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.

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REQUIREMENTS

Qualified applicants must submit the following documentary requirements at the Philippine Embassy in Berlin. All documents should come in one (1) original and three (3) photocopies:

1. Duly-accomplished application form in triplicate. (Instructions on how to fill out the form can be found here.)
2. Philippine birth certificate issued by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), formerly National Statistics Office (NSO) – To request a certified copy from the PSA, please visit https://www.psaserbilis.com.ph.
3. Any of the following documents showing proof of Philippine citizenship:
   • Copy of old or valid Philippine passport
   • Voter’s affidavit or voter’s identification card, if available
   • Marriage contract, if applicable, indicating Philippine citizenship of the applicant
     • If married in the Philippines – Marriage Certificate issued by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) formerly National Statistics Office (NSO). To request a certified copy of the marriage certificate from PSA, please visit https://www.psaserbilis.com.ph.
     • If married in Germany or in other countries – Marriage Certificate/s duly issued by the authority in the country where the marriage was celebrated; Divorce Decree if divorced, Marriage and Death Certificate of Spouse if widow/widower. If your marriage was reported to the Philippine Embassy/Consulate, please submit a PSA copy of your Marriage Certificate. (NOTE: This is mandatory if you changed your name in your last Philippine passport before you naturalized as a foreign citizen).
   • Other documents that would show that the applicant is a former natural-born citizen of the Philippines as may be accepted by the evaluating officer.
4. Proof of acquisition of foreign citizenship (Einbürgerungsurkunde if German citizen, or equivalent document for other citizenships). The Einbürgerungsurkunde must have an English translation by a licensed translator (vereidigter Übersetzer).
5. Original ACR and ICR/CRTV, or in its absence, an Affidavit explaining the loss of said documents, if the applicant is a Bureau of Immigration (BI) Registered Alien.
6. Eight (8) recent 2×2 inch (51 x 51 mm) photographs of the applicant, six (6) of which are taken against a white background and the two (2) against a royal blue background (BI Memorandum Circular No. MCL-08-006).

In all cases, the evaluating officer may require the submission of additional documents if there is reasonable ground to believe that the applicant is not a former natural-born Filipino.

NOTE: Re-acquired Philippine citizenship under Republic Act 9225 may be revoked by the competent Philippine authorities upon a substantive finding of fraud, misrepresentation, or concealment on the part of the applicant.

For Dependent Applicants as Derivatives

Republic Act 9225 provides for the acquisition of Philippine citizenship by children, below 18 years old, of former natural-born Filipinos who have successfully re-acquired Philippine citizenship under the provisions of the same law.

A child, whether legitimate, illegitimate or adopted, below eighteen (18) years of age, shall be considered to have re-acquired the Philippine citizenship a the same time the parent re-acquires Philippine citizenship, provided the applicant includes the child as beneficiary and pays the appropriate fees.  Each minor child must submit the following:

1. Copy of birth certificate;
2. Copy of foreign passport.

Processing fee of €25,00 per child included in the petition. Additional fees will be incurred per child for the application for Report of Birth (ROB), after the Identification Certificate has been issued. 

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PROCEDURE

Applicants should email their filled up but unsigned form(s), complete supporting documents, and provide their contact number to citizenship@philippine-embassy.de for pre-assessment.

If all initial documentary requirements are found to be in order, the Embassy will require the submission by mail of the documents. The Embassy will revert within five (5) working days if there are any questions regarding the applicant’s documents.

After the complete documents have been received by mail, the applicant will be advised to book a schedule for oath-taking. The applicant needs to personally appear to take their Oath of Allegiance before an authorized officer of the Philippine Embassy. The Embassy will then issue an Identification Certificate (IC), and submit all documents to the Bureau of Immigration.

The applicant is expected to present all original application forms and supporting documents with three (3) photocopies, and pay the processing fee of €50,00 per principal and €25,00 for each qualified dependent.

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IMPORTANT REMINDERS

It is the applicant’s responsibility to check with the relevant German authorities regarding any impact that re-acquiring their Philippine citizenship may have on their German citizenship. The Philippine Embassy will not be responsible for any adverse effect that re-acquiring Philippine citizenship may have on their German citizenship.

Re-acquired Philippine citizenship under Republic Act 9225 may be revoked by the competent Philippine authorities upon a substantive finding of fraud, misrepresentation, or concealment on the part of the applicant. The Philippine Embassy will not be responsible for any adverse effect that such a revocation on said grounds may have on the applicant.

All application forms should be brought to the Philippine Embassy filled up but unsigned. Typewritten entries are strongly recommended for improved legibility.

With regard to the applicant’s supporting documents, all original documents must be brought and presented to the Philippine Embassy for inspection during the applicant’s schedule for submission. All original documents will be returned to the applicant at the end of their appointment.

To set an appointment at the Embassy, please visit our Online Appointments page.

Please be advised that the Embassy follows the “NO REFUND POLICY” on fees paid by applicants for actual services rendered by the Embassy. “Actual services rendered” include, but are not limited to, services rendered from receipt of documents for review by the Consular Officer or, in case of payment, from the time of its receipt, and not merely restricted to the issuance of document. Fees for unserviced applications/applications no longer pursued are non-refundable.

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RIGHTS AND PRIVILEGES

After you have re-acquired your Philippine citizenship, you will again enjoy full civil, economic and political rights under existing Philippine laws. Among these rights are:

• The right to travel with a Philippine passport;
• The right to own real property in the Philippines;
• The right to engage in business and commerce as a Filipino;
• The right to practice one’s profession, provided that a license or permit to engage in such practice is obtained from the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC), or the Supreme Court in the case of lawyers;
• The right to vote in Philippine national elections (for President, Vice President, Senators and sectoral representatives) by overseas voting in accordance with the provisions of the Overseas Absentee Voting Act of 2003.

In other words, you will enjoy all other rights and privileges enjoyed by Filipino citizens.

IMPLICATION ON INCOME TAXES

Under the Comprehensive Tax Reform Program of 1997, incomes earned abroad by Filipinos from 1998 onwards are no longer taxable. All Filipinos abroad, including those who have reacquired their Philippine citizenship, have been exempted by the Philippine Government from paying Philippine income tax on incomes earned abroad.

Incomes earned in the Philippines, however, will be subject to Philippine income tax.

RESIDENCY REQUIREMENT

Residency in the Philippines is NOT a requirement for those who re-acquire Philippine citizenship; however, regaining Philippine citizenship will allow a dual nationality citizen to remain or retire in the Philippines without the need of a visa. Foreign spouses of dual nationality Filipinos may avail of the Balikpapan privilege (more information here) when traveling to the Philippines together. For longer stays, the foreign spouse may apply for immigrant visa (more information here).

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Fore more information, please read our complete FAQs on Citizenship.