Category Archives: Immigration Law

When the Use of Aliases Violates the Law

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“Iqbal’s alleged use of aliases violates law — solon,” states the caption of a news article, referring to the allegation of Davao City Representative Carlo Nogales that the use of an alias by MILF Spokesman Mohagher Iqbal, apparently not his real name, in official documents “violates the Revised Penal Code and the Anti-Alias law which prohibit the use of pseudonyms in public documents.” It might be helpful to have a summary of the laws the penalize the use of aliases. Continue reading →

Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act of 2003 (RA 9208): A Primer

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(A recent news article warns foreigners from marrying Filipino women in exchange for their kidneys or other organs. Two laws were cited: the law against mail-order brides and Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act of 2003. Since we already have a previous discussion on the prohibition against mail-order brides, let’s have a brief discussion on Republic Act No. 9208, also known as the “Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act of 2003“.) Continue reading →

Prohibition against Mail-Order Brides

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You may be aware of the existence of mail-order brides, although you may not be aware that this is an “industry.” According to a study (The “Mail-Order” Bride Industry and its Impact on U.S. Immigration), funded through the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service: Continue reading →

Legal Dynamics: Citizenship and Divorce

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Discussions are welcome in the Forum. As more subjects here are discussed by the readers, the interaction of one topic with another (or between related laws) results to a legal melting pot, enriching the pool of topics to choose from.

For instance, we have discussed (“Divorce and Annulment in the Philippines“) that a Filipino – wherever he/she may be located in the world – is governed by Philippine laws on marriage. This means that while he/she can secure a divorce outside the Philippines, such divorce is NOT recognized in the Philippines. The same article also contains a discussion on the effect of losing Filipino citizenship vis-a-vis divorce. If a Filipino is naturalized as a foreign citizen and, in the process, loses his/her Filipino citizenship, such former Filipino can validly seek a divorce abroad and the divorce is recognized in the Philippines. In other words, after complying with the procedure in having the foreign decree of divorce judicially recognized (through a court action) here in the Philippines, the Filipino spouse may validly remarry. Continue reading →

Retention and Re-Acquisition of Philippine Citizenship

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Former natural-born Filipinos who retain or re-acquire Philippine citizenship under Republc Act No. 9225 (“Citizen Retention and Re-Acquisition Act of 2003“) shall enjoy full rights enjoyed by any Filipino, subject to certain conditions enumerated below. Please note that the law covers only “natural-born” Filipinos (born of one or both parents who are Filipino citizens at the time of birth) who acquired foreign citizenship through naturalization. Continue reading →