More Pinoys in US applying for dual citizenship

WASHINGTON – More Filipinos in the US are applying for dual citizenship due to their desire to revisit their roots and possibly retire in the Philippines during the pandemic, an official of the Philippine embassy here said.

Philippine Consul General to Washington Iric Arribas said the number of Filipinos who wanted to become dual citizens rose to 1,536 in 2019 from 1,391 in 2018, 1,257 in 2017 and 1,009 in 2016. The number dropped to 653 in 2020 during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic but jumped to 2,653 the following year. As of September this year, the number of dual citizenship applications has reached 2,183.

“There are many reasons (for the growth in the number of applications). One is they want to go back to the Philippines and retire there. They want the opportunity to stay in the Philippines (for an) unlimited (period),” Arribas told visiting Filipino journalists in a recent interview.

“Some reasons are very sentimental... They still have an affinity for the country. They are Filipinos by heart only but not Filipinos by paper. It seems that something is lacking,” he added.

Arribas noted a Filipino who has been classified as a balikbayan may only stay in the country for one year and has to go to the immigration bureau if he or she intends to renew the status.

The government defines a balikbayan as a Filipino citizen who has been continuously out of the Philippines for a period of at least one year; a Filipino overseas worker; a former Filipino citizen and his or her family who had been naturalized in a foreign country and comes or returns to the Philippines; and immediate family members who are travelling with him or her.

Arribas said the COVID-19 health crisis also played a role in the higher number of applications since the government’s pandemic task force had required a Philippine passport to travel to the Philippines. Other applicants for dual citizenship simply wanted to reconnect with their roots.

“Some of them applied for dual citizenship a week after applying for US citizenship,” Arribas said.

The government does not set targets for dual citizenship because seeking the status is a matter of choice.

“When reacquiring Filipino citizenship, hindi ka parang bumibili ng patis o toyo sa palengke (it’s not like buying fish sauce or soy sauce in the market),” the consul general said.

“It’s a personal decision. It’s demand-driven. Once they are ready, we accept their application,” he added.

Arribas said taking the Philippine oath of allegiance is often an emotional event for those who have reacquired their Filipino citizenship.

“After the oath taking, we sing the Philippine national anthem. Some were emotional. Some were crying. Others wore Filipiniana... Their memories of the Philippines came back,” he said.