Traveling To The Philippines – An Overview Of Visa Options
There are two main streams of Visa for the Philippines, Immigrant and Non-Immigrant. The Non-Immigrant stream includes Tourist, Student, Business and Special Resident Investment Visa and Special Resident Retiree Visa. Immigrant visa’s are either quota or non-quota, (Quota visa’s are limited to 50 per year for very special cases)
The easiest visa to obtain is the Tourist Visa. Simply arrive at Nino Aquino International Airport (NAIA) in Manila or Mactan International Airport in Cebu and you will be automatically issued with a 21 Day visa. This can be extended , for a fee, for 38 days, then again for 59 days and additional 59 Day extensions may be granted to a term of one year from arrival. At this point you must leave the country for at least 24 hours and then repeat the process.
You can obtain a 59 Day visa from the Philippine Embassy or Consulate nearest your point of origin and this is usually granted within a few days. Be advised that the fees and visa periods can sometimes be interpreted differently by different Bureau of Immigration offices.
Special Retiree and Investment Resident Visas are part of a fairly new program to encourage retirement and investment in the Philippines. In the case of SIRV, there is no age limit but you must deposit US$75,000 with an approved bank and pay about US$2000 in fees. It has the benefit of allowing you to withdraw the money and use it to invest in a business or stocks and shares and there is no fee charged for leaving the country on trips during your sojourn here.
The SRRV has two sections, the first for those aged 35 to 49, and then from 50 years on. Persons 35 and older must deposit US$75,000 as with the SIRV, whereas those 50 and above only need to deposit US$50,000. There is a schedule of fees similar to the SIRV. These visa’s are good if you are not a former Filipino citizen or married to a former or current Filipino citizen.
Balikbayan status is given to those returning Filipino citizens and former citizens and this allows various privileges in business and property ownership, as well as customs duties, tax concessions and so on. It is an incentive aimed at getting all those Filipino’s who migrated overseas back to the country to spend their retirement years and retirement income within the country.
If you are married to a Filipina then you can migrate here on a Non-Quota 13a Immigrant visa if your spouse is still a Filipino citizen or a 13g if they are a former Filipino citizen. With recent amendments to allow Filipino’s to maintain dual citizenship these details may change.
A 13a/g visa gives the holder the right of Permanent Residence, however you still need an Alien Employment Permit to work. You can invest and own a business, providing it falls within the list of allowed businesses and has the appropriate percentage of foreign and or Filipino ownership.
Some may wish to retire here but, although they have a regular retirement income, do not have the US$50-75,000 to deposit up front. Many choose to go the route of the tourist visa with regular extensions and take a trip to Malaysia, Hong Kong, Thailand or even home to the States once a year to stay within the law.
Perry Gamsby is a free lance writer and web content publisher based in Australia. He holds a Master of Arts in Writing as well as tertiary qualifications in teaching and small business management. He is currently writing for Retire2Philippines and bases his cyber self at his writing shop, eWriters Shop Online Content
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