Eligibility Quiz
Were you a Philippine citizen from birth without having to perform any act to acquire or perfect your citizenship?
Requirements
To qualify for this pathway, you must meet strict criteria regarding your birth and the manner in which you lost your citizenship.
- Natural-born Status: You must have been a Philippine citizen from birth. This means you did not have to perform any act to acquire your citizenship (e.g., you were born to at least one Filipino parent).
- Foreign Naturalization: You must have lost your Philippine citizenship specifically by becoming a naturalized citizen of a foreign country.
- Derivative Citizenship for Children: Your unmarried children under 18 years of age (whether legitimate, illegitimate, or adopted) are eligible to be included in your application. They will "derive" Philippine citizenship from you once your application is approved.
- The "Naturalized Filipino" Exclusion: If you were not born a Filipino citizen but became one later through administrative or judicial naturalization, and then subsequently lost it, you are not eligible under RA 9225.
- Public Office Restrictions: While you can regain citizenship, you cannot immediately run for public office. To do so, you must meet additional residency requirements and sign a sworn renunciation of all foreign citizenships at the time you file for candidacy.
Conditions & Warnings
1
Strictly limited to natural-born Filipinos; those who became citizens through naturalization are ineligible.
2
Significant appointment backlogs exist at major consular hubs like Los Angeles and Toronto.
3
Requires a PSA-issued birth certificate on security paper; older NSO or local civil registrar copies are not accepted.
Qualifications
Generation limit
Parents only
Minimum residency
Not required
Language
Not required
No language proficiency test is required for natural-born Filipinos.
Fees
Application fees
$50
Standard fee for principal applicant at US consulates; approximately $25 USD for derivative dependents.
Program Details
Program type
Citizenship
Status
Active since September 17, 2003
Processing time
1–4 months
Apply via
ConsulateIn-countryOnline