Naturalization is the process of conferring to an alien the citizenship of another country, by any

of the means provided by law. It is a privilege and not a right and may be enjoyed only under the
precise conditions prescribed by law.

There are different modes of acquiring Philippine citizenship by naturalization. To wit;

(1) By judicial process in accordance with Commonwealth Act No. 475, as amended by
Republic Act No. 530;
(2) By legislative process i.e., when Philippine citizenship is conferred by a special act of
Congress on deserving aliens;
(3) By administrative process under Republic Act No. 9139. Under this law, a Special
Committee on Naturalization is created, with the power to approve, deny or reject
applications for naturalization filed with said Committee. Members of the Committee are
the Solicitor General as chairman, and the Security of Foreign Affairs or his
representative and the National Security Adviser as members.

Qualifications for judicial naturalization under Sec. 2, C.A. No. 475, as amended:

(1) The petitioner must not be less than 21 years of age on the date of the hearing of the
petition;
(2) He must have, as a rule, resided in the Philippines for a continuous period of not less
than ten years;
(3) He must be of good moral character, and believes 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;
(4) He must own real estate in the Philippines worth not less than Php5, 000, Philippine
currency, or must have some lucrative trade, profession, or occupation;
(5) He must be able to speak and write English or Spanish and any one of the principal
Philippine languages; and
(6) 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 where Philippine history,
government, and civics are taught or prescribed as part of the school curriculum during
the entire period of the residence acquired of him, prior to the hearing of his petition for
naturalization as citizen.

Qualifications for administrative naturalization under Sec. 3 of Rep. Act 9139:

 (1) The applicant must be born in the Philippines and residing therein since birth;
(2) The applicant must not be less than eighteen (18) years of age at the time of the filing of
his/her petition;
(3) The applicant must be of good moral character and believes in the underlying principles
of the Constitution, and must have conducted himself/herself in a proper or
irreproachable manner during his/her entire 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;
(4) The applicant must have received his/her primary and secondary education in any of the
public school or private educational institution duly recognized by the Department of
Education, Culture and Sports, where 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 nationality; Provided, that should he/she have minor children of
school age, he/she must have enrolled them in similar schools;
(5) The applicant must have a known trade, business, profession or lawful 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 family. Provided, however, that this shall not
apply to applicants who are college degree holders but are unable to practice their
profession because of they are disqualified to do so by reason of their citizenship;
(6) The applicant must be able to read, write, and speak Filipino or any of the dialects of the
Philippines; and
(7) 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 people.

The Philippine citizenship, however, may be lost. Under the Commonwealth Act 63 as amended
by Rep. Act No. 106, a Filipino citizen may lose his citizenship in any of the following ways:

(1) By naturalization in a foreign country;

(2) By express renunciation of Philippine citizenship;
(3) By subscribing to an oath of allegiance to support the Constitution or laws of a foreign
country upon attaining twenty-one years of age and more;
(4) By rendering service to, or accepting commission in, armed forces of a foreign country;
(5) By cancellation of the certificate of naturalization;
(6) By having been declared by a competent authority, a deserter of the Philippine armed
forces in time of war, unless subsequently, a plenary pardon or amnesty has been
granted; and
(7) In the case of a woman, upon her marriage to a foreigner, if by virtue of the laws in force
in her husbands country, she acquired his nationality.
The Philippine citizenship may be reacquired as provided under Sec. 2 of Commonwealth Act
No. 63, as amended by Rep. Act No. 106. To wit:

(1) By naturalization; Provided, that the applicant possesses none of the disqualifications
prescribed in Sec. 2 of Act No. 2927;
(2) By repatriations of deserters of the Army, Navy, or Air corps;
(3) By direct act of the Congress.