Dual Citizenship in the Philippines: Eligibility, Documents, and Fees

To apply for dual citizenship in the Philippines, a natural-born Filipino who later became a citizen of another country files a petition under Republic Act No. 9225 either at the nearest Philippine Embassy or Consulate General (if living abroad) or at the Bureau of Immigration main office in Manila (if already in the country). The petition is usually completed in one appointment: you submit your documents, pay the fee, and take the Oath of Allegiance to the Republic of the Philippines.¹

Who Can Apply

RA 9225 is only for natural-born Filipinos who became naturalized citizens of another country. A natural-born Filipino is someone who was a citizen from birth without having to perform any act to acquire or perfect that citizenship.² In practice:

If you were born on or after January 17, 1973, at least one parent must have been a Filipino citizen at the time of your birth.
If you were born before January 17, 1973, your father must have been a Filipino citizen at the time of your birth, or your mother was a Filipino citizen and you elected Philippine citizenship upon reaching the age of majority.³

Your unmarried children under 18, whether legitimate, illegitimate, or adopted, can be included in the same petition. Under Section 4 of RA 9225, they are deemed Philippine citizens once your own citizenship is re-acquired.¹ They need to be listed on a supplemental form, with their own documents attached.

Where to File

From Outside the Philippines

File your petition at the Philippine Embassy or Consulate General with jurisdiction over your area of residence. Each post runs its own appointment system, so book through that specific post’s website. Many consulates complete the intake, oath, and initial documents in a single appointment.⁴ After your appointment, the consulate forwards your file to the Bureau of Immigration in Manila, which issues your Identification Certificate.

From Inside the Philippines

File directly with the Bureau of Immigration main office. If you registered as an alien with the BI upon arrival, you petition the Commissioner of Immigration to cancel your Alien Certificate of Registration and issue an Identification Certificate. If you did not register within 60 days of arriving, you still file a petition with the Commissioner for issuance of an IC under RA 9225.⁵ Once approved, you claim your Certificate of Retention or Re-acquisition, Order of Approval, and signed Oath of Allegiance.⁶

Documents to Prepare

Checklists vary slightly by post, but the core is consistent:

The dual citizenship petition form (RA 9225 Form No. 1), completed and signed.
Your PSA birth certificate on security paper, original plus a photocopy. Local civil registry copies are not accepted. You can request one through psahelpline.ph or psaserbilis.com.ph.⁴
Your foreign naturalization certificate, original plus a photocopy.
Two recent 2×2-inch color photos with a white background, taken within the last six months.⁷
A photocopy of your current foreign passport, plus your last Philippine passport if you still have it.
If you are using a married name: a PSA-issued marriage certificate if you married in the Philippines, or the foreign marriage certificate if you married abroad.⁷
Supporting documents for any name change through divorce, court order, or similar (for example, a divorce decree or an annotated birth certificate).⁴

For each minor child included in the petition, add the child’s PSA birth certificate, two 2×2-inch photos, and a copy of the child’s foreign passport.

If You Don’t Have a PSA Birth Certificate

Some applicants find they have no birth record on file with the PSA. In that case, apply for late registration of birth at the local civil registrar of the city or municipality where you were born.⁸ This takes time, so start well before your appointment. Some consulates will accept an old Philippine passport or a voter’s ID as alternative proof of prior citizenship, though the PSA birth certificate remains the primary requirement.⁵

Foreign Documents and Apostilles

Documents issued in a country that is a member of the Apostille Convention only need an apostille from that country’s competent authority to be valid in the Philippines. The Philippine DFA does not authenticate or apostillize foreign documents itself.⁹ Have your naturalization certificate or foreign marriage certificate apostillized before your appointment if it was issued in a member country. Consular authentication may still be needed for documents from non-member countries.

Fees

At most consulates, the standard fee is $50 for the principal applicant and $25 for each dependent child.¹⁰ Some posts charge more; the Los Angeles Consulate General lists $60 for the principal petitioner and $35 per derivative.¹¹ Check your specific post’s schedule and payment methods before you go.

At the Bureau of Immigration, the fees are PHP 2,500 for the application, PHP 10 for legal research, and PHP 500 for the express fee, for a total of PHP 3,010. The BI notes these may change without prior notice.⁶

What Happens at Your Appointment

The appointment itself is straightforward:

Book online. Walk-ins are generally not accepted.
Bring originals for verification and photocopies for submission. Originals submitted as part of the petition are not returned.¹²
Pay the processing fee.
Take the Oath of Allegiance before a consular officer or authorized BI official. The oath pledges allegiance to the Republic of the Philippines and contains no words renouncing your other citizenship.¹
Collect what’s ready. At most consulates, the Oath of Allegiance and Order of Approval are handed to you the same day. The Identification Certificate may be issued on site or mailed after the BI processes it.

Incomplete or incorrectly filled out forms will not be processed, so review everything before you submit.¹²

After Approval

You end up with three documents: the Identification Certificate (IC), the Order of Approval, and your signed Oath of Allegiance. Keep them together. You will need them for almost every Philippine government transaction after this.

Applying for a Philippine Passport

Once you have your dual citizenship documents, you can apply for a Philippine passport at any consulate. Bring originals and photocopies of the IC, Oath of Allegiance, and Order of Approval, along with your PSA birth certificate and a valid ID such as your foreign passport.¹³ Female applicants using a married surname also need a Report of Marriage or a PSA marriage contract.

Traveling to the Philippines

You can enter the Philippines on your foreign passport as long as you carry your dual citizenship documents. The Bureau of Immigration expects dual citizens to leave the country on a Philippine passport, and exiting without one can result in BI penalties.¹¹ Getting the Philippine passport before your first trip avoids that problem. As a dual citizen, you can stay in the Philippines indefinitely.

Effect on Your Other Citizenship

The Philippine oath contains no words of renunciation, so taking it does not, by itself, cause you to lose U.S. citizenship: under U.S. law, loss requires a voluntary and intentional renunciation, which this oath is not. If you hold citizenship from a country other than the United States, check that country’s rules on dual nationality before you apply, because some countries do not permit their citizens to hold a second one.

One situation does require actual renunciation of your foreign citizenship: running for elective office in the Philippines. Before filing your certificate of candidacy, you must personally execute a sworn renunciation of all foreign citizenship. You also cannot run if you currently hold or are running for public office in another country, or if you serve in another country’s armed forces.⁵

A Note on Taxes

Re-acquiring Philippine citizenship can create tax obligations you might not expect. If you live abroad and earn income only from foreign sources, the Philippines generally treats you as a nonresident citizen, which limits Philippine taxation to income from Philippine sources. If you own property in the Philippines, though, rental income and capital gains from selling that property are subject to Philippine tax, and estates that include Philippine real property are subject to Philippine estate tax. If you are also a citizen or resident of another country, you may face tax on the same property in both places. The Philippines has tax treaties with some countries that can reduce double taxation, but working through the details is a job for a tax professional.

1
Supreme Court E-Library. Republic Act No. 9225
2
Department of Foreign Affairs. Who Are Considered Natural-Born Filipinos?
3
Supreme Court E-Library. Article IV – Citizenship
4
Embassy of the Republic of the Philippines. Dual Citizenship Application
5
Commission on Filipinos Overseas. Primer on Philippine Dual Citizenship Act
6
Bureau of Immigration. Application for Retention / Re-Acquisition of Philippine Citizenship
7
Philippine Consulate General in San Francisco. Dual Citizenship
8
Philippine Consulate General in Honolulu. Dual Citizenship
9
Authentication Division – Apostille. FAQs
10
Philippine Consulate General – New York. Schedule of Fees
11
Philippine Consulate General in Los Angeles. Dual Citizenship (RA 9225)
12
Department of Foreign Affairs. Dual Citizenship
13
Philippine Consulate General in Los Angeles. Passport Applicants Who Are Dual Citizens Under RA 9225