My wife is looking into buying land again in the PI. She is a US citizen now and I found this on a Phil Gov website..
Former natural-born Filipinos can own property in the Philippines, subject to limitations prescribed by Philippine Republic Act 8179 (residential property up to 1000 square meters of urban land or one hectare of rural land) and Batas Pambansa 185 (business property 5000 square meters of urban land or three hectares of rural land).
http://www.philippineconsulate.com.au/o … pines.html
This is good news, stumbled on this searching for info on dual citizenship.
If someone has gone through this dual citizenship process I have a few questions..
When we got married she only had a baptismal certificate for proof of birth.
I think that is common so I don't think that would be an issue. Any ideas on that?
I would also guess she would be able to have a family member get a copy?
I heard birth records have been centralized somewhere and wonder if she may have a birth certificate?
Can obtaining these documents be done through mail or should she have to come to the PI again and try to get them?
Can this dual citizenship be processed in Manila rather than local consulate office in another country?
thanks Duder
Questions again on land / citizenship.
I am a dual citizen; Fil-Canadian; I done mine in Vancouver where there is a Philippine Consulate; as for your wife she can get her dual citizenship in Manila; as to birth certificate, she can secure this from the National Statistics Office anywhere in the Philippines
I'm a dual-citizenship Filipino American.
The paragraph you quoted and the limitations stated "(residential property up to 1000 square meters of urban land or one hectare of rural land) and Batas Pambansa 185 (business property 5000 square meters of urban land or three hectares of rural land)" applies to former natural-born Filipinos who have not yet re-acquired their Filipino citizenship. If she gets a dual citizenship, those restrictions will be lifted, and she would have the same rights to owning land as a natural-born Filipino, i.e. a lot more than the land area mentioned above.
The National Statistics Office or NSO birth certificate is actually a big issue. Your wife will need an official copy that's issued by the NSO if she wants to apply for dual citizenship. She can ask a relative to get this for her. If the relative wants to avoid the hassle of going to and the long lines at NSO, he / she can order the birth certificate via telephone and pay for it through a local bank that accepts payments. The certificate will be delivered to her relative's address in about a week.
If your wife wants to get a dual citizenship, I would recommend that she apply for it at the nearest Philippine Consulate office in the US (I applied for mine at the Philippine Consulate in San Francisco) and not here in the Philippines. The lines in Manila are so long and the process is so confusing. It might even be more expensive here.
Great info FilAmericanMom!
I was wondering the best way to do this.
We are at the moment living in Korea but will return to the US in the spring. Not sure if we should try now or wait until we are back in the US?
Any idea how long this process takes?
Thanks again!
Duder wrote:Great info FilAmericanMom!
I was wondering the best way to do this.
We are at the moment living in Korea but will return to the US in the spring. Not sure if we should try now or wait until we are back in the US?
Any idea how long this process takes?
Thanks again!
My wife took a bus to NYC and completed the process that day, got the results in about 4 weeks.
Duder wrote:Great info FilAmericanMom!
I was wondering the best way to do this.
We are at the moment living in Korea but will return to the US in the spring. Not sure if we should try now or wait until we are back in the US?
Any idea how long this process takes?
Thanks again!
I don't remember all the details. I applied for my dual citizenship over 6 years ago. What I remember are snippets. I know it did not take a long time to get the dual citizenship - around 2 weeks to a month from the date I submitted the requirements. I recall that the official who handled my application was happy that I gave him the requirements in order and put a numbered post-it on each instead of handing all of them to him in one unorganized pile. I went to an "accredited" photographer for the blue background photo id (if the photo got rejected by the consulate, he would re-take the photo for free). There was an oath taking. The fees were not expensive compared it to the fees to get a US citizenship. Photocopying at the consulate was relatively expensive, which was why I had the documents that required multiple copies photocopied at my work for free (hehehe).
I suggest that you go to the official website of the consulate nearest your residence in the US and check the requirements for dual citizenship. I think it will be better for your wife to apply in the US where she can procure the required documents, such as an official marriage contract from city hall (if you got married in the US) among others, more easily.
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