PH embassy says US bill to end dual citizenship still not enacted
The Philippine Embassy in Washington cautioned the Filipino-American community against renouncing their citizenship, as the bill seeking to end dual citizenship has not been enacted.
In a statement, the embassy addressed the status of the "Exclusive Citizenship Act of 2025" introduced by US Senator Bernie Moreno, which aims to bar individuals from holding a US citizenship simultaneously with another country.
"The bill is currently a legislative proposal and has not yet been enacted into law. It will go through several stages of lengthy deliberation and may or may not proceed depending on the decisions of the U.S. Congress," they said.
"U.S. lawmakers will have to carefully consider the provisions of the bill, given its possible significant impact on major immigrant groups in the country," they continued.
The embassy pointed out how previous attempts to end dual and multiple citizenship had not materialized.
Citing the Kawakita v. US case, they also noted that the U.S. Supreme Court itself stated that dual citizenship is a “status long recognized by law” and that “a person may have and exercise rights of nationality in two countries and be subject to the responsibilities of both. The mere fact he asserts the rights of one citizenship does not mean that he renounces the other.”
The embassy assured that their Philippine Foreign Service Posts in the country are closely monitoring the bill and advised the Filipino-American community to do the same.
They further warned against giving up one’s nationality as renunciation of Philippine citizenship is "an irreversible legal action."
Under Moreno's bill, dual citizenship is off the table. Moreover, any US citizen who voluntarily acquires foreign citizenship will be deemed to have relinquished their US citizenship.
US citizens who possess foreign citizenship will be given one year to submit either a written renunciation of their foreign citizenship to the Secretary of State or, alternatively, a written renunciation of their US citizenship to the Secretary of Homeland Security.
Those who fail to comply will be deemed to have voluntarily relinquished their US citizenship. They will then be subsequently treated as an alien under the country's immigration laws.