CITIZENSHIP

Naturalized Citizens
Dual Citizenship

Section 1, Article 4 of the 1987 Constitution enumerates who are the citizens of the
Philippines as follows:
1. Those who are citizens of the Philippines at the adoption of this Constitution
2. Those whose fathers or mothers are citizens of the Philippines
3. Those born before January 17, 1973, of Filipino mothers, who elect Philippine
citizenship upon reaching the age of majority, and
4. Those who are naturalized in accordance with law.

Foreigners, who do not have Filipino blood, nevertheless, can obtain Philippine
citizenship under number 4 of the enumeration through naturalization.
Naturalization signifies the act of formally adopting a foreigner into the political body of
a nation by clothing him or her with the privileges of a citizen. Under current and existing
laws, there are three ways by which an alien may become a citizen by naturalization:

(a) administrative naturalization pursuant to RA No. 9139;

Administrative Naturalization is open to those who were born in the Philippines and who
have resided here since birth.

(b) judicial naturalization pursuant to C.A. No. 473, as amended, and

CA No. 473 or the Revised Naturalization Law is a law signed to provide for the
acquisition of Philippine citizenship through Naturalization by qualified alien individuals.
It provides that after hearing the petition for citizenship and receipt of evidence showing
that the petitioner has all the qualifications and none of the disqualifications required by
law, the competent court may order the issuance of the proper naturalization certificate
and the registration thereof in the proper civil registry.

(c) legislative naturalization in the form of a law enacted by Congress bestowing

Philippine citizenship to an alien (Edison So v. Republic of the Philippines, GR.
No. 170603, January 29, 2007).

C.A. No. 473 and R.A. No. 9139 are separate and distinct laws the former covers all
aliens regardless of class while the latter covers native-born aliens who lived here in the
Philippines all their lives, who never saw any other country and all along thought that
they were Filipinos; who have demonstrated love and loyalty to the Philippines and
affinity to the customs and traditions.

COMMONWEALTH ACT No. 473: AN ACT TO PROVIDE FOR THE

ACQUISITION OF PHILIPPINE CITIZENSHIP BY NATURALIZATION, AND
TO REPEAL ACTS NUMBERED TWENTY-NINE HUNDRED AND TWENTY-
SEVEN AND THIRTY-FOUR HUNDRED AND FORTY-EIGHT.

Qualifications
1. At least 21 years old on the date of the filing of his petition
2. If born in a foreign country, he must have been legally admitted into the
Philippines either as an immigrant or nonimmigrant
 3. Have continuously reside in the Philippines for 10 years, which period shall be
reduced to 5 years if with any of the following qualifications is present:
a. Having honorably held office under the Government of the Philippines
b. Having established a new industry or introduced a useful invention in the
Philippines;
c. Married to a Filipino woman;
d. Engaged as a teacher in the Philippines in a public or recognized private
school not established for the exclusive instruction of children of persons of a
particular nationality or race, in any of the branches of education or industry
for a period of not less than two years;
e. Having been born in the Philippines.
4. Of good moral character, believes in the principles underlying the Philippine
Constitution, and exhibited proper and irreproachable conduct during the entire
period of his residence in the Philippines
5. Must have a known trade or business, profession or lawful application, from
which he derives sufficient income for his support and that of his family, if
married.
Note: MAY BE WAIVED WITH RESPECT TO BONA FIDE STUDENTS AT
LEAST 18 YEARS OF AGE WHO, ON THE BASIS OF THEIR
QUALIFICATIONS AND POTENTIALS, CAN BECOME USEFUL CITIZENS
OF THE COUNTRY
6. Owners of real estate worth at least P5,000 or have known lucrative trade,
profession, or lawful occupation (not included in the letters of instruction)
7. Able to speak and write Pilipino, English or Spanish and any one of the principal
Philippine languages;
Note: THE REQUIREMENT THAT APPLICANT SHOULD KNOW HOW TO
WRITE PILIPINO OR OTHER PRINCIPAL LANGUAGE MAY BE WAIVED
8. Must have enrolled his minor children of school age, in any of the public schools
or private schools recognized during the entire period of the residence
9. Must have mingled socially with Filipinos and evinced a sincere desire to learn
and embrace the customs, traditions and ideals of Filipino people.

* Before the naturalization certificate is issued, the petitioner shall, in open court, take the
following oath:

"I, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . , solemnly swear that I renounce absolutely

and forever all allegiance and fidelity to any foreign prince, potentate, state or sovereignty,
and particularly to the . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . of which at this time I am a subject or citizen;
that I will support and defend the Constitution of the Philippines and that I will obey the laws,
legal orders and decrees promulgated by the duly constituted authorities of the
Commonwealth15of the Philippines; [and I hereby declare that I recognize and accept the
supreme authority of the United States of America in the Philippines and will maintain true
faith and allegiance thereto;16 and that I impose this obligation upon myself voluntarily
without mental reservation or purpose of evasion.

"So help me God."

Effect of Naturalization on the Wife and Children

- Deemed citizen of the Philippines
- A foreign-born minor child dwelling in the Philippines when his/her parent is
naturalized shall automatically become a Philippine citizen
- A foreign-born minor child not in the Philippines at the time the parent is
naturalized shall be deemed a Philippine citizen only during his minority unless
he begins to reside permanently in the Philippines when still a minor
 - A child born outside of the Philippines after the naturalization of his parent, shall
be considered a Philippine citizen, unless one year after reaching the age of
majority, he fails to register himself as a Philippine citizen

Derivative naturalization
citizenship derived from that of another as from a person who holds citizenship by virtue
of naturalization

Loss and Reacquisition of Philippine Citizenship

Citizenship may be reacquired, even though it is lost, according to the provisions of the
law. There are several ways of reacquiring citizenship. It may be reacquired through
naturalization, repatriation, or through direct act of law.

COMMONWEALTH ACT No. 63: AN ACT PROVIDING FOR THE WAYS IN

WHICH PHILIPPINE CITIZENSHIP MAY BE LOST OR REACQUIRED

Section 1. How citizenship may be lost. – A Filipino citizen may lose his citizenship in
any of the following ways and/or events:

(1) By naturalization in a foreign country;

(2) By express renunciation of citizenship;

(3) By subscribing to an oath of allegiance to support the constitution or laws of a

foreign country upon attaining twenty-one years of age or more: Provided,
however, That a Filipino may not divest himself of Philippine citizenship in any
manner while the Republic of the Philippines is at war with any country;

(4) By rendering services to, or accepting commission in, the armed forces of a
foreign countryxxx

(5) By cancellation of the of the certificates of naturalization;

(6) By having been declared by competent authority, a deserter of the

Philippine armed forces in time of war, unless subsequently, a plenary pardon or
amnesty has been granted; and

(7) In the case of a woman, upon her marriage to a foreigner if, by virtue of the
laws in force in her husband's country, she acquires his nationality.1

Section. 2. How citizenship may be reacquired. – Citizenship may be reacquired:

(1) By naturalization: Provided, That the applicant possess none of the

disqualification's prescribed in section two of Act Numbered Twenty-nine
hundred and twenty-seven,3

(2) By repatriation of deserters of the Army, Navy or Air Corp: Provided, That a
woman who lost her citizenship by reason of her marriage to an alien may be
repatriated in accordance with the provisions of this Act after the termination of
the marital status;4 and

(3) By direct act of the National Assembly.

Section 3. Procedure incident to reacquisition of Philippine citizenship. – The procedure
prescribed for naturalization under Act Numbered Twenty-nine hundred and twenty-
seven,5 as amended, shall apply to the reacquisition of Philippine citizenship by
naturalization provided for in the next preceding section: Provided, That the
qualifications and special qualifications prescribed in section three and four of said Act
shall not be required: And provided, further,

(1) That the applicant be at least twenty-one years of age and shall have resided in
the Philippines at least six months before he applies for naturalization;

(2) That he shall have conducted himself in a proper and irreproachable manner
during the entire period of his residence in the Philippines, in his relations with
the constituted government as well as with the community in which he is living;
and

(3) That he subscribes to an oath declaring his intention to renounce absolutely

and perpetually all faith and allegiance to the foreign authority, state or
sovereignty of which he was a citizen or subject.

REPUBLIC ACT NO. 9225 “CITIZENSHIP AND RE-ACQUISITION ACT OF

2003”

Eligibility

All natural born Filipinos who have lost their Philippine citizenship due to
naturalization as a citizen of another country may file a Petition for Retention and
Reacquisition of Philippine Citizenship on their behalf and that of their unmarried minor
children.

Only natural-born citizens of the Philippines who have lost their Philippine citizenship by
reason of their naturalization as citizens of a foreign country may retain/reacquire their
Philippine citizenship under this Act.

RA 9225 does not apply to dual citizens, i.e., those who have both Philippine as well as
foreign citizenship not acquired through naturalization.

Documentary Requirements For Main Petitioner

As laid out in the Implementing Rules and Regulations, the requirements for those who
wish to reacquire or retain their Filipino citizenship are as follows:

All Documents Must Be Presented In Both Original And Photocopy Form. Original
Document(S) Will Be Returned.

1. Duly Accomplished Citizenship Retention and Reacquisition Application Form.

Downloadable over the Philippine Embassy website at www.philembassy.ca

2. Original and photocopy of Philippine Birth Certificate issued by the Philippine

Statistics Authority (PSA).

Birth Certificates and other civil registry documents may be requested through the PSA's
on-line service at www.ecensus.com.ph
The following supporting documents may be submitted:

 Original Marriage Certificate indicating the Philippine citizenship of the

applicant, or
 Original Old Philippine passport with an affidavit of being a natural-born
Filipino

Where applicable, the applicant may be asked to present other documents deemed
necessary to validate previous Philippine citizenship, identity or circumstances of birth
such as, but not limited, to the following:

 Original Court Order on annulment of marriage

 Original death certificate of spouse

For unmarried dependent minor(s) below 18 years old born after parent(s) had acquired
Canadian citizenship through naturalization, the parent applicant shall present the
following:

 Original birth certificate of the child indicating parents' names

 Original marriage certificate of parents
 Original birth certificates of parents
 Original passports of the child and parents
 Three (3) recent 2" x 2" colored photographs of the child
 Processing fee of CAD 33.75
 Other supporting documents that may be required by the Consular Officer

For unmarried dependent minor(s) below 18 years old born when either or both parents
were still Filipino citizens, the parent applicant shall present the following:

 Report of birth issued by the Philippine Embassy or Consulate General which has
jurisdiction over the place of birth of the child
 Three (3) recent 2" x 2" colored photographs of the child
 Processing fee of CAD 33.75

3. Three (3) recent 2" x 2" colored photographs of the applicant

4. Canadian naturalization document or citizenship card

5. Canadian passport

6. Fee of CAD 67.50 in accordance with Circular AFF-04-01 (Implementing Rules

and Regulations) (Note: An additional fee of CAD 33.75 will be charged for any affidavit
and another CAD 33.75 for every unmarried dependent minor below 18 years of age
included in the application in accordance with Memorandum Circular No. AFF-05-002
(Revised Rules Governing Philippine Citizenship under R.A. 9225 and Administrative
Order No. 91, series of 2004).

What are the privileges of reacquiring Philippine citizenship?

Individuals who will re-acquire their Filipino citizenship under RA 9225 may once again
enjoy full civil and political rights under existing laws of the Philippines. These include,
among others:

 the right to own land and property in the Philippines;

 the right to engage in business or commerce as a Filipino;
 the right to travel bearing a Philippine passport;
 the right to vote in the Philippine elections,
 the right to practice his/her profession in accordance with Philippine laws and
regulations.