Immigration How & Why

Hi there,

 

• when it comes to immigration Philippines, it is best to check for the latest updates on the official immigration site of the Philippines.
• WHY? Because, like in most countries, Immigration policies change a little, to a lot, every 3-6 months. In some even every month.

 

That being said, I can tell you about my personal experience, those of my parents who came here under the PRA program in 2010, and those of others that I personally met, which are a few. I HOPE the information that follows will help YOU the reader to decide what to do.

 

• The PRA Program for me, since my parents actually DID that, is a waste of TIME and MONEY, and is really only for a certain type of couple or individual! The PRA, or Philippine Retirement Authority, represents FOR ME, just another CORRUPT, MONEY GREEDY Government Agency!  Like I said, for my parents, it was a waste of time and money!! BUT it’s a LEGAL way for older people or RETIREES to live in the Philippines.
• I personally after dealing with them at the start, and at the end, when my parents decided to leave the Philippines, would call them the Philippine RETARD Authority, since they DO NOT CARE about the people themselves, but only about how much money they can get from them.

 

After 3 days of horrendous RED TAPE, my parents finally got their PRA ID Card. They had to deposit $10,000 in a bank account, had to show a total monthly pension of min. $1000.- and had to pay $1800 US for both Visas!

As I was also present when they received it, my Dad than ASKED just ONE question:

So WHAT are the ADVANTAGES of having this PRA ID-Card? The lady replied:

 

YOU CAN NOW LIVE IN A CHEAP COUNTRY! WOW!

And my Dad asked: And that is it? No other benefits at all? The answer was: No.

Basically, you have now the permission of the Philippine Government to SPEND all your pension, and or money you have worked for!

There are absolutely NO Programs to ASSIST these PRA Cardholders in any way since this third world country hardly helps their OWN people, so WHY should it help some rich/older people?

But PLEASE do YOUR own due diligence on this subject, since one fits all does not apply, and even if the PRA was the wrong way for my parents (they left after 8 months!) it might be the right way for YOU. Here is their website again:  PRA Website.

 

I would Now Like To Start With MY Personal Experience About Immigration

 

• Once I decided to move to the Philippines on a somewhat PERMANENT basis (or at least that is what I thought then) I came up with a 20-foot container.
• WHY? Because basically, my furniture was still in really good condition, the COST of shipping here was ” only ” about 5300 Euros, the furniture in the Philippines is really of BAD Quality unless you buy the high-end stuff, and most importantly people do not BUY used furniture in Munich, so I would have had to basically give it away.

I would recommend that to anyone else, UNLESS you are as crazy as me, or you just LOVE your STUFF !!

 

• So when you land and go thru IMMIGRATION today, you get a  30-day Visa Waiver. That is standard for most 1st world countries, like US/Canada/Germany/and many more! This is probably the EASIEST way to enter the country. After the 30 days, you can apply for your 1st EXTENSION for an additional 59 days of stay. The cost for these 2 months of extra stay is approx. $71.- OR approx. 60 Euros. More on that here.

That is what I did, since I was not 100% sure, HOW to stay permanently in the Philippines, without hiring an Immigration lawyer, which would SELL you, just about any VISA you like,  since back then and even today, you can BUY just about anything/anyone in this country.

 

After I paid my 2nd or 3rd extension, always valid for 2 months, I decided to be an ILLEGAL and see what happens. I would not recommend that since you will NEVER be asked about STATUS here ( by the way, in 10/11 years LIVING & WORKING in the US, I was NEVER asked about my LEGAL status. Green card/Visa, etc.) so you will have NO problem LIVING here, and spending your money!

Only WHEN you decide to leave the country, thru an official Immigration point, they will make YOU PAY, thousands if not Millions of pesos, depending on the amount of time, you overstayed! It’s really only about money.

 

• What I can recommend to everyone, is to carefully think about your length of stay, and then get the appropriate Visa.
• UNTIL such time, that you truly KNOW how long you will stay,  I would recommend this:
• Every 2 months you can do an EXTENSION, and this for about 2 years. YOU basically have up to 2 years of TIME to decide within those 2 years WHAT you want to do.
• Is this the cheapest way? Maybe, maybe not, but it’s the way with the least amount of RED TAPE !! Just pay around $70 US every 2 months, which adds up to be a whopping $350/360 for ONE year.
• In every somewhat big city, there is an immigration office and it only takes about 15-30 min. to do that process. Just bring a picture and CASH. No credit/debit cards are accepted in especially province cities.

 

• In 2018, I recommended this to a German fellow, who intended to come and live in the Philippines.
• He even wanted to buy a house here, so my guess is that he wanted to stay for an extended period of time (probably because he was chatting to some girl…LOL).
• He told me that he has traveled before to other countries, but has NEVER VISITED nor LIVED in the Philippines.
• I explained to him the same things that I just mentioned above…., but he thought that $70 every 2 months is too much, and he wanted to just get the SSRV Visa.
• Well, let’s just say, that it is the right move IF you are 100% sure that you will stay here for a long time, if not then you have spent A LOT more than $360 per year, which you will NOT get back.
• Only the money you deposited in a bank. If you ever try to get money back, here in the Philippines, (from just about anybody) then GOOD LUCK with that!

 

I SAID and WROTE this before and I will say and write this again and again: Having or coming for a VACATION to the Philippines and spending here 2-8 weeks, is VERY VERY different than LIVING here!

 

• By the way, with your 3rd extension, you WILL have to get an ACR I-CARD for Tourists. You have to get this. No choice, since they want an additional $50 from you, and they want to know where you will live and the usual stuff, that is on most ID’s!

 

This is GOOD, since only with the ACR I-Card ( Alien Certificate of Registry ) you can open a BANK ACCOUNT. Without an ACR I-Card you can NOT open a bank account. I am not really sure about US Citizens, but most, not all banks, give them a hard time opening a bank account. So hang in there and just try different banks.

 

At this point I would like to remind you, the reader of ONE simple FACT, or let’s make it a Question that is a fact…not sure but here it is:

• WHY do the vast majority of somewhat smart educated Filipinos want to LEAVE this beautiful country? I did a survey once and asked about 20 people. I know its not a lot, but it makes no difference, I could have asked 2000 Filipinos, and I would have gotten the SAME ANSWER.

 

I ASKED: If I could/would give EVERY FILIPINO a GREEN CARD or US PASSPORT, how many of the 100 Million would leave?

  They answered: ALL !!!

 

• This answer, is a bit disturbing, considering WE, the foreigners come here on our own FREE WILL, and see only the Paradise! We just DO NOT see all the ISSUES, to WHY THEY want to leave!!! So PLEASE keep this in mind, when thinking to retire or live here.
• As I said before, for most of us from the Civilized world, Manila or Cebu are the only two cities, where you will find some normality to your LAST way of life, but YOU can choose the area, and so many other amenities that you dont think about when moving here…but YOU WILL eventually!

 

Here is a letter, or you might call it a LIFE Report from a guy, by the name of Kris B. who spent many years LIVING in the Philippines, and it will you another perspective, I HOPE.

Why do some foreigners like to come and stay in the Philippines, but many Filipinos want to leave?

Kris B

Kris B, Spent many years in the Philippines

Updated July 22, 2016 | 2nd Update on Jan.31.2023

 

I lived in Boracay island for 5 years and was always surrounded by a lot of expats and their stories so i think i can shed some light on this.

Most foreigners when they are in their own countries and they are looking at countries like the Philippines to move to, they are usually thinking 3 things.

1) beaches – they think the Philippines has nice beaches so it would be a good place to live.

2) weather – most foreigners are typically looking for a country with nice weather (warm/hot) if they come from cold climates.

3) price – most foreigners think the Philippines is cheap.

 

There are other things too like language if the people are friendly or not etc.

Before foreigners move to the Philippines, most think that it will be a little bit similar to their countries, but they have no idea what is waiting for them! lol 🙂

When I was living in Boracay island I owned an internet company in the UK which I could manage from anywhere in the world as long as I could connect to the internet.

I ended up in the Philippines because I went backpacking around the world and ended up in Boracay island because the beach was one of the nicest beaches I’ve seen, I could drink for 30-50 pesos for a beer/hard drink in a bar in the evenings, right on the beach and it was hot and the people are friendly.

 

I had no real interaction with the real Philippines though, I was living in Boracay which is like a paradise bubble, I was only renting an apartment on the beach for a good price compared to UK rent (no buying or anything).

I enjoyed mingling with the locals and other ex-pats, my income came from the UK (i wasn’t doing business here or interacting with the Philippine government which is a total nightmare, especially immigration philippines). Also, my British pounds converted into a lot of pesos (because of the exchange rate) which meant I could suddenly live to a much higher standard, in a better climate, on a paradise beach, what’s not to like?

Most people who move to the Philippines and who simply head out to some of the amazing beaches and use their income from their own countries think they usually end up really enjoying the country 🙂

 

However, the ex-pats around me in Boracay Island, who were usually more involved in the Philippines in terms of they had a business there, or property, paying taxes, or had a job and or kids, and have complicated/expensive immigration visas, etc, many of them seemed to NOT like the country as much as I did, in fact, many hated the country and would be complaining nonstop until they simply packed up their bags and left. Many also seemed to move to the Philippines and watch their lives fall apart for various reasons.

 

As soon as foreigners move here and start to interact with the government or try to make a living in the country then many of them start to realize the Philippines is not what they thought it was and many leave and they quickly realize why Filipinos want to leave.

Don’t get me wrong, some people set up really nice family businesses here and are very happy, but these are the few good stories, the rest of the stories are about people losing their life savings in property purchase scams which even often involve the government (government workers faking documents, etc) or losing their savings in setting businesses when they don’t understand the buying habits of Filipinos and more reasons.

 

When i moved to manila and started to live like a Filipino, eg trying to earn a living in the country and send my kids to school, etc, I opened a business in manila and suddenly i learned why so many Filipinos are trying to get out, everything changed, suddenly I saw the real Philippines and i was very very disappointed 🙁

 

The below is specifically manila but it applies to most of the Philippines, not just manila…..

Heavy heavy soul-crushing traffic – the government seems to not spend its own money on infrastructure, ever! The traffic means the pollution is dangerous, meaning you can’t walk around or cycle on the streets and theirs a genuine health hazard.

 

The heat – The sun and heat is fun when you’re on the beach, but if you’re not, the extreme heat of the Philippines becomes a burden.

 

Mass poverty – living in manila you suddenly realize how much EXTREME poverty there is here.

 

Very ugly/depressing structures – many building owners don’t take care of their properties, if you go outside of Makati/fort/Ortigas then the scenery becomes very depressing to look at.

 

No lifestyle/culture/hobbies – the government doesn’t spend money on recreational parks, sports areas, areas for hobbies, etc. Everything is privately owned by businesses and you need to pay to do pretty much anything. Even the beaches near manila, most are privately owned by expensive hotels.

 

The government is a money-making machine – taxes are high for employees and in return, they get no free schools, no free healthcare, no infrastructure, nothing. so I really don’t understand why Filipinos would pay taxes if they get nothing in return. The Philippine government doesn’t seem to understand that they are supposed to take taxes and then spend those taxes on services that the people need and want, not just spend the taxes on their salaries.

If you want to start a business in the Philippines for some reason you need to pay the barangay, the mayor (mayor’s permit), fire department, and so on. You will end up paying the government a lot of money just for the basic human right of being able to earn a living through owning a business. The government makes EVERYTHING complicated, difficult, lots of paperwork, lots of ques and moving around to different offices and puts a tax on everything too.

 

Relationships:

A lot of older foreigners who come to the Philippines do so specifically to meet Philippine women, they usually end up meeting the women in bars or online, many of the foreigners think they have hit the jackpot at first as they marry their beautiful, 20 years younger wife after 1 month of meeting, they can’t believe their luck at first but a huge percentage of these foreigners end up supporting their GF/wives entire family (business ventures, hospital bills, medicines, loans) and just generally getting used for money until they have nothing left.

(It’s amazing how blinding love can be for some of these guys), I’m not sure why so many foreigners expect the bar girl they picked up to become an amazing wife and then get surprised when their new wives end up scamming them or abusing their bank accounts, not because these bar girls are bad people but desperate conditions (poverty) can make people do all kinds of unpleasant things.

So many foreigners stop using their brains when they arrive in the Philippines but just remember just in any developing or even rich countries too, there is a small percentage of the female population in the Philippines that is actively looking for foreign husbands purely for financial reasons and many of them do not care what so ever about the guy.

Needless to say, the vast majority of Philippine women are not like that though, all the thousands of couples I’ve met (ex-pat with Philippine wife) who met each other under normal circumstances are very happily married or have long relationships (myself included).

 

In summary, when foreigners move to the Philippines and live like Filipinos eg. they try to earn a living from the country they quickly learn the many many problems/corruption caused by the corrupt government that is disabling the country and they quickly leave, even if the regular Filipino people are awesome which they are, and the beaches are nice, the negatives outweigh the positives by far.

 

The foreigners who go to the Philippines and enjoy the people and the beaches by using their own incomes from their own country though will be very pleased that they live in the Philippines.

 

If I was a born Filipino and just finishing university I would do one of two things…

 

1) All these problems and inefficiencies = a lot of opportunities for entrepreneurs, despite the bad business environment the government has created there is still a HUGE amount of opportunity here for daring entrepreneurs.

OR

 

2) Get out of the country as fast as I can and never look back.

 

• So here is my TRIBUTE to the Philippines and the Immigration issues, which are part of the problem LIVING here, since its a never-ending PAY PAY PAY for just spending your money here, and even though I did meet my amazing wife here, I am more than ready to LEAVE this country!

 

• Last but NOT least, I would like to add the following: In 2016, the country probably had the WORST President in its history! Now it is Mr. Duterte, which when I saw him campaigning for President, he gave me and I am sure many others, the impression that HE WOULD actually Do SOMETHING about the Corruption, the traffic, the drugs, etc. Well in 2 years, he barely scratched the surface! It is NOT CHANGING any time soon. Especially immigration Philippines is one of the most corrupt segments of Government!

UPDATE February 2022:

Nothing has really changed in the Philippines under President Duterte. He tried but could not fight the super-duper rich Chinese-Pino families who basically OWN almost everything in this country! So lets see if the son of Ex-Dictator Marcos can change things for the people? I do not think so…but let us see.

 

HOPE this post helped you to decide what you want to do in the Philippines. Please do write me YOUR STORY and/or experience and I will post it here (with your permission) so we can HELP others to NOT make the same mistakes…but maybe ALL of US, just have to do what we believe is right.