[h=2]Laws allow ex-Filipinos to re-acquire their local citizenship
easily[/h]
November 3rd, 2012 |
Author: Editorial
A TR Emeritus (TRE) reader has sent in this information [Link].
Apparently, under the laws of the Philippines, a Philippine citizen who has
given up his citizenship to become a citizen of another country can easily
re-acquire or claim back his Philippine citizenship.
This law was in fact enacted in the Philippines in 2003 called the
Citizenship Retention and Reacquisition Act of 2003. It declares that
natural-born citizens of the Philippines who become citizens of another country
shall be deemed not to have lost their Philippine citizenship and can
retain/re-acquire it back. However, it only applies to natural-born citizens of
the Philippines.
Those who want to get back their Philippine citizenship will need to swear an
“Oath of Allegiance” to the Philippines. It is the final act that confers
Philippine citizenship. It reads as follows:
“I,________________, solemnly swear that I will support and defend the
Constitution of the Republic of the Philippines and obey the laws and local
orders promulgated by the duly constituted authorities of the Philippines, and I
hereby declare that I recognize and accept the supreme authority of the
Philippines and will maintain true faith and allegiance thereto, and that I
impose this obligation upon myself voluntarily without mental reservation or
purpose of evasion.”
Also, any unmarried children, whether legitimate, illegitimate or adopted,
below 18 years of age, of the parents who re-acquire Philippine citizenship
under the Act may also acquire Philippine citizenship provided they are included
in the original petition of their parents.
And after the Philippine citizenship is re-acquired, they can apply for a
Philippine passport and are conferred the same rights as any other Philippine
citizens.
And the best part of this Act is that it does not require the person to
renounce his or her other foreign citizenship after he or she has re-acquired
the Philippine citizenship.
So, in other words, if, say, a Filipino couples want to buy our HDB BTO flat
with market subsidy, they can do this. They can first apply to become Singapore
citizens. To do that, they need to go to the Philippine embassy to renounce
their Philippine citizenship/passports. They get a letter from the Philippine
embassy to confirm this. Then they submit the letter to Singapore’s ICA for
their application to become Singapore citizens.
And after they have obtained Singapore citizenship and bought their BTO flat,
they can easily re-acquire back their Philippine citizenship anytime they want,
even without surrendering their Singapore citizenship since there is no
requirement on the Philippines’ side. The other possible scenario is after
working for 10 years, the whole family can sell off their BTO flat with good
profits and together with their S$ savings, they can all retire comfortably back
to the Philippines as Philippine citizens.
In fact, the Philippine embassy in Singapore lists down detail steps to take
on its website [Link]
for ex-Filipinos to re-acquire back their Philippine citizenship. It costs only
S$85 and takes only 2 working days:
Former Filipinos may re-acquire their Philippine citizenship through
Republic Act (RA) No. 9225 or the Citizenship Retention and Re-acquisition Act.
This law, which took effect on 17 September 2003, declares that former
natural-born Filipino citizens who acquired foreign citizenship through
naturalization are deemed not to have lost their Philippine citizenship under
conditions provided in the Act. A former Filipino can re-acquire Philippine
citizenship by taking the oath of allegiance to the Republic of the
Philippines.
Requirements
Procedures
The processing of the application will take two (2) working
days.
The TRE reader commented, “This law was passed in 2003 which may partly
explain why more Filipinos took up our Singapore citizenship from 2004/2005
onwards (under Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong).”
.
Join our TRE facebook page here: http://www.facebook.com/TREmeritus
easily[/h]
Apparently, under the laws of the Philippines, a Philippine citizen who has
given up his citizenship to become a citizen of another country can easily
re-acquire or claim back his Philippine citizenship.
This law was in fact enacted in the Philippines in 2003 called the
Citizenship Retention and Reacquisition Act of 2003. It declares that
natural-born citizens of the Philippines who become citizens of another country
shall be deemed not to have lost their Philippine citizenship and can
retain/re-acquire it back. However, it only applies to natural-born citizens of
the Philippines.
Those who want to get back their Philippine citizenship will need to swear an
“Oath of Allegiance” to the Philippines. It is the final act that confers
Philippine citizenship. It reads as follows:
“I,________________, solemnly swear that I will support and defend the
Constitution of the Republic of the Philippines and obey the laws and local
orders promulgated by the duly constituted authorities of the Philippines, and I
hereby declare that I recognize and accept the supreme authority of the
Philippines and will maintain true faith and allegiance thereto, and that I
impose this obligation upon myself voluntarily without mental reservation or
purpose of evasion.”
below 18 years of age, of the parents who re-acquire Philippine citizenship
under the Act may also acquire Philippine citizenship provided they are included
in the original petition of their parents.
And after the Philippine citizenship is re-acquired, they can apply for a
Philippine passport and are conferred the same rights as any other Philippine
citizens.
And the best part of this Act is that it does not require the person to
renounce his or her other foreign citizenship after he or she has re-acquired
the Philippine citizenship.
So, in other words, if, say, a Filipino couples want to buy our HDB BTO flat
with market subsidy, they can do this. They can first apply to become Singapore
citizens. To do that, they need to go to the Philippine embassy to renounce
their Philippine citizenship/passports. They get a letter from the Philippine
embassy to confirm this. Then they submit the letter to Singapore’s ICA for
their application to become Singapore citizens.
And after they have obtained Singapore citizenship and bought their BTO flat,
they can easily re-acquire back their Philippine citizenship anytime they want,
even without surrendering their Singapore citizenship since there is no
requirement on the Philippines’ side. The other possible scenario is after
working for 10 years, the whole family can sell off their BTO flat with good
profits and together with their S$ savings, they can all retire comfortably back
to the Philippines as Philippine citizens.
In fact, the Philippine embassy in Singapore lists down detail steps to take
on its website [Link]
for ex-Filipinos to re-acquire back their Philippine citizenship. It costs only
S$85 and takes only 2 working days:
Former Filipinos may re-acquire their Philippine citizenship through
Republic Act (RA) No. 9225 or the Citizenship Retention and Re-acquisition Act.
This law, which took effect on 17 September 2003, declares that former
natural-born Filipino citizens who acquired foreign citizenship through
naturalization are deemed not to have lost their Philippine citizenship under
conditions provided in the Act. A former Filipino can re-acquire Philippine
citizenship by taking the oath of allegiance to the Republic of the
Philippines.
Requirements
- Duly accomplished application form [Link]
- Birth certificate issued by the NSO duly authenticated by DFA. In case
the birth certificate is not available, other documentary proof of the
applicant’s being a former natural-born Filipino citizen. - Certificate of Naturalization. Since the Act requires that the “loss of
Philippine citizenship by the applicant must be on account of naturalization as
a citizen of a foreign country”, the applicant should submit documents showing
the fact of his naturalization as a citizen of a foreign country. - Authenticated marriage certificate, if married
- Authenticated death certificate, if widowed
- Annulment, if the marriage is annulled. The court decision to nullify
the marriage must be certified by the proper court and authenticated by
DFA. - Divorce decree, if divorcee. It must be certified by the proper
court. - Three (3) 2 X 2 photos (white background) with the following view: left
side view, front view and right side view - Payment of consular service fee of S$85.00 for taking an Oath of
Allegiance for the re-acquisition of Philippine Citizenship
Procedures
- Order of Approval will be issued by the consular officer of the embassy
which shall be the substantive proof that applicant has re-acquired/retained
Philippine citizenship - Oath of Allegiance to be undertaken by the consular officer after the
Order of Approval is issued
The processing of the application will take two (2) working
days.
explain why more Filipinos took up our Singapore citizenship from 2004/2005
onwards (under Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong).”
.
Join our TRE facebook page here: http://www.facebook.com/TREmeritus
.............And yes, please go kick your own backside.
