Dual Citizenship and Land Ownership in the Philippines

My cousin, who married an Australian, came home from Australia to attend to some personal matters.  I got to speak to her about real estate, and found out surprisingly that there are a lot of unknowns where ownership of land by "former Filipinos" is concerned.  So I took it upon myself to help clarify some things about land ownership and dual citizenship to "former Filipinos."

Dual Citizenship

Former Natural-born Filipinos now have the option to re-acquire Filipino citizenship under Republic Act 9225, otherwise known as the Citizenship Retention and Re-acquisition Act of 2003.

Dual citizenship is available to those who, at the time of birth, a parent (or both parents) was a Filipino citizen.

Sec 3.    RETENTION OF PHILIPPINE CITIZENSHIP - Any provision of law to the contrary notwithstanding, natural-born citizens of the Philippines who have lost their Philippine citizenship by reason of their naturalization as citizens of a foreign country are hereby deemed to have re-acquired Philippine citizenship upon taking the following oath of allegiance to the Republic:

"I _________________, solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the Republic of the Philippines and obey the laws and legal 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."  
Natural-born citizens of the Philippines who, after the effectivity of this Act, become citizens of a foreign country shall retain their Philippine citizenship upon taking the aforesaid oath.
 

That's it.  An oath and you regain your Filipino citizenship w/o giving up your current citizenship.  All your questions about dual citizenship is answered succinctly by the Bureau of Immigration's FAQ.

I'm heartened to find out that you don't pay dual taxes either!  If you're living and working in the Philippines, you pay taxes in the Philippines only.  If you're living and working in the other country that you're a citizen of, you pay that country's taxes only.  So why not be a dual-citizen now?

Land Ownership

Land Ownership is a different matter, altogether.  If you're a former natural-born Filipino, your right to purchase land in the Philippines is limited.

The Law on former natural-born Filipinos on land ownership for residential purposes:

Batas Pambansa 185, Sec. 2:
"Any natural born citizen of the Philippines who has lost his Philippine citizenship and who has the legal capacity to enter into a contract under Philippine laws may be a transferee of private land up to a maximum area of one thousand square meters (1,000 sq.m.) in the case of urban land or one (1) hectare in the case of rural lands to be used by him as his residence.  In the case of married couples, one of them may avail of the privilege herein granted: Provided that if both shall avail of the same, the total area acquired shall not exceed the maximum herein fixed.  In case the transferee already owns urban or rural land for residential purposes, he shall still be entitled to be a transferee of additional urban or rural land for residential purposes which, when added to those already owned by him shall not exceed the maximum area herein authorized."

The Law on former natural-born Filipinos on land ownership for business purposes: 

Republic Act 8179, Sec. 10:
"Any natural-born citizen who has lost his Philippine citizenship and who has the legal capacity to enter into a contract under Philippine laws may be a transferee of a private land up to a maximum area of five thousand (5,000) square meters in the case of urban land or three (3) hectares in the case of rural lands, used by him for business or other purposes.  In the case of married couples, one of them may avail of the privilege herein granted: Provided that if both shall avail of the same, the total area acquired shall not exceed the maximum herein fixed.  In case the transferee already owns urban or rural land for business or other purposes, he shall still be entitled to be a transferee of additional urban or rural land for business or other purposes which, when added to those already owned by him shall not exceed the maximum area herein authorized."

"A transferee under this Act may acquire not more than two (2) lots which should be situated in different municipalities or cities anywhere in the Philippines: Provided, that the total land area thereof shall not exceed five thousand (5,000) square meters in case of urban land or three (3) hectares in the case of rural land for use by him for business or other purposes.  A transferee who has already acquired urban land shall be disqualified from acquiring rural land and vice versa."  


As you can see, it's pretty easy to remember:  If you're a natural-born Filipino who have acquired a different citizenship, you may still purchase land in the Philippines:

• FOR RESIDENTIAL PURPOSES - 1,000 sq.m. urban land OR 1 hectare rural land
• FOR BUSINESS PURPOSES - 5,000 sq.m. urban land OR 3 hectares rural land

So in essence, you can still own a maximum of 1 hectare rural land for residential purposes AND 3 hectares rural land for business purposes.  In other words, you can still own a total of 4 hectares of rural land if you're a former natural-born Filipino.  This of course doesn't include land that you inherit.  These laws only apply to land you can buy after becoming a "former Filipino."

In my honest opinion, dual-citizenship rocks!  You can still call yourself a Filipino, AND you get to buy land properties in the Philippines without any limits!

Wave those two flags,
Jon