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Republic of the
Philippines
Department of Justice
BUREAU OF IMMIGRATION
Manila
MEMORANDUM CIRCULAR NO. AFF-04-01
RULES GOVERNING
PHILIPPINE CITIZENSHIP UNDER REPUBLIC ACT (R.A.) NO. 9225 AND
ADMINISTRATIVE ORDER (A.O.) NO. 91, SERIES OF 2004
WHEREAS, R.A. No.
9225 declares that
natural-born citizens of
the Philippines who
become citizens of another country shall be
deemed not to have lost their Philippine
citizenship under
conditions provided therein;
WHEREAS, A.O. No. 91, Section 1 designated the
Bureau of
Immigration (BI), in consultation with the
Department of Foreign
Affairs (DFA), Department
of Justice (DOJ), Office of the Civil
Registrar-General, National Statistics Office
(NSO), as the
implementing agency of
R.A. No. 9225;
WHEREAS, A.O. No. 91, Section 2 authorizes the BI to
promulgate and issue rules and regulations to implement R.A. No.
9225;
WHEREFORE, by authority of A.O. No. 91 Section 2 in relation
to Commonwealth Act. No. 613, Section 3, as amended, the following
rules are hereby adopted to carry out the provisions of R.A. No.
9225.
Section 1. Coverage. – These rules shall apply to former
natural-born citizens of the Philippines, as define by Philippine
law and jurisprudence, who have lost their Philippine citizenship by
reason of their naturalization as citizens of a foreign country.
Section 2. Former natural-born Philippine citizen already in the
Philippines and a BI -registered alien – A former natural-born
citizen of the Philippines who is already in the Philippines and
registered in the BI shall file a petition under oath to the
Commissioner of Immigration for the cancellation of Alien
Certificate of Registration (ACR) and issuance of an Identification
Certificate (IC), as the case may be, under R.A. No. 9225.
Section 3. Former natural-born Philippine citizen who is abroad
but a BI registered alien – A former natural born citizen of the
Philippines who is abroad but is a BI-registered alien shall file a
petition under oath to the nearest Philippine Foreign Post for
evaluation. Thereafter, it shall forward the entire records to the
Commissioner of Immigration for the cancellation of Alien
Certificate of Registration (ACR) and issuance of an IC under R.A.
No. 9225.
Section 4. Former natural-born Philippine citizen already in the
Philippines and not a BI-registered alien – A former
natural-born citizen of the Philippines who is already in the
Philippines but has not registered with the BI within sixty (60)
days from date of his arrival shall file a petition under oath to
the Commissioner of Immigration for the issuance of an IC under R.A.
No. 9225.
Section 5. Former Natural-born Philippine citizen who is abroad
and not a BI-registered alien – A former natural-born citizen of
the Philippines who is abroad and is not a BI-registered alien shall
file a petition under oath to the nearest Philippine Foreign Post
for the issuance of an IC under R.A. No. 9225.
Section 6. Forwarding address. Photographs. – In all
petitions under Sections 2 to 5 hereof, the applicant must indicate
his or her latest forwarding address. Three (3) recent 2” x ”2
photographs of the applicant (front, left side, and right side views
over white background) shall be attached to the petition.
Section 7. Fees. – Each applicant under these Rules shall pay
a one-time fee for the processing of the application and issuance of
the corresponding IC.
Applicants already in the Philippines shall attach the official
receipt for the amount of P2,500.00 as proof of payment of
processing fee. Applicants who are abroad shall attach the official
receipt for the amount of US$50 or its equivalent in foreign
currency acceptable to the Philippine Foreign Post concerned.
Section 8. Proof as natural-born citizen of the Philippines.
– A former natural-born citizen of the Philippines, who was born in
the Philippines, shall submit the NSO-authenticated copy of his or
her birth certificate.
On the other hand, a former natural-born citizen of the Philippines,
who was born abroad, shall submit the original copy of the Report of
Birth issued by the Philippine Foreign Post and in applicable cases,
the Birth Certificate issued by competent foreign authorities.
These documents shall be sufficient to establish that the applicant
is a natural-born citizen of the Philippines for purposes of these
Rules.
Section 9. Submission of the Oath of Allegiance – Applicants
under these Rules shall also sign and attach an Oath of Allegiance
to the Republic of the Philippines as follows:
I (name of the applicant) solemnly swear (or affirm) 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.
Section 10. Strict compliance. Effect of non-compliance. –
All petitions must strictly comply with the preceding requirements
prior to filing at the Office of the Commissioner or at the nearest
Philippine Foreign Post, as the case may be. After the filing of the
petition, the same shall be assigned to an evaluating officer who
shall evaluate the petition without further proceedings.
In the case of petitions that do not comply with the requirements,
the applicant shall be notified to submit the required documents
within thirty (30) days from receipt thereof. Otherwise, the
petition shall not be favorably acted upon by the Bureau of
Immigration or by the Philippine Foreign Post.
If after evaluation, the documents submitted fail to establish that
the applicant is a natural-born citizen of the Philippines, the
applicant shall be notified of such fact in writing by the
Commissioner of Immigration or by the Philippine Foreign Post.
Section 11. Approval Procedures. – If the petition is found
to be sufficient in form and in substance, the evaluating officer
shall submit the findings and recommendation to the Commissioner of
Immigration or Consul-General, as the case may be, within five (5)
days from date of assignment.
For Applications filed under Section 2 and 4 of these Rules, the
Commissioner of Immigration shall issue, within five (5) days from
receipt thereof, an Order of Approval indicating that the petition
complies with the provisions of R.A. No. 9225 and its IRR, and
further direct the chief of the Alien Registration Division (ARD) to
cancel the subject ACR and/or to issue the corresponding IC to the
applicant.
Each cancelled ACR shall, however, be attached to the Order of
Approval to form part of the records of the applicant.
For applications filed under Section 3 and 5 of these Rules, the
Consul-General shall issue, within five (5) days from receipt
thereof, the Order of Approval indicating that the petition complies
with the provisions of R.A. No. 9225 and its IRR. He shall then
transmit copies of the Order of Approval, Oath of Allegiance,
including the authenticated Record of Birth or Birth Certificate to
the BI. Immediately upon receipt thereof, the BI shall issue the
corresponding IC to the applicant and forward the same to the
Philippine Foreign Post concerned. If the applicant is a
BI-registered alien, the BI shall also cancel the subject ACR.
Section 12. Conferment of Philippine citizenship. Conditions.
– Subject to full compliance with these Rules, the Oath of
Allegiance shall be the final act that confers Philippine
citizenship.
In case the applicant is in the Philippines, he may take his Oath of
Allegiance before the Commissioner of the Immigration or any officer
authorized under existing laws to administer oath. In the latter
case, the applicant must submit the Oath of Allegiance to the BI to
form part of his records.
In case the applicant is abroad, only the Consul General or a duly
commissioned foreign service officer of the Philippine Foreign Post
concerned shall administer the Oath of Allegiance.
The Oath of Allegiance shall thereafter be registered in accordance
with the provisions of the Civil Registry laws.
Section 13. Repository of Records – The BI Records Section
shall maintain the integrity of all the documents filed under these
Rules. It shall send official copies of the Order of Approval and
Oath of Allegiance to the NSO.
Section 14. Copies for the Applicant. Identification Certificate.
Correction of errors. – The applicant shall be provided with an
official copies of the Order of Approval and the Oath of Allegiance.
Further, all IC’s issued under these Rules shall indicate Philippine
citizenship under R.A. N0. 9225 and A.O. N0. 91 s. 2004. Any
clerical error or errors in the entries of the IC may be corrected,
upon written request to and approval by the Commissioner of
Immigration. The NSO shall be promptly provided with a copy of the
corrected IC.
Section 15. Confidentiality of Records. – Any application,
document of information given before the Bureau of Immigration or
any Philippine Foreign Post shall not be divulged in any manner to
any person or entity without the express written consent of the
person to whom such application, record or information belongs.
Section 16. Other beneficiaries of R.A. N0. 9225. – This
memorandum circular shall equally apply to the unmarried child,
whether legitimate, illegitimate or adopted, below eighteen (18)
years of age, of those who
re-acquire Philippine citizenship upon
the activity of R.A. N0. 9225.
Section 17. Exemption from administrative review. Limitations.
– The conferment of Philippine citizenship under these Rules shall
no longer be subject to the affirmation by the Secretary of Justice
pursuant to the DOJ Policy Directive of 7 September 1970 and Opinion
N0. 108, s. 1996.
However, Philippine citizenship under these Rules may be revoked by
competent authority upon a substantive finding of fraud,
misrepresentation or concealment on the part of the applicant.
Section 18. Effectivity. – This memorandum circular takes
effect fifteen (15) days after its publication in the two (2)
newspapers of general circulation.
(SGD) ALIPIO F. FERNANDEZ, JR.
Commissioner
APPROVED :
(SGD) MA. MERCEDITAS N. GUTIERREZ
Acting Secretary
Department of Justice
_________________________________________
For questions and
comments or if you wish to apply Philippine Dual Citizenship directly in
the Bureau of Immigration, Intramuros Manila, please call us at
894-1441 or 812-4296 or e-mail us at
gtalaw@gtalawphil.com
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