Guidance

Philippines: Knowledge Base profile

Published 29 August 2025

Version 4.0

About: Philippines

This document contains useful information about Philippines which will assist His Majesty’s Passport Office staff process passport applications.

Contacts

If you have any questions about the document and your line manager or senior caseworker cannot help you or you think that the document has factual errors then email HM Passport Office’s Guidance team.

If you notice any formatting errors in this document (broken links, spelling mistakes and so on) or have any comments about the layout or navigability of the document then you can email the Guidance team.

Publication

Below is information on when this version of the document was published:

• version 4.0
• published for Home Office staff on 15 August 2025

Changes from last version of this document

This document has been updated with formatting changes.

Philippines: names

This section gives HM Passport Office operational staff information about names in the Philippines.

Names in the Philippines usually consist of:

• forename
• middle name (usually the mother’s maiden name, if the child is born legitimate)
• surname (of the father)

Change of name

Name changes are allowed in the Philippines. These must be done through the court or through an administrative process. A Philippines citizen can change their forename or surname, but the middle name cannot be changed.

Under Philippine law, name changes are allowed through:

• an administrative proceeding when there are, for example:
  • clerical or spelling errors on the birth certificate
  • changes to be made to the forename (by choice)
  • nicknames the customer wishes to include in their name
• a court process when, for example, the:
  • name is extremely difficult to write or pronounce
  • change results as a legal consequence, as in legitimation
  • change will avoid confusion
  • customer has continuously used and been known since childhood by a Filipino name, unaware of their parentage
  • customer has habitually used the name for a long time

Following a marriage in the Philippines only women may change their name. A woman can take their husband’s surname. Where the husband’s surname is used after marriage, the woman will also replace her middle name (mother’s maiden name) with her own maiden name. Their name will become:

• forenames
• maiden name
• husband’s surname

A woman may choose to hyphenate her surnames.

Philippines: nationality

This section gives HM Passport Office operational staff information about nationality in the Philippines.

Dual nationality is recognised in the Philippines.

Citizens may lose their Philippines nationality if they acquire the nationality of another country by naturalisation or registration. A person who gets their Philippines nationality by birth can have dual nationality.

Philippines citizenship can be reacquired.

Philippines: legitimacy and parental responsibility

This section gives HM Passport Office operational staff information about legitimacy and parental responsibility in the Philippines.

Legitimacy

The Philippines recognises a difference between legitimate and illegitimate births.

A child is considered:

• legitimate:
  • if their parents were married at the time of birth
  • if their parents marry after the date of birth and the father is named on the birth record
  • if they were born or conceived before their parent’s marriage has been annulled or voided
• illegitimate if their parents never marry

Parental responsibility

Both parents share parental responsibility in the Philippines.

Where there is a dispute over the parental responsibility of the child, the father’s decision will be considered final, unless there is a court order to state otherwise.

In case of the absence or death of:

• one parent, the other parent shall continue exercising parental responsibility
• both parents, substitute parental responsibility will be given to the surviving grandparent (or grandparent identified by the court if the child has more than one)

If a surviving parent remarries, parental responsibility of the child will not be affected unless the court appoints another person parental responsibility.

Philippines: adoption

This section gives HM Passport Office operational staff information about adoption in the Philippines.

Adoption is legal in the Philippines.

Philippines: surrogacy

This section gives HM Passport Office operational staff information about surrogacy in the Philippines.

Surrogacy is not regulated in the Philippines.

Philippines: gender recognition

This section gives HM Passport Office operational staff information about gender recognition in the Philippines.

Transgender citizens are recognised in the Philippines. They cannot be documented in their gender of choice.

Philippines: civil partnerships and marriage

This section gives HM Passport Office operational staff information about civil partnerships and marriage in the Philippines.

Civil partnerships and same sex marriages are illegal in the Philippines.

Civil marriages are legal in the Philippines.

Religious marriages are recognised in the Philippines but must be registered with the civil registry to become legal.

Divorce is not legal in the Philippines. A Philippines citizen’s marriage is usually permanent unless:

• it has been annulled (meaning it is no longer valid from the date of the annulment)
• a ‘declaration of nullity’ has been made (meaning the marriage never existed)
• the couple legally divorces outside the Philippines

A Philippines citizen can only re-marry in the Philippines if:

• the original husband or wife is missing and presumed dead
• their previous marriage has been annulled
• a declaration of nullity has voided the previous marriage

To show their marital status, female citizens can get one of the following documents from the Philippines Statistics Authority (PSA):

• a Certificate of No Marriage Record CRS Number 4 (CENOMAR)
• an Advisory on marriage CRS form Number 5 (CRS form number 5)

Philippines: documents

This section gives HM Passport Office operational staff information about documents in the Philippines.

All birth, marriage and death records in the Philippines are held by the Civil Registrar General.

Birth certificates

All births must be registered at a Local Civil Registry Office within 30 days of the date of birth. Late registration is allowed.

Birth certificates are issued following the registration of all births in the Philippines. Where a mistake is identified on a birth certificate, the original certificate will be reissued with marginal notes and amendments.

There are two types of birth certificate in circulation, including the:

• Civil Registration of Live Birth (issued by the Civil Registrar General and acceptable for HM Passport Office purposes)
• ‘Hilot’ (issued by a traditional mid-wife and not acceptable for HM Passport Office purposes)

The father’s details will not be included on the child’s birth certificate if he:

• was not married to the mother at the time of the child’s birth; or,
• was not present at the time of the child’s birth

The father can acknowledge his paternity and have his details added to the birth record. If the father is in the Philippines, he can apply for the birth certificate to be amended through the Local Civil Registrar, or the National Statistics Office, following their processes.

Marriage certificates

All marriages in the Philippines that require a marriage license must be registered within 15 days of the date of marriage at the National Statistics Office.

Marriages that do not require a marriage licence, must be registered within 30 days of the marriage taking place, for example, marriages:

• at the point of death
• in remote places
• between members of ethnic cultural community
• between men and women who have lived together for at least 5 years

Late registration is allowed. Marriage certificates are issued following registration of the marriage.

Death certificates

All deaths in the Philippines must be reported to the Local Health Officer within 48 hours of the date of death. The Local Health Officer must administer the registration of the death with the City/Municipal Civil Registrars within 30 days of the date of death. Late registrations are allowed.

Death certificates are issued following the registration of all deaths in the Philippines.

Identity documents

All Philippines citizens and foreign nationals who are legally resident in the Philippines are required to register for a national identification card (PhilID).

The PhilID is issued under the Philippine Identification System (PhilSys program) and is used for identity verification across government and private services.

Foreign nationals who are legally resident or who have been resident in the Philippines for more than 59 days must apply for a mandatory Alien Certificate of Identity Card (ACR-I Card).

The ACR-I Card is issued by the Bureau of immigration.