Philippine dual citizenship under RA 9225
Republic Act 9225, the Citizenship Retention and Reacquisition Act of 2003, lets natural-born Filipinos who lost Philippine citizenship by naturalising in another country get it back. You take the Philippine Oath of Allegiance in front of an authorised Philippine official, and your citizenship is reacquired.
The single most important thing about that oath: it does not require you to renounce any other nationality. You remain an American citizen. That is what makes it dual citizenship rather than a swap.
Who counts as natural-born
The law applies to natural-born Filipinos — those who were citizens from birth without having to do anything to acquire or perfect it. In practice:
- Born on or after 17 January 1973 to a Filipino father or a Filipino mother.
- Born before 17 January 1973 to a Filipino father; or to a Filipino mother, provided the person elected Philippine citizenship on reaching the age of majority.
That 1973 date is the old constitutional rule on descent through the mother, and it still decides eligibility for anyone born before it.
A child born in the United States to at least one Filipino parent is already a dual citizen at birth — American by being born on US soil, Filipino by descent. That child does not need RA 9225. What that child needs is a Report of Birth, so the Philippine civil register knows they exist.
A derivative dual citizen is different: a child under 18 of a parent who is reacquiring citizenship, included in that parent’s petition. The two look similar and are not.
What you need to bring
For the principal petitioner, in original and photocopy:
- PSA birth certificate or Report of Birth — issued by the Philippine Statistics Authority, on security paper. See the PSA guide if you do not have one; delivery to the United States takes weeks.
- US Naturalisation Certificate.
- Valid US passport.
- Your most recent Philippine passport, if you still have it.
- A completed application form — download it from your own post’s website, as the forms differ.
- Two 2×2 colour photographs, white background, taken within the last three months, digitally unaltered, no eyeglasses and no coloured contact lenses.
Consular officers can and do ask for more. The right to require additional documents to establish identity and citizenship is stated on every post's page.
If your name does not match
This is the most common reason a petition stalls. If the name on your PSA birth certificate differs from the name on your US passport or naturalisation certificate, you need an Affidavit of One and the Same Person explaining the variance and accepting responsibility under all names — plus proof of how the second name arose: a marriage certificate, a judicial decree of change of name, an annulment or divorce decree, or the change recorded in the naturalisation certificate itself.
Including your children
Unmarried children under 18 can be included as derivative citizens in the parent's petition. They need their own PSA or US birth certificate, their valid US passport, their latest Philippine passport if any, and two 2×2 photographs.
They do not normally have to be present — unless they are applying for a Philippine passport on the same day, which many families do, since a successful applicant can apply for a passport immediately after the oath.
Children over 18 cannot be derivatives. If they were born to a Filipino parent they may be Filipino in their own right through a Report of Birth; if not, they would need to petition separately on their own facts.
Adding a child after you have already reacquired citizenship is a separate, heavier procedure: two notarised petition forms, photographs of both parent and child, copies of your Identification Certificate, Order of Approval and Oath of Allegiance, and a prepaid return envelope.
What it costs
Fees vary by post, and the published figures are not always consistent — the Los Angeles page lists the principal petitioner at both US$60 and US$50 within the same document. Treat these as ranges and confirm with your post:
- Principal petitioner: around US$50–60.
- Derivative child: around US$25–35 each.
- Affidavit of explanation: around US$25–35.
- Certified true copy of your dual citizenship documents: US$25.
- Expedited release: US$10 extra.
Payment is usually by money order or cashier's cheque, not personal cheque and often not cash or card. Check your post's page before you go.
How it is booked
There is no national system for this the way there is for passports. Each post does it differently, and some do it by post rather than online — the Embassy in Washington asks for dual citizenship applications to be mailed in advance to secure an appointment, and the same applies to outreach missions.
The Embassy's consular section also restricts dual citizenship to Tuesday to Friday mornings. Los Angeles releases slots on Monday evenings. See the appointment guide for how each post works, and find yours in the consulate directory.
What you get, and what to do next
After the oath you receive an Identification Certificate, an Order of Approval and a copy of your Oath of Allegiance. Keep all three: they are what you show to apply for a Philippine passport, to include a child later, or to prove your status at a Philippine immigration desk.
The practical benefits are substantial — the right to own land in the Philippines, to work without a permit, to vote from abroad, and to enter without a visa or a time limit. Until your Philippine passport arrives, note that travelling on your US passport as a dual citizen still gets you the balikbayan year, so there is no gap in your ability to visit.