Bangs Garcia reacquires Filipino citizenship, now a dual citizen in UK
Former actress Bangs Garcia has regained her Filipino citizenship and is now a dual citizen in the United Kingdom.
Garcia posted about the July 14 development on Instagram, showing a photo of her in front of a Filipino flag.
“Dual citizenship: unlocked today! Officially Filipino (again) & British!” she captioned, also thanking the Philippine Embassy in the UK.
In a July 16 post, Garcia reminisced about her naturalization as a British citizen two years ago with a fun little trivia fact.
"And here’s a fun little coincidence: I only just noticed that I wore the same pair of heels to both my Oath of Allegiance ceremonies for the UK and the Philippines[!] I guess these heels were destined for dual citizenship too," she quipped, as she posted then-and-now pictures of her wearing the same footwear.
Garcia became a UK citizen on July 14, 2024, years after she married her Filipino-British husband, Lloyd Birchmore, in 2016. They share two children: Amelia, born in December 2017, and Isabella in July 2020.
Garcia rose to fame in the 2006 TV sitcom Let's Go and for playing Jake Cuenca's leading lady in the 2008 action series Palos. Her last acting roles were in 2017's Ikaw Lang Ang Iibigin and the 2016 fantasy series Ang Panday.
Former Filipino citizens who have been naturalized in another country may apply for the reacquisition of their Philippine citizenship at the Bureau of Immigration.
Requirements include a duly signed notarization petition or application form (BI Form 2014-01-005 Rev 1), two pieces of 2x2 photos with a white background, an original copy of their original Philippine birth certificate issued by the Philippine Statistics Authority, an original and a photocopy of their valid foreign passport, and a photocopy of their certificate of naturalization.
Learn more here.
