DFA: Collection of 'allegiance fee' for dual citizenship authorized under law
Sen. Franklin Drilon had asked the Department of Foreign Affairs to stop collecting allegiance fees from Filipinos who want to reacquire their Philippine citizenship. File
MANILA, Philippines — The collection of €45 or $50 from Filipinos who want to reacquire their Philippine citizenship is authorized by the Bureau of Immigration, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said Friday.
The DFA, however, clarified that the collection of €45 from applicants who are seeking to retain or reacquire their Philippine citizenship does not correspond to an "allegiance fee."
The collection of such fee refers to the "one time fee for the processing of the application and issuance of the corresponding Identification Certificate" of the applicants.
"The collection of the USD 50 from applicants for 'dual citizenship' is authorized under Memorandum Circular No. MCL-08-006 2008 and Circular No. AFF-04-01 promulgated by the Bureau of Immigration in order to implement the provisions of Republic Act No. 9225 or the Citizenship Retention and Re-Acquisition Act of 2003 and Administrative Order No. 091." DFA spokesperson Rob Bolivar said.
The DFA issued the statement following the call of Sen. Franklin Drilon for the DFA to stop collecting the so-called allegiance fees from Filipinos.
The collection of the allegiance fee was raised when Drilon met with the Filipino community in Spain.
“The DFA is not an income-generating institution. It exists for the service of Filipinos abroad,” Drilon said in a statement.
Drilon authored RA 9225 which states that natural-born Filipinos who lost their citizenship through naturalization in a foreign country may reacquire their Philippine citizenship by taking an oath of allegiance to the country before a duly appointed Philippine official.
- Latest
- Trending
