I'm a bit confused about when you get this 'deposit' back? Other than leaving the country (the Philippines) obviously. Let's say you just turned 50 and you pay the 'US $20,000.00 time deposit'. Let's assume you live in the Philippines until you die (100 years old for example). Do you never ever never see this US $20,000.00 deposit again? That seems like such a waste of money...

Hi Jan,

You are correct that the deposit is until your visa is canceled. In case of someone staying in the Philippines until they die, the deposit would be treated like any other asset and would be part of that person's estate that goes to their heirs.

As far as the "waste of money" aspect, there are a few ways to look at that. One is it is a deposit, not a fee. You only pay it once and you do get it back if you want it. There are several "retirement visas" that charge a fee that you never get back. For example, the CHEAPEST Thailand Elite Visa costs roughly $20,000 every five years.

If you don't like your money sitting in a bank, with the SRRV Classic, you can choose to invest your deposit into real estate for a primary residence or condo, as well as membership shares into a golf club or country club. Not a bad deal right?

Cheers,

Marco

Hi, just one question!
When you say that you need to deposit $10k into a Philippines bank, how long does that money have to stay there, do you have access to it?
Thank you!

Hi Jonny,

Since you mention $10,000, I'm assuming you are considering the SRRV Classic. With the SRRV Classic you do not have to keep your money in the bank. You have access to it, but only for specific investments.

The SRRV CLASSIC makes the most sense for expats and digital nomads thinking about retiring in the Philippines. The visa's selling point is the flexibility to use your deposit for investment. Investments can include real estate for a primary residence or condo, as well as membership shares into a golf club or country club.

Philippines Retirement Visa Requirements

Been kicking around the idea of spending retirement time in more than
one Asian country. When the smoke clears I plan on applying for a Thai marriage visa. I'm also fond of the Philippines and because I spent some time in the military I can qualify for a special retirement visa.

This would allow me to stay in Thailand with their marriage visa or my Thai wife and I could stay in the Philippines with the cheap ex military retirement visa.

I'm thinking that may be one way to hedge my bet so if things go bad in one country then it would be simple to relocate to the other country. Just wondering if you have heard of anyone having retirement visas in more than one S.E.A. country ?

Thanks, Phil

It's hard to get multiple retirement visas because most residency visas require you to live in the country more than 183 days a year to maintain residency. If you want to renew the visa next year, you need to show that you lived in the country for the majority of the year. The good news is the Philippines does not have that requirement for SRRV holders. However, I am unsure of the specifics around the Thai Marriage Visa.

Cheers,

Marco

Love ur in-depth analysis and presentation on SRRV. Very impressed and congrats !

Wonder in the Civid-19 era, how would we get the travel ban exemption to enter PH to apply for SRRV ?

Hi Ken,

Thanks for the shout-out. I'm glad you found the SRRV content useful. Here is the latest update by the PRA on SRRV travel into the Philippines.

The Philippines kept their ban on non-citizens (which excluded SRRV holders) from entering the country much longer than other countries. It's hard to say how the Philippine government will react going forward. The situation globally was/is unprecedented. One can only hope that they learned and will proceed intelligently going forward.

Concerning the bank deposit, do we make the deposit in our own name or is there some other name we have to add at the bank as well as our own name, does this account only have to be for the deposit.?. My Philippina wife and I have a PNB dollar account already but have not moved to PH yet.

Hi Clinton,

Yes, the deposit would be in the name of the primary applicant and only used for the deposit.

You must pay the visa deposit in US Dollars to a PRA-Accredited Bank (the PNB is one of accreditted banks, so you are all good there).

• Development Bank of the Philippines
• Philippines National Bank (PNB)
• Banco De Oro (BDO)
• Bank of Commerce
• Keb Hana Bank (Formerly South Korea Exchange Bank)
• Shinhan Bank Union Bank

Any other questions, let me know.

Cheers,

Marco

Hi Marco

Your article is great! I have a couple of questions: If you are 35-49 years old, is the Philippines accepting visa applications , or is it still for persons 50+? since covid happened.
Are there any income requirements, or anything that would prevent someone from retiring there if you were 40+?
Are applicants able to work there?
How much would be a good amount to have saved in the bank to live until 100 ?

Thanks again

Is there a $1400 processing fee for expanded courtesy visas for ex military retirees. It's the heftiest processing fee that I have ever heard of.

Does a person need to be in Philippines in order to get the courtesy expanded visa?If so , is there a way to get into Philippines to get it currently?

Hi Jayson,

Regrettably, the SRRV program for folks 35-49 years old is STILL suspended. The PRA has not provided any additional information or ETA on when it will restart. It's a shame. That was easily the best Early Retirement Visa in SE Asia. Hopefully, they will figure a solution out soon.

Your question on savings required to live to 100 requires an entire article to discuss. The overly simple answer used by advocates of the FIRE (Financial Independence Retire Early) method is to take your annual expense X 25 to get your estimated required nest egg. For example, if you planned to live in Dumaguete on $1,000 per month, you would need roughly $250,000 to retire early. You can google "4% retirement rule" to get more info or check back in a month or so, and I'll have an article covering retirement spending.

Cheers,

Marco

Hi Dwain,

The $1,400 is a one-time visa fee. The SRRV is still one of the cheapest retirement visas in SE Asia. As an example, a Thailand Elite visa fee is over $15,000. The Malaysia M2H visa fee is roughly $1,200, but has much more expensive financial requirements (~$120,000 in assets and ~$2400 monthly income).

Any questions or concerns, drop me a line.

Cheers,

Marco