Hello! Its my first time posting so bare with me. I was born and raised in the Philippines and i’m half japanese and half filipino. I only had a Philippine passport growing up. I acquired a Japanese passport since my dad acknowledged me before he died. I got my japanese passport when i was 14. i’m currently 19 and l’m not sure if i lost my Philippine citizenship since I acquired a japanese one. so when I renewed my Japanese passport last 2 months ago,i checked i don’t have any citizenships outside japan. Now,i’m considering going home to the Philippines for university and i’m really scared and anxious and i felt that i lied to the government. I’m not sure either if i have my Philippine citizenship thats why i checked no. Do i still have my philippine citizenship since im half or i lost it already? i read the some people doesn’t declare their other nationality to the japanese government. Actually i went to the ward office earlier to check if i have dual citizenship registered. They said they dont know if i have a dual citizenship and ask the embassy of the Philippines.If there are more questions regarding this topic i’ll reply as fast as i can.
4 comments
The ward office is right. The Philippine embassy is the place that can give you the definitive answer. They are also the ones who can renew your Philippine passport.
Good luck!
Unless you went to the Phillipine embassy, renounced your citizenship, and handed them your passport and IDs, then you’re good. Japanese government can’t do anything about other citizenships. They probably don’t even know you have dual citizenship which is why it hasn’t been brought up yet. Even then I don’t think they’ll do anything.
For people with dual nationality via birth, it’s generally a “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy with the Japanese government. You’re *expected* to renounce one by time you are 21, but there’s extremely little enforcement of this rule and generally speaking even if you were targeted for whatever reason, Japan gives plenty of notice prior to taking action.
If you’re concerned about lying to the Japanese government, then just don’t tell them that you have citizenship in the Philippines unless they ask. And make sure to use your Japanese passport when entering Japan and your passport from the Philippines when entering there.
I recommend reviewing this comment. If your father was a Japanese citizen, you are a citizen of both Japan and the Philippines. No need to worry or feel like you’ve done anything wrong.
https://www.reddit.com/r/japanlife/comments/8iczg8/renewing_japanese_passport_as_a_dualcitizen/dyriqmp/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmf&context=3