Philippines Travel Tips & Resources

[glanmit]

Going to Philippines in the middle of August and hope to have a great time there.
What do you guys think of Loveholidays travel agency? The reviews on this website are so-so, but i can't make my impression about the product or service just based on that. Would appreciate your thoughts about this company. Thanks

[MechWarrior]

Just show up, its a free for all over there.

[Winston]

Great practical tips and tricks for newbies traveling to the Philippines by Filipina Pea. See below.



Great rundown of the types of Filipinas in each region of the Philippines by Filipina Pea. Wow I didn't know there were so many types and that each region had different types of Filipinas. Did you know about these differences @publicduende?

[Winston]

For those of you with any questions about getting visas in the Philippines and the different types of visas available, here is a video by FIlipina Pea where she talks to her cute attorney friend about it. It's a good basic visa FAQ video.

[Yohan]

https://pra.gov.ph/srrv/

The conditions for retirement visa can be found here, Philippine Retirement Authority

and its not so cheap,

Visa costs per year USD 1.400,- approx. 80000 PHP just for being allowed to stay there.

To buy our own home (only condiminium allowed or lease (but not to buy) house and landplot : minimum price USD 50.000,- (almost 3 million PHP)

USD 10.000 deposit (if you can prove you have a pension) otherwise USD 20.000,- (I think, if you decide to leave for good they will pay back your deposit, but otherwise you will not see it again during your life-time

Think again, if it is worth the money for a legal stay .....

[publicduende]

https://pra.gov.ph/srrv/

The conditions for retirement visa can be found here, Philippine Retirement Authority

and its not so cheap,

Visa costs per year USD 1.400,- approx. 80000 PHP just for being allowed to stay there.

To buy our own home (only condiminium allowed or lease (but not to buy) house and landplot : minimum price USD 50.000,- (almost 3 million PHP)

USD 10.000 deposit (if you can prove you have a pension) otherwise USD 20.000,- (I think, if you decide to leave for good they will pay back your deposit, but otherwise you will not see it again during your life-time

Think again, if it is worth the money for a legal stay .....

I have tried 3 different types of visas in the Philippines: 47(a)(2), for entrepreneurs starting a company under PEZA (a set of economic incentives for foreign-owned companies whose services are provided to clients outside the Philippines), the 13(a), or Spouse visa, and the Tourist visa.

The humble Tourist visa will allow to do virtually the same stuff as the other two Visas, including owning condos. The only limitation is that, when travelling abroad from the Philippines, you need to show a return ticket to your home country, or to a place outside the Philippines. So if you're planning a trip to Ho Chi Minh City, you must have not only a return ticket Manila-HCMC-Manila, but also an additional one-way ticket for a destination outside Manila.

In reality, if you are married and keep your Tourist visa, presenting a copy of your marriage certificate is sufficient to prove that you have a legit reason to be back to the Philippines.

The only other difference between a Tourist visa and Resident visas such as Spouse or PEZA is that you do not need to pop to the immigration office every couple of month or so, to renew your visa. Still, renewing a Tourist visa is about P1,200 per month, provided you do not use their infamous "fast lane" costing an extra P1,000, which they use as a punishiment if you are even 1 day late with your visa renewal.

I never enquired about SRRV (retiree) visa, but if it's really P80,000 a year, then it would be more than 5 times more expensive than renewing a Tourist visa every single month.

[Yohan]

I never enquired about SRRV (retiree) visa, but if it's really P80,000 a year, then it would be more than 5 times more expensive than renewing a Tourist visa every single month.

I made a mistake, PHP 80.000,- one time only and then USD 360,- (approx. PHP 18.000,- every year)

https://pra.gov.ph/srrv/
Philippine Retirement Authority

For active/healthy retirees, who opt to use their SRR Visa deposit into active investment such as the purchase of condominium unit* or long term lease of house & lot. The SRR Visa deposit is as follows:

50 years old & above:
US$ 10,000.00 (with a pension)**
US$ 20,000.00 (without pension)
The value of the property must at least be US$50,000.00
**Required pension of at least US$ 800 for single / US$1,000 for couple

Fees
Processing/Service (one-time)
US$1,400.00 Principal applicant
US$ 300.00 Dependent applicant
Annual Fee of US$360.00 (for the Principal & 2 dependents)