Philippine Land Ownership after becoming US Citizen?

You cannot purchase land in the Philippines. Since your wife is a Filipino, she can purchase it for you.

Edit: If your wife is a Filipino, USA citizenship will not forbid her from owning land. As she is still a Filipino. There is only some restrictions on to how much.

The USA does not permit dual nationality.

The Philippines does allow dual nationality. I she becomes a USA citizen, she just need to file to "re-aquire" Philippine nationality. Takes a few minutes, oath saying, and a small fee. Even thought the law states you do not lose your citizenship by gaining a second one...

The answers here are very sad. Feel free to e-mail if you have more questions.

As the other 5 replies have not answered your question and just ranted on crap about notaries and lawyers , here is some advice.

My wife also holds foreign citizenship which at the time excluded her from Philippines citizenship and of course ALL rights back in Cebu .

Now, the Philippines Govt has introduced dual citizenship for their expats so my wife did that and now is both Australian and Filipino with full rights as a citizen in BOTH countries. We too own land but could not unless she had taken out the duality. May I suggest you do the same and as to wasting your time with notaries and lawyers--well, this would be the typical Filipino way of doing things--the wrong way. Your wife can take out dual citizenship in America it is a very simple and basic process and as soon as she has done that she is a PhilAM and away you go buying all the rice paddies you want.

Can Americans own land in the Philippines?

At this time a Filipino can get dual citizenship of both the US & The Philippines (my ex did that) so she can own property here. When she becomes an US citizen they will ask her if she wants to retain her Philippine citizenship.

On her trips here she can enter the Philippines as a Filipino & go back to the US as an American. But check for sure on that before you leave the US.

In the biased society that is the Philippines, the one area where foreigners are legally allowed to own land is if they are of Filipino blood.

This racist attitude is one of the biggest hold backs to development of the Philippines.

She has the right as she's born filipino but if you want to insure her right then see a notary to ask about the condition and regulation. Put your mind at rest meet any lawyer and they will clear out your doubts.

Notary don't know the law, what's this another system from Mars? Contrary in Europe Notaries are more powerful than a lawyer. In Europe if you consult a notary it means they know absolutely the completeness of law so they are at the same time a lawyer. Notarize is their specialty or what they mastered being a lawyer.

Hmmm strange country, strange people, strange system. Notaries earns more than a lawyer.

In classification of grades in the tribunal: there's the judge, notary and lawyer then secretary.

That's the course i graduated of when i was there, secretary in the tribunal.

Do not trust any lawyer in the Philippines. Why would she want to own property there ? If she does not live on the land, people will squat on it and destroy its value.

Tell your wife to see a lawyer who is an expert on property rights. Make sure she doesn't see a notary; notaries don't know the law. They only notarize documents that need notarization.

Though I commend you for changing/upgrading your citizenship from rhesus monkey to gorilla, it wouldn't make economic sense to continue owning land in the PI.

Foreigners can buy land in Philippines.