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How do foreigners move to the Philippines? Do you have detailed information on how foreigners settle in Ph?
Lindendavis
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Above is a picture of our condo. It’s the tallest building, center left of the frame. My wife, son and I are American citizens. l’m a Vietnamese-American, and our 12 year old son was born in Dallas, Texas. My wife was born in Manila, but lost her Filipino citizenship after moving to the U.S., because she did not renew her Filipino passport. At the time, we never planned on leaving the U.S. A friend of mine retired at 63, then passed away 9 months later. We started brainstorming about early retirement, and the Philippines is a good option for us. It’s a bonus that the majority of my wife’s family are living in metro Manila. We just basically bought 3 one way tickets to Manila and flew here on February 2012. When asked by customs why we don’t have return tickets to the U.S., we told them that we were moving here. The immigration officer stamped a 1 year departure date on our passports. This means that we were given 1 year to get our documents in order, so that we can live permanently in the Philippines. My wife filed to re-acquire her Filipino citizenship and petitioned our minor son as a naturalized Filipino citizen. This process took about 1 month and costs about $50 total. Since I am an adult foreigner, my wife can only petition me for permanent residency. This process took about 3 months and costs about $400. As a permanent resident, I have to check in annually at immigration before March 1st. The annual check in at a satellite immigration office in Makati City takes about 5 minutes and costs about $6. I also have to renew my permanent residency card every 5 years. This process takes a couple weeks and costs about $50. My son has been attending private school since May 2012, and is currently attending college majoring in Medical Technology as his pre-med. In Texas, he attends public school, which is better than the private schools here and is free. It’s strange, but college tuition is about the same compared to junior high and high school. It’s a big bonus that it’ll be easier for our son to get accepted into medical school here. The tuition for medical school here is also very affordable. Our lives here are similar to how it was in Texas. It’s just a lot less stressful as we’re retired and don’t have to deal with the stresses which comes with work. My weekly routines include tennis at my club (unfortunately, you have to be a member of a tennis club or country club in order to play tennis here), lifting weights, jogging, dining out with my wife and son, going to the theaters etc… My family and I have been living here for over 8 years. It’s one of the best decisions we’ve made, as it allowed me to retire at 45. If we stayed in the U.S., then I would have to work until I’m 60. I’m fortunate to have a government pension, which gave me the option to retire early. We have 1/6 as much money compared to when we’re both working, but it’s still enough to give us a very comfortable standard of living here. My example is applicable to any foreigner married to a Filipino citizen or who plans on marrying a Filipino citizen. If you’re coming here by yourself to retire, then I believe there’s a SRR Visa or Special Resident Retirees Visa. You just need to deposit, then have a running balance of $20,000 U.S. into an accredited bank. You will also need to check in at immigration regularly.
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I moved there as a volunteer development worker: people recruited by bodies such as Peace Corps, VSO and so forth are granted visas subject to government supervision. Then there is the Missionary Visa, which apparently allows you to do more or less anything. Spouses of filipino citizens get a stamp in their passport that allows them to live there (but not work) for up to a year. There is also a visa for retired people who want to settle there. It is not so easy to find a visa that allows you to get a job there, but local wages are so low that very few foreigners would consider working there anyway (except as an expatriate, where your employer recruits you abroad and arranges the visa and everything).