Dual Citizenship, Passport Questions

[Bugs 455]

My wife and kids are all dual citizens. I went ahead and got PHL passports for all of them. You should be able to apply for a PHL passport at the same time as you report your child's birth abroad.

The only real advantage I can see to having a PHL passport is that they can travel to other ASEAN countries and get a better visa than I can (me being only a US citizen). Maybe less hassle opening bank accounts in Philippines, etc. Not really huge advantages. We got passports for all just because we wanted to, and to have good local ID over there if some situation arose where they might need it.

http://www.philsite.net/visa-free-countries.htm

Seeing you are from California, did you do all of this through the LA consulate/outreach? Did you have to get a NSO marriage certificate for any of this (dual citizenship, new wife passport, report of birth, child passport), or did the USA marriage certificate suffice for all those things along with the consulate report of marriage? Edited June 9, 2016 by Leon & Mylen

[Bugs 455]

Citizens don't need a passport for ID or to open a bank account in the Philippines, many IDs are available to Philippine citizens, starting with the simple/easy to acquire Postal ID.

US passport seems to trump the Philippine passport more so than the other way around:

When you pick up your US Passport, you are holding the worlds most powerful travel document in your hand. With your valid US Passport, you can visit approximately 145 countries either completely visa-free or by easily obtaining a visa on arrival. The most popular destination countries that allow US citizens to enter without a visa are outlined below.

https://passportinfo.com/entry-without-visa/

http://www.globalallianz.org/visa-free-countries-for-us-citizens/

https://travel.state.gov/content/passports/en/country.html

https://travel.state.gov/content/visas/en/visit/visa-waiver-program.html

While there are more countries you can travel visa-free with a USA passport than a Philippines passport, they likely have an even better setup: they have both passports.

Which would then, of course, trump a single USA passport or single Philippines passport, since it COMBINES the countries you can travel to with minimal visa hassles from each.

He was talking about Asia in particular, and he says that there are certain Asian countries you can travel to with better visas with a Philippines passport than a USA passport.

Edited June 9, 2016 by Leon & Mylen

[Hank_ 9,174]

While there are more countries you can travel visa-free with a USA passport than a Philippines passport, they likely have an even better setup: they have both passports.

Which would then, of course, trump a single USA passport or single Philippines passport, since it COMBINES the countries you can travel to with minimal visa hassles from each.

He was talking about Asia in particular, and he says that there are certain Asian countries you can travel to with better visas with a Philippines passport than a USA passport.

Not from the ones I check using the Dept. of State website. Can't enter Japan without a visa using the Philippine passport, same for Australia ... whereas the US passport no issue. I couldn't find a single country in Asia that favored the Philippines passport. Some that allowed the Philippines passport only allowed 30 day stays, whereas it is 90 days with the US passport

[Bugs 455]

Not from the ones I check using the Dept. of State website. Can't enter Japan without a visa using the Philippine passport, same for Australia ... whereas the US passport no issue. I couldn't find a single country in Asia that favored the Philippines passport. Some that allowed the Philippines passport only allowed 30 day stays, whereas it is 90 days with the US passport

Interesting. We will have to wait until AKteacher gets back on here then to find out what he was referring to.

Edited June 9, 2016 by Leon & Mylen

[Hank_ 9,174]

Interesting. We will have to wait until AKteacher gets back on here then to find out what he was referring to.

My wife has traveled some before; she had been to Thailand, Singapore, Hong Kong, Malaysia. She was very excited about having her US passport as she could now "travel to more countries" (her words)

[Marc_us82 49]

My wife has traveled some before; she had been to Thailand, Singapore, Hong Kong, Malaysia. She was very excited about having her US passport as she could now "travel to more countries" (her words)

I agree that PI passport is pretty limited as they can only travel to a handful of countries visa free, what would make a powerful combination is the US + Malaysian passport, this way you have the best of both worlds, the east, the west, and the Middle East.

[Tahoma 2,292]

My wife, Chinook, is a dual citizen and has both passports. She used her Pilipinas passport to buy a home in the Philippines. On the other hand, we know a Filipino who is a citizen of the U.K., and not a Filipino citizen any more. That person has both bought and sold a home in the Philippines without a Pilipinas passport.

[Hank_ 9,174]

Don't need a Pilipinas passport for a Filipino to buy (or sell land) land in the Philippines. Just need a picture ID, postal ID handles that now.

[Tahoma 2,292]

Don't need a Pilipinas passport for a Filipino to buy (or sell land) land in the Philippines. Just need a picture ID, postal ID handles that now.

Technically, you have to be a Filipino citizen to buy a home in the Philippines. A postal ID doesn't prove that. However, apparently they don't always ask for proof of citizenship, as was the case with our friend. Anything is possible in the Philippines.

[AKteacher 104]

Seeing you are from California, did you do all of this through the LA consulate/outreach? Did you have to get a NSO marriage certificate for any of this (dual citizenship, new wife passport, report of birth, child passport), or did the USA marriage certificate suffice for all those things along with the consulate report of marriage?

We were able to do these things through the San Francisco consulate. The US marriage certificate was fine, however, we were required to report the marriage before births abroad and new PHL passports with married name would be issued.

[AKteacher 104]

Interesting. We will have to wait until AKteacher gets back on here then to find out what he was referring to.

My point was not that a Philippines passport is required, or better than a US passport, but that it was something we just wanted to have for various reasons.

Of course it is not absolutely required to open a bank account, etc., but it does come in handy now and then (for example, it got us the reduced/resident rate for admission to the Ayala Museum the other day).

It can also reduce visa fees (esp for many countries with reciprocal fees where they charge more if you use a US passport).