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Tourist vs Retirement Visa
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What are the advantages of a tourist vs a retirement visa in the Philippines?
Lindendavis
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What are the advantages of a tourist vs a retirement visa in the Philippines?
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Citizens of many countries can get a tourist visa on arrival. Then you can renew it for 30 days. After that you can renew it every 2 month, with 2×6 month renewals, up to 3 years. After 3 years you have to leave the country and return. Renewals can sometimes consume an entire day at the immigration office. While on a tourist visa, you need to file an annual report. You cannot according to the rules, get a local driver license, but some people report getting them.if you leave the country any remaining time on your current visa is lost and you start the process over with visa on arrival. A couple each need to process tourist visa extensions seperately. The retirement visa is called Special Residental Retirement Visa or SRRV. It is indefinante period and has an annual fee that can be paid for 3 years at a time. Other than the renewal no other immigration action is needed. You can come and go as often as you want. Annual fees are roughly equal to tourist visa renewal costs. $360 per year. . My first renewal, for 3 years, was completed with card issued in an hour. There is a deposit requirement. You must have a deposit, or qualifying investment. (Condo, long term lease or country club membership worth more than $US50, 000). The deposit is $50,000 if you are between 35 and 50 years. Under age 50 the deposit cannot be converted to an investment. Older is 20,000 if no pension or $10,000 is a lifetime pension of 1,000 or more is paid into a Philippine bank account. You get interest on the deposit. Currently I am getting 1%. There are provisions for dependants on an SRRV. Application fee is $1, 400. Also there is a special category for retired diplomats and retired military, anny nation as well as a few other categories of people. The deposit is $1,500 and annual fee much less. There are a few other benifits. Work permits are reported as being easy to obtain, you are exempt of departure tax if you leave within a year. You can attend a university without a student visa or any other permissions. You can avail of the OhilHeakth insurance scheme. On expat forums there is a ongoing discussion which is better. I have SRRV but for some the tourist visa extension route ay be better. For me it came down to a question of Canadian tax rules on how one becomes a non resident for tax purposes. For you you need to look at the totality of your circumstances.
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I’m not sure there are any specific ‘advantages’ as such – the tourist visa is a 30 day thing, renewable by exiting and returning to the country, or by extending it at the Bureau of Immigration. A retirement visa is a 12 month thing, with different requirements. If you stay longer than 60 days on either visa you need the ACR card, and the costs for the visas are not that significant, IMO… I guess the tourist visa may be slightly better for anyone wanting to travel in and out of the country frequently, but in all honesty, if you’re retired and living here, then get the correct visa!