children and foreign spouses

Unmarried children under 18, whether legitimate, illegitimate or adopted, become Filipino together with the parent when they are included in the petition. Children who were 18 or older at that point, but were born while the parent was still Filipino, are natural-born themselves and apply for recognition as Filipino citizens on their own.

A foreign spouse does not use RA 9225. They travel visa-free for up to 1 year when entering together with the Filipino spouse under the balikbayan rules, can apply for a permanent visa by marriage, or later naturalise. Naturalisation asks for age 21 or over, 5 years of continuous residence, property or a steady income, and English or Spanish plus one of the main Philippine languages.

How to apply and what it costs

• Documents: the petition form, a Philippine Statistics Authority birth certificate or a report of birth, your foreign passport, the naturalisation certificate, two 2x2 photos and, for a married name, the marriage certificate.
• Oath: you take it in person before a consular officer and receive the signed oath and the order of approval.
• Identification certificate: the Bureau of Immigration issues it once the file reaches Manila; it proves Philippine citizenship.

An embassy reviews the petition and sets the oath date within about a week.

What a dual citizen can do

Under section 5 of the law, dual citizens have full civil and political rights:

• vote in national and local elections, including from abroad under the overseas voting law;
• own land and property and run a business as a Filipino;
• practise a profession after getting a licence from the Professional Regulation Commission, or from the Supreme Court for lawyers;
• hold a Philippine passport, issued as a new passport rather than a renewal of the old one;
• live in the Philippines for as long as they like without a visa.

A candidate for elected office renounces foreign citizenship under oath when filing the certificate of candidacy, and an appointed official renounces the oath given to the other country. Life in the Philippines in numbers is in cost of living in the Philippines, and the retiree visa for foreigners is in retiring in the Philippines.

Taxes and travel with two passports

Since the Tax Reform Act of 1997, a Filipino who lives abroad pays no Philippine tax on income earned abroad; income from Philippine sources is taxed. A dual citizen who lives in the Philippines is a resident citizen and is taxed on worldwide income.

A Philippine passport gives visa-free stays of up to 30 days in neighbouring countries such as Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam and Indonesia, and in the Philippines it saves immigration fees. Sending money to family is covered in how to send money to the Philippines.

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