Congress of the Philippines (a) Those opposed to organized government or affiliated with any

Eleventh Congress association of group of persons who uphold and teach doctrines opposing all
organized governments;
REPUBLIC ACT NO. 9139 June 08, 2001
(b) Those defending or teaching the necessity of or propriety of violence,
personal assault or assassination for the success or predominance of their
AN ACT PROVIDING FOR THE ACQUISITION OF PHILIPPINE CITIZENSHIP FOR
ideas;
CERTAIN ALIENS BY ADMINISTRATIVE NATURALIZATION AND FOR OTHER
PURPOSES
(c) Polygamists or believers in the practice of polygamy;
Be it enacted by the Senate and the House of Representatives of the
Philippines in Congress assembled: (d) Those convicted of crimes involving moral turpitude;

Section 1. Short Title. - This Act shall be known as "The Administrative (e) Those suffering from mental alienation or incurable contagious diseases;
Naturalization Law of 2000."
(f) Those who, during the period of their residence in the Philippines, have
Section 2. Declaration of Policy. - The State shall control and regulate the not mingled socially with Filipinos, or who have not evinced a sincere desire
admission and integration of aliens into its territory and body politic to learn and embrace the customs, traditions and ideals of the Filipinos;
including the grant of citizenship to aliens. Towards this end, aliens born and
residing in the Philippines may be granted Philippine citizenship by
(g) Citizens or subjects with whom the Philippines is at war, during the
administrative proceedings subject to certain requirements dictated by
period of such war; and
national security and interest.

(h) Citizens or subjects of a foreign country whose laws do not grant Filipinos
Section 3. Qualifications. - Subject to the provisions of the succeeding
the right to be naturalized citizens or subjects thereof.
section, any person desiring to avail of the benefits of this Act must meet
the following qualifications:
Section 5. Petition for Citizenship. - (1) Any person desiring to acquire
Philippine citizenship under this Act shall file with the Special Committee on
(a) The applicant must be born in the Philippines and residing therein since
Naturalization created under Section 6 hereof, a petition of five (5) copies
birth;
legibly typed and signed, thumbmarked and verified by him/her, with the
latter's passport-sized photograph attached to each copy of the petition,
(b) The applicant must not be less than eighteen (18) years of age, at the and setting forth the following:
time of filing of his/her petition;
(a) The petitioner's name and surname, and any other name he/she has
(c) The applicant must be of good moral character and believes in the used or by which he/she is known;
underlying principles of the Constitution, and must have conducted
himself/herself in a proper and irreproachable manner during his/her entire
(b) The petitioner's present and former places of residence;
period of residence in the Philippines in his relation with the duly
constituted government as well as with the community in which he/she is
living; (c) The petitioner's place and date of birth, the names and citizenship of
his/her parents and their residences;
(d) The applicant must have received his/her primary and secondary
education in any public school or private educational institution dully (d) The petitioner's trade, business, profession or occupation, and if married,
recognized by the Department of Education, Culture and Sports, where also that of his/her spouse;
Philippine history, government and civics are taught and prescribed as part
of the school curriculum and where enrollment is not limited to any race or (e) Whether the petitioner is single or married or his/her marriage is
nationality: Provided, That should he/she have minor children of school age, annulled. If married, petitioner shall state the date and place of his/her
he/she must have enrolled them in similar schools; marriage, and the name, date of birth, birthplace, citizenship and residence
of his/her spouse; and if his marriage is annulled, the date of decree of
(e) The applicant must have a known trade, business, profession or lawful annulment of marriage and the court which granted the same;
occupation, from which he/she derives income sufficient for his/her support
and if he/she is married and/or has dependents, also that of his/her (f) If the petitioner has children, the name, date and birthplace and
family: Provided, however, That this shall not apply to applicants who are residences of his/her children ;
college degree holders but are unable to practice their profession because
they are disqualified to do so by reason of their citizenship;
(g) A declaration that the petitioner possesses all the qualifications and none
of the disqualifications under this Act;
(f) The applicant must be able to read, write and speak Filipino or any of the
dialects of the Philippines; and
(h) A declaration that the petitioner shall never be a public charge; and

(g) The applicant must have mingled with the Filipinos and evinced a sincere
desire to learn and embrace the customs, traditions and ideals of the Filipino (i) A declaration that it is the petitioner's true and honest intention to
people. acquire Philippine citizenship and to renounce absolutely and forever any
prince, potentate, State or sovereign, and particularly the country of which
the applicant is a citizen or subject.
Section 4. Disqualifications, - The following are not qualified to be
naturalized as Filipino citizens under this Act:
(2) The application shall be accompanied by:
(a) Duplicate original or certified photocopies of petitioner's birth certificate; derogatory record on file or any such relevant and material information
which might be adverse to petitioner's application for citizenship.
(b) Duplicate original or certified photocopies of petitioner's alien certificate
of registration and native born certificate of residence; If the petition is found by the Committee to be wanting in substance and
form, the petition shall be dismissed without prejudice.
(c) Duplicate original or certified photocopies of petitioner's marriage
certified, if married, or the death certificate of his spouse, if widowed, or the Section 8. Approval or Disapproval of the Petition. - Within sixty (60) days
court decree annulling his marriage, if such was the fact; from receipt of the report of the agencies which were furnished a copy of
the petition or the date of the last publication of the petition, whichever
comes in later, the Committee shall consider and review all relevant and
(d) Duplicate original or certified photocopies of birth certificates, alien
material information it has received pertaining to the petition, and may, for
certificate of registration or native born certificate of residence if any, of
the purpose call the petitioner for interview to ascertain his/her identity, the
petitioner's minor children, wherever applicable;
authenticity of the petition and its annexes, and to determine the
truthfulness of the statements and declarations made in the petition and its
(e) Affidavit of financial capacity by the petitioner, and sworn statements on annexes.
the good moral character of the petitioner by at least two (2) Filipino
citizens of good reputation in his/her place of residence stating that they
If the Committee shall have received any information adverse to the
have personally known the petitioner for at least a period of ten (10) years
petition, the Committee shall allow the petitioner to answer, explain or
and that said petitioner has in their own opinion all the qualifications
refute the information.
necessary to become a citizen of the Philippines and is not in any way
disqualified under the provisions of this Act;
Thereafter, if the Committee believes, in view of the facts before it, that the
petitioner has all the qualifications and none of the disqualifications
(f) A medical certificate that petitioner is not a user of prohibited drugs or
required for Philippine citizenship under this Act, it shall approve the
otherwise a drug dependent and that he/she is not afflicted with acquired
petition and henceforth, notify the petitioner of the fact of such approval.
immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS);
Otherwise, the Committee shall disapprove the same.

(g) School diploma and transcript of records of the petitioner in the schools
Section 9. Decree of Naturalization and Naturalization Processing Fee. -
he attended in the Philippines. Should the petitioner have minor children, a
Within thirty (30) days from the receipt of the notice of the approval of
certification that his children are enrolled in a school where Philippine
his/her petition, the applicant shall pay to the Committee a naturalization
history, government and civics are taught and are part of the curriculum;
fee of One hundred thousand pesos (P100,000.00) payable as follows: Fifty
and
thousand pesos (P50,000.00) upon the approval of the petition and Fifty
thousand pesos (P50,000.00) upon the taking of the oath of allegiance to the
(h) If gainfully employed, the income tax return for the past three (3) years. Republic of the Philippines, forthwith, a certificate of naturalization shall be
issued. Within sixty (60) days from the issuance of the certificate, the
Section 6. Special Committee on Naturalization. - There shall be constituted petitioner shall take an oath of allegiance in the proper forum upon proof of
a Special Committee on Naturalization herein referred to as the payment of the required naturalization processing fee and certificate of
"Committee", with the Solicitor General as chairman, the Secretary of naturalization. Should the applicant fail to take the abovementioned oath of
Foreign Affairs, or his representative, and the National Security Adviser, as allegiance within said period of time, the approval of the petition shall be
members, with the power to approve, deny or reject applications for deemed abandoned.
naturalization as provided in this Act.
Section 10. Duty of the Bureau of Immigration. - Within five (5) days after
The Committee shall meet, as often as practicable, to consider applications the applicant has taken his oath of allegiance as required in the preceding
for naturalization. For this purpose, the chairman and members shall receive section, the BI shall forward a copy of the petitioner's oath to the proper
an honorarium of Two thousand pesos (P2,000.00) and One thousand five local civil registrar. Thereafter, the BI shall cancel the alien certificates of
hundred pesos (P1,500.00), respectively, per meeting attended. registration of the applicant.

Section 7. Powers/Functions of the Special Committee on Naturalization. - Section 11. Status of Alien Wife and Minor Children. - After the approval of
An alien who believes that he has all the qualifications, and none of the the petition for administrative naturalization in cancellation of applicant's
disqualifications, may file an application for naturalization with the alien certificate of registration, applicant's alien lawful wife and minor
secretariat of the Special Committee on Naturalization, and a processing fee children may file a petition for cancellation of their alien certificates of
of Forty thousand pesos (P40,000.00). Thereafter, the petition shall be registration with the Committee subject to the payment of the filing fee of
stamped to indicate the date of filing and a corresponding docket number. Twenty thousand pesos (P20,000.00) and naturalization fee of Forty
Within fifteen (15) days from the receipt of the petition, the Committee shall thousand pesos (P40,000.00) payable as follows: Twenty thousand pesos
determine whether the petition is complete in substance and in form. If such (P20,000.00) upon the approval of the petition and Twenty thousand pesos
petition is complete, the Committee shall immediately publish pertinent (P20,000.00) upon the taking of the oath of allegiance to the Republic of the
portions of the petition indicating the name, qualifications and other Philippines.
personal circumstances of the applicant, once a week for three (3)
consecutive weeks in a newspaper of general circulation, and have copies of Section 12. Status of Alien Husband and Minor Children. - If the applicant is a
the petition posted in any public or conspicuous area. The Committee shall married woman, the approval of her petition for administrative
immediately furnish the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), the Bureau of naturalization will not benefit her alien husband but her minor children may
Immigration (BI), the civil registrar of the petitioner's place of residence and file a petition for cancellation of their alien certificates of registration with
tile National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) copies of the petition and its the BI subject to the requirements of existing laws.
supporting documents. These agencies shall have copies of the petition
posted in any public or conspicuous area in their buildings, offices and
Section 13. Cancellation of the Certificate of Naturalization. - The Special
premises, and shall, within thirty (30) days from the receipt of the petition,
Committee may cancel certificates of naturalization issued under this Act in
submit to the Committee a report stating whether or not petitioner has any
the following cases:
(a) If it finds that the naturalized person or his duly authorized Section 18. Repealing Clause. -All provisions of existing laws, orders,
representative made any false statement or misrepresentation or decrees, rules and regulations contrary to or inconsistent with this Act are
committed any violation of law, rules and regulations in connection with the hereby repealed or modified accordingly.
petition for naturalization, or if he otherwise obtains Philippine citizenship
fraudulently or illegally, the certificate of naturalization shall be cancelled;
Section 19. Separability CIause. - If any part, section or provision of this Act
is declared invalid or unconstitutional, the part, section or provision not
(b) If the naturalized person or his wife, or any or his minor children who affected thereby shall continue to be in force and effect.
acquire Filipino citizenship by virtue of his naturalization shall, within five (5)
years next following the grant of Philippine citizenship, establish permanent
Section 20. Effectivity Clause. - This Act shall take effect after fifteen (15)
residence in a foreign country, that individual's certificate of naturalization
days following its publication in at least two (2) newspapers of general
or acquired citizenship shall be cancelled or revoked: Provided, That the fact
circulation.
of such person's remaining for more than one (1) year in his country of
origin, or two (2) years in any foreign country, shall be considered prima
facie evidence of intent to permanently reside therein; Approved,

(c) If the naturalized person or his wife or child with acquired citizenship
allows himself or herself to be used as a dummy in violation of any
constitutional or legal provision requiring Philippine citizenship as a
condition for the exercise, use or enjoyment of a right, franchise or privilege,
the certificate of naturalization or acquired citizenship shall be cancelled or
revoked; and

(d) If the naturalized person or his wife or child with acquired citizenship
commits any act inimical to national security, the certificate of naturalization
or acquired citizenship shall be cancelled or revoked.

In case the naturalized person holds any hereditary title, or belong to any
order of nobility, he shall make an express renunciation of his title or
membership in this order of nobility before the Special Committee or its
duly authorized representative, and such renunciation shall be included in
the records of his application for citizenship.

Section 14. Penalties. - Any person who shall fraudulently make, falsify,
forge, change, alter, or cause or aid any person to do the same, or who shall
purposely aid and assist in falsely making, forging, falsifying, changing or
altering a naturalization certificate issued under this proceeding for the
purpose of making use thereof, or in order that the same may be used by
another person or persons, and any person who shall purposely aid and
assist another in obtaining a naturalization certificate in violation of this Act,
shall be punished by a fine of not more than Five hundred thousand pesos
(P500,OOO.OO) and by imprisonment for not more than five (5) years, and
in the case that the person convicted is a naturalized citizen, his certificate
of naturalization shall, if not earlier cancelled by the Special Committee, be
ordered cancelled.

Section 15. Any person who failed to register his/her birth with the
concerned city or municipal civil registrar may, within two (2) years from the
effectivity of this Act, file a petition for the acquisition of the Philippine
citizenship: Provided, That the applicant possesses all the qualifications and
none of the disqualifications under this Act and subject to the requirements
of existing laws.

Section 16. Special Disposition of the Filing Fee. - An amount equivalent to

Section 17. Implementing Rules and Regulations. - The Special Committee