Have any of you become citizens of PH?

[Marvin Boggs]

23 minutes ago, scott h said:

I am curious as what you see as an upside? Like I said except for qualifying for a senior discount I don't see one, but I am open minded and willing to listen 

I can think of several upsides, but its not my job to convince you haha.  Maybe most of you are here for different reasons than me; I plan to live here permanently, have descendants, etc.  If you are part of a place, then you should be a citizen, that's how I see it.  For those who are just here on extended vacation, or plan to move back home at some point, then I agree there is not much purpose to citizenship.  

[Tukaram (Tim)]

Even if there is no down side - there really is no upside.

I can work?  I am on a 13a and 'can' work, and not interested in working for pesos.   I guess maybe I could vote?  Again, don't care.  Senior discount? The senior discount is the only actual positive, and not worth all the hassle of trying to get citizenship. 

Renouncing my US citizenship may not really renounce it - but I would not do anything to threaten my US citizenship. 

[scott h]

8 minutes ago, Marvin Boggs said:

but its not my job to convince you haha.

LOL, not asking to be convinced, just asking you to share your information with the Forum as to the benefits of acquiring citizenship as opposed to the possible consequences.  That's what we do here, share information with each other and help each other out.

Now, if a person is a young man, and plans to immigrate, raise a family and totally integrate themselves into the country and its future, by all means acquiring citizenship is the way to go and I applaud the action and say "Good on you!". 

[Marvin Boggs]

Haha, wish i WAS younger.  I have a good 15 years before retirement, and currently no plans to ever move back.  Obviously reasons can change over time, and I may change my mind later.  Although I see no need to renounce US citizenship,  I think having a second passport is just smart.  

 

- your 'home' passport may make you a kidnapping target

- your 'home' passport may prevent you from making certain investments

- your home country may be going down a path you don't wish to follow

- in the case of a US citizen, you may wish to renounce citizenship someday for tax reasons

- lets say a catastrophe devastates your home country; I'd rather have a local passport than be a refugee

- local passport affords opportunities of land ownership, gun ownership, etc.

- lets say your filipina wife gets sick and dies...who gets your house & businesses?  You're just a foreigner....

 

I don't really see a downside, unless PH citizenship is too painful to obtain.  Maybe the most difficult part for me would be learning the language, but I'm already starting to pick it up, and making plans to become fluent. 

[Jack Peterson]

Worth a read;

https://transferwise.com/gb/blog/dual-citizenship-philippines

[Tukaram (Tim)]

- your 'home' passport may make you a kidnapping target

your skin tone will make you a target in the wrong areas. Your passport stays home in the safe, anyway.

- your 'home' passport may prevent you from making certain investments

I am retired and this is not a concern of mine.  Any future investments would be in the US (in the unlikely event that I made any investments at this point in my life).

- your home country may be going down a path you don't wish to follow

I am not there, not a problem.  More likely the PIs will down a wrong path before the home country.

- in the case of a US citizen, you may wish to renounce citizenship someday for tax reasons

If you do not already have enough money to make that a viable option... you probably never will.

- lets say a catastrophe devastates your home country; I'd rather have a local passport than be a refugee

Again, more likely to happen here in the PIs than in Texas. If the shit hits the fan here, I would rather have the US Embassy to help me (they offered help during Yolanda).

- local passport affords opportunities of land ownership, gun ownership, etc.

Don't need a gun, don't care about land. At my stage in life I am enjoying my money, not worrying about collecting junk. Land can be in the wife's name. All the same to me.

- lets say your filipina wife gets sick and dies...who gets your house & businesses?  You're just a foreigner....

No business here for me, and the house is on family land. Neither of us own it, but doubt either of us would ever get tossed out.  And, I moved before, I can move again. If she is dead I would likely go elsewhere.

Don't forget your PI passport is almost useless for travel. Almost any 1st world passport is better for travel. A US passport can get you into almost any country you want, with no visa in advance. A PI passport is good in what, 27 countries?  Forget that. You could not pay me to get a PI passport.

If you are a young man, some of that may apply. At my age (55) none of it applies to me.  There is no upside to PI citizenship, for me, at my age.   I am a permanent resident, though. No major benefits, but no new risks either.

Most guys I know are trying to go the other way. We want American citizenship for our wife (even if just for a good passport).  I do not know anyone who ever tried to get citizenship here. I think it is a confusing concept for many of us... 

Edited October 14, 2019 by Tukaram (Tim)

[GeoffH]

I briefly looked at it from a dual citizenship perspective a while back (didn't proceed because I don't meet the criteria and I don't want to renounce my Aussie citizenship).

One thing that makes it less attractive is that the 'owing land' benefit is restricted in a similar way to that of ex Filipinos who leave and get a foreign citizenship and renounce Filipino citizenship but then later come back.  They (and you) can only own a limited size parcel of land (can't remember the size sorry), not unlimited size as native born current Filipinos can.

Edited October 14, 2019 by GeoffH

[Arizona Kid]

21 hours ago, Marvin Boggs said:

Curious minds want to know

Why should I? It might interfere with my beer drinking!... 

[Mike J]

14 hours ago, GeoffH said:

One thing that makes it less attractive is that the 'owing land' benefit is restricted in a similar way to that of ex Filipinos who leave and get a foreign citizenship and renounce Filipino citizenship but then later come back.  They (and you) can only own a limited size parcel of land (can't remember the size sorry), not unlimited size as native born current Filipinos can.

A Filipino who leaves, renounces, then returns can 1000 meters of land.  However, if they regain their citizenship (become dual citizens) there are no restrictions on land ownership.  

As for a foreigner gaining citizenship via naturalization the following would indicate there would be no restrictions on owning land.  I added the red highlight.  True that a foreigner cannot own land, but you are no longer a foreigner, you become a Philippine citizen with the same rights as a native-born citizen.

http://immigration.gov.ph/faqs/citizenship#footer

<snip>

2. What are the modes in acquiring Philippine citizenship?

There are two (2) generally recognized forms of acquiring Philippine citizenship:

1. 1. Filipino by birth

      1. Jus soli (right of soil) which is the legal principle that a person’s nationality at birth is determined by the place of birth (e.g. the territory of a given state)

      2. Jus sanguinis (right of blood) which is the legal principle that, at birth, an individual acquires the nationality of his/her natural parent/s. The Philippine adheres to this principle.

   2. Filipino by naturalization which is the judicial act of adopting a foreigner and clothing him with the privileges of a native-born citizen. It implies the renunciation of a former nationality and the fact of entrance into a similar relation towards a new body politic (2Am.Jur.561,par.188).

   3. <end snip>

[GeoffH]

Sorry... I was clearly given wrong advice.