Retirement Visa Best Posts in Thread: Special Resident Retirement Visa (SRRV)

Yes, the USD1500 rate is not often mentioned, but is quite a jump from the standard 800 and a deal breaker for some of us.

A tip to some guys out there: a few years back I was told by PRA that anybody with 12 months of just compulsory military service in some other country would also qualify...

 

When i got my "expanded courtesy," all that is required is a DD214. You do not need to be an "officer" (not guaranteed), and you do NOT need to be "retired." I served USN for 3 yrs, got the $1500 rate. ONLY DD214 required.

 

I ask because the mere act of working does not in itself require you to get an Alien Employment Permit (AEP). The important concepts here are employment, foreign market and rare skills.

Do not use the word "work" in any discussion about this. It only confuses things. Use the words "employment" or "contracting".

If you will be working for a local Philippine based employer, then you will need an AEP. The best written reference for this is the PRA application here:
https://pra.gov.ph/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Application-Form-Principal-English.pdf

Read the fine print at *. If there is no employee-employer relationship, ... there is no need for an AEP.

If you will be working for yourself catering directly to foreign tourists then things get a little foggy. You can work as a sole proprietor or officer/manager of a corporation without getting an AEP. You would need to get a Certificate of Exclusion from the Regional Office of the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE).

https://pia.gov.ph/news/articles/1002918

Technically you will be able to operate your own business without a Philippine citizen partner if you would derive more than 60% of your revenue from foreign tourists. This would meet the foreign market test. The concept here is that the government thinks the tourists may like you more than a Filipino. This would require you to get all the permits to operate a business. I recently saw a post from a very professional looking Filipina Dive Master. Your local competition is professional and cute!

There is another option. In the above link you will see:
However, foreign nationals who are excluded from securing an AEP are ...; President and Treasurer, who are part-owners of the company; and those providing consultancy services who do not have employers in the Philippines. "

You could be an independent contractor consultant who does not have an employee-employer relationship but instead a business to business contractual relationship. In this case you would still be required to get a Certificate of Exclusion from DOLE. These are usually reserved for people who provide unique services. Being as there are Filipina Dive Masters around this might be a bit of a stretch and the DOLE would not want to give you a Certificate of Exclusion.

You can read more about it here:
http://www.ble.dole.gov.ph/download...f Employment Permits To Foreign Nationals.pdf

Sorry, I do not know if you can get an Alien Employment Permit without holding an employment contract from a particular employer.

 

Since website and postings get stale and outdated, and the fact that the PRA people in Manila and Cebu are very responsive to emailed questions, it's probably better to just ask them. At least the info would be up-to-date and hopefully accurate.

 

Renewal was incredibly easy. I emailed the PRA office in Manila
(jmbmontales@yahoo.com) and Joanna replied promptly:

----------------------

Hello Mr. -------,

Is your SRRV No. M-XXXXXX? If so, ID Fee is $10 good for 1 year. You have a choice to extend it for 3 years, fee would be $30. Plus the courier fee of P150

The procedure is to deposit the payment thru LandBank of the Philippines.
Below are PRA Bank details:

Bank: Land Bank of the Philippines - Buendia Branch
Account Name: Philippine Retirement Authority
Account Number
Peso account (PHP): 0052 10 5463
Dollar Account (US$): 2204 00 8682

Once payment has been made, please provide us scanned copy of the deposit slip thru this email.

Is that your address on where to send the new ID? Because as per LBC (courier service provider), they don't deliver on PO Box.
Thank you.


Warm regards,
Joanna

--------------------------

I emailed back to ask if I could make the deposit at the Landbank in Dumaguete and gave them the address for the LBC Office in Daro to hold it for pickup (since I do use a PO Box in Valencia for mail.) Here is the response:

---------------------------


Hi Mr. ------,

Good day!

Yes, you can pay at Landbank Dumaguete. Yes, you can pay in peso, more or less P50 is the peso equivalent of $1.

You can just pick up your ID at the LBC branch nearest your residence. Kindly give me the LBC branch and address.

Thank you so much!


Warm Regards,

------------------------

Made the deposit at Landbank....amazingly simple and quick. They have a bit of special paperwork (one or two forms) at the bank to fill out for this. I used my smartphone to take a .jpg photo of the receipt and attached it to an email back to the Manila PRA. I picked up my new card at LBC Daro a few weeks later. The process was about as painless as one could reasonably have it.

 

It would be nice if it also had a Full BI office. (processing ECCs and 10a Visas)

 

I'm confused (what's new at my age). My experience with CEBU PRA. I'm 73, four years in Navy with DD214 (thank god i still had it). I started SRRV (courtesy) paperwork one month AFTER arriving HERE (july 2016). I brought some paperwork, including my US Police Clearance, with the gorgeous red ribbon, affixed in less than a day from the SF Philippine Consulate. CEBU PRA said i did NOT NEED the SF clearance, but DID NEED the NBI (national bureau of investigation, behind the provincial capital in Dumaguete), took two weeks. Used JR Coca as my "service provider" to get stuff "validated" at DFA in Manila The longest project was the Certificate of Deposit from PNB. NEVER EVER use a US Dollar bank manager check, ALWAYS use Peso Mgr Check, cuts wait from 21 days to 3 days. Did that because my $1500 was already here in country.

Anyway, everything done and formally submitted to PRA (Cebu and Manila) on Oct 9, SRRV issued Nov 3, picked up in CEBU on 30 Nov, CEBU said i could not pick up at BOI Duma. I also have an ACR card, haven't figured out why yet, but it was easy to get at BOI Dmge .

 

You might try asking the question directly to the PRA. Ms. Elma Anora-Colbeta at the Cebu office has been very responsive to the questions I asked while going through the process. Try emailing to: cebu_pra@yahoo.com

I always had an answer in a day or two.

 

You will need a 'Police Clearance' from your home country. This then needs to be authenticated by the PH Embassy in your home country. I found that, in the UK, there are agencies that handle these things if you are not there in person - for a fee of course. You can check on the internet for your particular country.

 

Your gf (not wife) can own the lot. You can have a 25 + 25 year lease plus Absolute Power of Attorney on the lot, and you can own any house you build on the lot. The lease and APA are annotated on the TCF of the lot, along with the PRA interest before they return your $20000. If the property is sold or mortgaged the PRA would be informed and would require you to re-deposit the $20000.