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Guide to Travel for Philippine Dual Citizens
As a dual citizen travel can seem complicated
Many who are dual citizens in the Philippines can find travel for Philippine Dual Citizens complicated. Do they need a visa? What if they overstay in the Philippines. The procedures are actually not complicated, and I am happy to share the things that I know on the topic.
Exit Procedure for Philippine Dual Citizens
When the Philippine Dual Citizenship law went into effect (RA9225 – 2004) it made my wife, Feyma, and our children were eligible to become dual citizens. Â Feyma became a US Citizen in the late 90’s before we came to the Philippines. Each of our children was born as US Citizens in the United States. Â When Philippine Citizenship became available to them without interfering with their US Citizenship, we decided to jump at the opportunity.
Our son’s first trip abroad
Aaron, our second son, who has been writing on this site for a couple of years now, turned 18 last year, and he recently took off on a journey to the United States.  He will be spending at least 7 months there with his grandmother, and also taking a few trips to see the country of his birth, meet friends of the family, and generally learn about his American culture. This trip brought up the topic of travel for Philippine dual citizens. Being a dual citizen presented a few obstacles in terms of leaving the country, so I thought I would write about that to help others in the same position.
In order to make travel easier, it was our hope and desire to obtain a Philippine Passport for him, in addition to his US Passport. Â We felt that this would particularly make re-entering the Philippines easier for him, and help avoid being classified as a US Citizen upon entry and then having a visa to renew continually. Â However, the process of getting a Philippine Passport became so burdensome that we decided to just forget about it, and travel on the US Passport only.
Certificate of Philippine Citizenship
When he became a dual citizen, he was issued a Certificate of Philippine Citizenship. Â We found that if he traveled on his US Passport, but also carried that certificate with him, travel for Philippine Dual Citizens became easy. We found that the certificate would serve the same purpose of carrying a Philippine Passport. Â When exiting the Philippines this certificate would help him to avoid any allegation of “overstaying” the visa in his US Passport, since a citizen is allowed to stay in the country as long as he wants to stay. Â Then, when entering, presenting the certificate would show that he is a Philippine citizen, and help him get the proper classification upon entry. Â Recently, when Aaron departed for the USA, he presented his US Passport and the Citizenship Certificate, and it went very smoothly, just as it should.
One problem that we anticipated was that Aaron’s original US Passport had his entry stamp. Â He is now on his 3rd US Passport since entering the Philippines, so the entry stamp was not in his current passport. Â At his exit, he simply presented all three of his US Passports, to show the entry stamp and the continuation of passports, and there were no questions asked, it was not a problem at all. Travel for Philippine dual citizens was proving to be quite easy.
Aaron’s Exit from the Philippines
When exiting, since Aaron is a Philippine Citizen and a US Citizen, he was liable for paying the Philippine Travel Tax of P1,620. Even considering Travel for Philippine Dual Citizens, it is a requirement. The tax is a bit higher if you are traveling first class, but Aaron was traveling coach.  This tax is required of all Philippine Citizens who are leaving the country, and also of Dual Citizens.  It also applies to all holders of the 13 Series Resident Visas.  Additionally, foreigners who have been in the country for more than 1 year must pay the travel tax.
So, that is the procedure for leaving the country if you are a dual citizen, it is very easy. Â The Immigration personnel at NAIA were very familiar with this and handled it professionally and without question.
Re-entry to the Philippines for Travel for Philippine Dual Citizens
Now, when it is time to come back to the Philippines, it is pretty much exactly the same. Â Aaron will enter the Immigration area and present his US Passport and the Philippine Citizenship Certificate. Â When he presents these, his US Passport will be stamped and the Certificate number will also be entered into his US Passport. Â He will then be able to stay in the country for as long as he wishes, no need to go to the Bureau of Immigration, no Visa fees, no extensions, nothing. The immigration officers at NAIA understand the process for travel for Philippine Dual Citizens well, they can take care of you without issues.
Another benefit for him is that when he returns to the country later this year his new passport will be stamped, and thus he will not have the need to carry those old passports any longer, to show his entry stamp, since there will be a new entry stamp.
Another thing to keep in mind regarding travel for Philippine Dual Citizens is that they are also required to pay an ECC Fee (Emigration Clearance Certificate). The fee is P710.  They do not need to go to the Bureau of Immigration and apply for an ECC. They only have to pay the P710 at the airport when leaving.  For some reason, they did not ask Aaron to pay this fee, so he got to save a bit of money! 🙂
Question from a reader about travel for Philippine Dual Citizens
A while back I got a question from Airhee in regards to travel for Philippine Dual Citizens.
Here’s what Airhee had to say:
Hi Bob, I saw that you were helping all these people out with their questions. I was hoping you could help me with mine as well. I came here to the Philippines around Jan 2010. I wanted to start my studies here (I’m a U.S. citizen). Around March 2010 I applied for the R.A. 9225 to make enrolling easier. I went through the whole process and oath taking. I have my certificate and everything, so that technically makes me a dual citizen now right? Now my real question is, the studies here didn’t go so well. I would like to go back to the U.S. soon… will I have any problems with leaving the country if I entered here with my U.S. passport? Thanks for your time, I hope you’ll be able to help!
And, here is my response to Airhee:
Hi Airhee,
No, you will have no problems leaving. Travel for Philippine Dual Citizens is actually quite easy these days. There will be no fees or penalties for overstaying.
What you will need to do is to present your Dual Citizenship Certificate. Dual Citizen travelers should also present your foreign passport when leaving, and any overstaying penalties will be waived automatically.
My children are Dual Citizens. They have always used their Dual Citizenship certificate for this purpose. They have never experienced any problems. The people at immigration are very used to dealing with travel for Philippine Dual Citizens, it is so common these days.
Good luck to you and have a good trip back to the USA.
I hope this was helpful information about travel for Philippine Dual Citizens
Hopefully, this information is helpful for other Dual Citizens traveling in and out of the Philippines. Â I know that it was difficult for us to gather all of the information ahead of Aaron’s departure. There was a bit of “nail-biting” while waiting for Aaron to clear Immigration when leaving the airport! Â I was happy that it all worked out, though, and it confirmed what we expected to happen.
We recently left through NAIA for a trip to the UK. My son Fraser has both a Philippines and British passport. We went to pay the travel tax for him and my wife and were told that only my wife was required to pay. We passed through immigration without any problems.
Hi Mike – Sounds like Aaron’s experience with the ECC fee! I guess you don’t complain when you don’t have to pay! 🙂
Good day, I am a (TWN-PHL) citizen, I was overstaying in the philippines for almost 20 years and now i was asking for opinion. I am planning to go back taiwan this upcoming april and i already filed my IDENTIFICATION Certificate at BI and as per them my certificate was already approved and only wait for the printing of my IC . My Taiwan passport is already expired and i got renewed it at Taiwan Embassy and it is already released. My question is, Can i fly to taiwan using my Taiwan passport and having my IC? Is there any… Read more »
Yes, your plan is exactly correct.
Hi Yilin,
I have the same issue with you and I have some questions. 🙂
When you travelled to Taiwan? Did you only showed your Taiwan Passport or also your Philippine passport? Did you present your IC? (But in the IC is written that it is not valid for travelling purposes). What else was needed?
Would really appreciate your reply. 🙂
Thank you. 🙂
Hi mister bob I need your help. My dad is a natural born filipino and he went to US to work and he was naturalized and he went to the philippines to marry my mom. My dad was a US passport holder and my mom was a Filipino passport holder. Me and my older brother was born in the US. We went back in the philippines we were baby back then when we came here. So we have been living here for 15 years I think and last 6 years ago my dad died. We already renewed our US passport… Read more »
I am sorry, I really don’t understand your question. When you apply for the 13A visa you will put your signature on the forms.
Thanks much Bob! Really helpful indeed!
Unfortunately, according to Bureau of Immigration it will take 2-3months before i can claim the cert. I applied last Feb. I recently called the office but still not available. So most probably it will be released in May.
Bob can you explain what was so “burdensome” about getting a Philippines Passport? I am sure that many of your readers would be interested in hearing about the problems encountered in the process.
There will be no question. As long as you have id there is no problem, no fees or fines as long as you prove you are a dual citizen.
Thanks Bob! Appreciate your time and effort. Warm regards.
If your son has both havd both passports and they’re both a of valid passport then here’s a dual citizen
Some of the Immigration officer will ask for your old passport specially if your recent passport has just been issued or renewed. I travelled overseas last year and I just renewed my passport, and the officer asked for my old paspport. I brought my old once since I read a lot of blogs and they adviced to bring along the old passport with you. This reason I believe is for the officer to check the travel history of the person as well as his eligibility to travel without any questions upon entering/exiting.
Thank you so much Bob. This site is really helpful.
Are they going to look for my old passport to know my entry and exit stamp or i just need to show my taiwan passport and Identification certificate?
I cannot process my Philippine passport because it was so long waiting, I need to fly taiwan for my dad 1st year death anniversary.
Thanks bob!
hi bob, question. my kids has stayed in the philippines for 3 yrs with canadian passport. already have ticket but we told that they have to wait for their over stay fee process which will take 1 month. is therw any other way they could flt back right away. would they be able to apply for a phil passport? please help
You mean that you have more than one signature? You mean that when you sign forms there is more than one signature you use? I have no idea which one to use… you should only use one sugnature.
Bob
Some Philippine-based travel agencies will assist with passports at the DFA in Manila. It costs a bit more for their fee, but it eliminates a lot of the burden.
Same thing with visas that do not require interviews
You will need a passport that shows your entry stamp.
Based on the information that you gave, the information you were given is not correct. If she has a valid US Passport AND a Valid Philippine Passport, there are no fees for overstaying. It is impossible for a citizen to overstay, and only citizens can have passports.
Three is an ECC fee, but it will be only about P500 and can be paid at the airport.
Hi Jon,
You ought to have some names or addresses of agencies who can process my PH Passport? I am dual citizen but only in possession of a Cert. of Dual Citizenship and a German Passport. I would like to avoid all the hassle and have an agency do the work for me since I’m also quite short of time due to my schedules. Any tip would be highly appreciated. Thanks ahead.
Best regards,
Allan
So sorry for misspelling your name John. Thanks.
Hi Bob I know what you mean about the process of getting a Philippine passport. Our trouble though was with getting the birth certificate for our daughter. With me being a foreigner she should have been given a birth certificate almost immediately but the Davao office didn’t follow the rules and it took us 4 months! If we hadn’t constantly complained it would probably have taken 6months +. The passport only took 1 month from application and we jumped all of the queue because she was under 1 year old. Good old priority queue! The office obviously doesn’t want many… Read more »
If you have a dual citizenship certificate or some proof of dual citizenship then you did not overstay. If you don’t have some kind of proof of dual citizenship then there will be big problems. But, with the proof, there is no problem at all.
I was about to suggest getting the Philippine passport while AJ was stateside, but I see you’ve already considered it. Our own experience with obtaining dual citizenship was fairly straightforward. Marlyn applied at the embassy in D.C. and got the certificate after only a short wait. They would have issued her a passport at the same time, but we didn’t have proof of recording our marriage with the embassy in Frankfurt when we were married. They would have issued one in her maiden name, but she figured that would only complicate things. We later dug up the old paperwork from… Read more »
Sorry, but I have no idea what an “IC” is.
BTW, Germany does not allow dual citizenship (unless the laws have changed), so you would not be eligible.
Hi Marc de Piolenc, I don’t understand what you are talking about. What was I eligible for?
Once you get a Philippine Passport you can travel, no fines, no fees. There will be nothing else to get once you have your Philippine Passport in hand.
Ah, but that is not what the article is about.
“Ah, but that is not what the article is about”. Well…. I did manage to slip in at the end that I appreciate the travel tips. 🙂
But you know that the comments often go sideways, lol. 🙂
Take care,
Pete
I could write thousands of words on that, Tim. Days and days were spent at the DFA, and never made any progress. Just to be able to get in at the Davao DFA you have to go to SM at the parking lot at around Midnight, and wait outside all night just to get a number that will allow you to enter. It’s just ridiculous.
When we left Manila for China last year only my wife had to pay the travel tax, my kids didn’t even though they are dual. I could write a book about this as I had to go to the DFA, and NSO in Manila many times to get papers authenticated for our China visa last year. My daughter was born in the Philippines and we have her NSO birth certificate. If you are traveling to China, though, you will need to get the new yellow NSO birth certificate with a bar code. Then that NSO birth certificate needs to be… Read more »
Hi Ruel – Thanks for sharing your experience! That is especially true if the entry stamp is on your old passport, but you are also right that it shows your travel history!
Thanks for stopping by!
You did not tell me anything about their place o birth, the Citizenship of their parents or anything like that, so I have no way of answering your questions.