As part of its information drive on dual citizenship services, the Philippine Consulate General held an info session at the parish hall of St. Ignatius Church in Frankfurt. The event was aimed at informing the public that the Consulate has begun accepting applications for reacquisition of Philippine citizenship under RA 9225 from former Filipinos who were naturalized as German citizens.
Deputy Consul General Rogelio Villanueva, Jr. welcomed the attendees numbering over a hundred, some of whom travelled more than two hours to reach the venue in Frankfurt. Consul Cecille Joyce Lao delivered a comprehensive and in-depth presentation on the requirements and procedures in applying for dual citizenship.
To encourage former Filipinos to take advantage of the latest changes in German citizenship law allowing dual citizenship, Atty. Alvar Rosales outlined the benefits and advantages of being a Filipino citizen such as the right to vote, hold a Philippine passport, practice one’s profession and own properties in the Philippines while addressing some issues on payment of taxes.
The open forum that followed the presentations allowed the attendees to ask questions and clarify certain requirements especially documents which need to be sourced from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).
The event in Frankfurt was made possible with the support of Father Francis Ofrancia and volunteers from the Filipino Catholic Community in Frankfurt. The Consulate intends to hold info sessions in other areas to enhance public awareness on the process of reacquiring Philippine citizenship under RA 9225 which has been made possible for former natural-born Filipinos and naturalized Germans as a result of the German Law on the Modernization of Nationality Law (StARMoDG) which took effect on June 27. END
