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I was born in the US and I had to go to the Philippines with my Filipino mother at the age of one year old. It's been 15 years and I am 16 years old; I have never gone out of the country. I haven't updated my passport and I am planning to renew it soon. I am allowed to stay in the Philippines until I am 18 or else I lose my American citizenship, stated by the embassy in the US. How should I renew my passport and what other requirements do I need to do so I can go back to the US?

Kate Gregory
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zai
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    What passports (valid or expired) do you currently hold? If you have an expired US passport, how long ago did it expire? Do you have a US birth certificate? Were your parents diplomats in the US when you were born? Was your birth reported to the Philippines embassy or consulate? – jcaron May 21 '25 at 11:51
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    "I am allowed to stay in the Philippines until I am 18 or else I lose my American citizenship, stated by the embassy in the US." That doesn't match my understanding of the law. Did they tell you this in writing? Can you share the exact wording that was used? – Nate Eldredge May 21 '25 at 13:26
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    @NateEldredge is correct. While the question is answerable, the premise is incorrect. My now 19 year old daughter has only ever lived in the USA for the first 4 months after her birth and she is still very much a US citizen. Cue the endless filing of US taxes, sigh. – Marianne013 May 21 '25 at 20:17
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    "by the embassy in the U.S." doesn't make a lot of sense: The Philippino embassy in the U.S.? (There is no U.S. embassy in the U.S) If you want to know your U.S. rights, ask the U.S. consulate (not really the embassy's job usually) in the Philippines or directly in the U.S. state you were born in. – PatrickT May 22 '25 at 03:35
  • IF you are not wanting to file US tax returns then "sticking your head up" may not be wise. IF as others say and I can believe, you cannot lose your US citizenship then if the visit was ONLY to retain citizenship you may wish not to make it. I am non expert in such matters and do not know if the US would retrospectively apply tax filing requirements if you "appeared" at a future date. . || Having a copy of you r US birth certificate would be a very very very good idea regardless. – Russell McMahon May 23 '25 at 11:16
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    @PatrickT: Note that the highly-voted answer by jcaron links to exactly that "Philippines embassy in the US" as a reliable source. (It ought to be pretty reliable, but it's not authoritative; the Philippine government doesn't set the rules for keeping or losing US citizenship) – Ben Voigt May 23 '25 at 14:51

1 Answers1

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You can't "lose" your US citizenship. Once you have it (and you have it by birth if neither of your parents was a diplomat when you were born in the US), the only realistic way to lose it is to renounce it voluntarily.

You are most likely a dual citizen of the Philippines and the USA by birth (see "Check if You Are A Dual Citizen at Birth" in this page).

Just apply for a new passport with the US embassy or consulate. You may need a US birth certificate, depending on how long ago your previous US passport expired. Just follow the instructions on the US embassy in the Philippines page on the topic.

Once you have your passport, you just book your trip and off you go.

If you don't yet have a Philippines passport, also make sure you were correctly reported to the Philippines embassy or consulate in the US at the time of your birth, so your Philippines citizenship is already established an you can get a passport easily (so that you can move back to the Philippines if you ever want/need to).

jcaron
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