Philippines: Update to PHL35468.E concerning the sponsorship of a non-Philippine husband by his Philippine wife, and whether a returning Philippine citizen is able to return with her son, a non-Philippine citizen

With respect to sponsorship, section 13(a) of the Philippine Immigration Act makes provision for "quota immigrants," which include "[t]he wife or husband or the unmarried child under twenty-one years old of a Philippine citizen, if accompanying or following to join such citizen" (Philippines n.d.). This provision therefore, enables foreigners who are married to Philippine nationals to apply for a non-quota immigrant visa to join their Filipino spouses and live in the Philippines (see PHL35468.E). According to correspondence received from the Embassy of the Philippines, this provision continues to be in effect (16 Aug. 2002). With respect to naturalization, section 2 of the Revised Naturalization Law of the Philippines provides the following:

Subject to section four of this Act, any person having the following qualifications may become a citizen of the Philippines by naturalization;

First. He must not be less than twenty-one years of age on the day of the hearing of the petition;

Second. He must have resided in the Philippines for a continuous period of not less than ten years;

Third. He must be of good moral character and believe in the principles underlying the Philippine Constitution, and must have conducted himself in a proper and irreproachable manner during the entire period of his residence in the Philippines in his relation with the constituted government as well as with the community in which he is living;

Fourth. He must own real estate in the Philippines worth not less than five thousand pesos, Philippine currency, or must have some known lucrative trade, profession, or lawful occupation;

Fifth. He must be able to speak and write English or Spanish and any one of the principal Philippine language[s]; and

Sixth. He must have enrolled his minor children of school age, in any of the public or private schools recognized by the Bureau of Private Schools of the Philippines, where Philippine history, government and civics are taught or prescribed as part of the school curriculum, during the entire period of the residence in the Philippines required to him prior to the hearing of his petition for naturalization as Philippines citizen (UNHCR 2002).

However, regarding the second condition, section 3(2) provides the following:

The ten years of continuous residence required under the second condition of the last preceding section shall be understood as reduced to five years for any petitioner having any of the following qualifications: ...

(3) Being married to a Filipino woman ... (UNHCR).

In the case of a Philippine citizen returning to the Philippines with his/her son who is a non-Philippine, section 1(2), Article IV of the Philippine Constitution provides that "[t]hose whose fathers or mothers are citizens of the Philippines" are citizens of the Philippines (The Philippine Commission on Elections). According to correspondence received from the Embassy of the Philippines, this provision continues to be "in full force and effect" (16 Aug. 2002).

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum.

References

Embassy of the Philippines, Ottawa. 16 August 2002. Correspondence.

[Accessed 14 Aug. 2002]

[Accessed 14 Aug. 2002]

[Accessed 19 Aug. 2002]