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I have been living in the Philippines since I was a kid. I was born to a Japanese father and Filipino mom, which makes me a Filipino citizen. A few days ago, I inquired about getting a Filipino passport ( which I haven't owned since I never thought I needed it and my parents never got me one since I lived here. And i currently own a Japanese paasport. Unexpired). The officer told me that under the Nationality law in Japan, I could no longer get a ph passport because I'm past the age of 22 ( the age that Japan limits a japanese citizen to be dual). And that I'm currently a japanese citizen only. I have never returned to Japan since I got here. Does that mean I have been over staying here in the Philippines? How should I proceed?

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    This is not a travel question (and we are a site restricted to travel questions) but I am not sure whether Law or Expatriates would be the better choice or whether you stand a better chance to get answers here. So I am going to leave your question open for now.
    – Willeke ♦
    Mar 2, 2020 at 16:34
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    Talk to an Immigration lawyer
    – Traveller
    Mar 2, 2020 at 16:35
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    Shady that the Philippines would strip you of citizenship based on Japanese law. If I were you I'd immediately e-mail the BI and request proper clarification (binoc_immigrat[email protected], [email protected] and [email protected])
    – Crazydre
    Mar 2, 2020 at 17:00
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    The Japanese law says you can lose your Japanese citizenship if you fail to choose (although to my knowledge this has never actually been enforced.) There is no mechanism by which Japanese law can force loss of any non-Japanese citizenship.
    – Gene
    Mar 2, 2020 at 21:00

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UPDATE: So, I spoke to an immigration officer and they said because I have an Identification certificate that recognizes me as a Filipino citizen, I can stay here in the Philippines regardless of me bringing a Japanese passport. I could have paid an overstaying fee of Php 30,000 per year if not for my Identification Certificate. I don't need an exit clearance certificate as well whenever I'll exit the Philippines. What a relief. Hope this thread can help out other dual citizens like me. I know thr Nationality Law of Japan really leaves us in a vague spot.

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    Good to hear, but I would strongly recommend you get a Filipino passport as unambiguous proof of Filipino nationality.
    – lambshaanxy
    Mar 3, 2020 at 4:51
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    BTW Assuming Japan doesn't know about your Filipino citizenship, it's probably in your best interests to keep it that way.
    – ProgrammingLlama
    Mar 3, 2020 at 5:06
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    Yeah, I'm still planning to get a Filipino passport but I still have to file some missing documents. Funny thing is, I went both to the Japanese consulate as well and asked them if is it still possible for me to get a Filipino passport even if I'm past the age allowed for dual citizenship. They told me point black as long as the DFA (Philippine office who issues passports) allows me to, I totally could. While the Ph immigration told me that it's unnecessary for me to procure a ph passport as long as I have my identification certificate with me.
    – Nneko
    Mar 3, 2020 at 9:26
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    @Nneko A potentially (better?) thing for you to check, is timatic (you can search here for it in questions and answers). Let's say you are abroad somewhere for a period of time (working, long vacation, schooling, whatever) and you are ready to board a flight home to the Philippines. The airline will check timatic to determine whether or not they can board you, depending on your ID's available. Without an actual PI passport, if all you have is your certificate, if that is not listed in timatic, then they won't board you no matter what PI officials told you about entry.
    – CGCampbell
    Oct 30, 2020 at 11:51

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