Working Visa?

“There is a special retirement visa for the Philippines that requires a large cash deposit in a Philippine bank. There is also a special permanent residence visa for a spouse of a Filipino citizen that entitles you to work. So in order to find work on your own you must either be willing to make a big deposit or be married to a Filipino citizen”.

This advice was posted on one of the many well meaning but all too often simply wrong bulletin boards. In essence it is true, there is the Special Retirement Resident Visa and Special Investment Resident Visa and they do allow a person to reside in the Philippines and carry on approved income earning activities. They do require the deposit of a large sum of money in a local bank for a few months but you can always withdraw it, use it to fund the business or take it back with you when you leave.

If married to a citizen you can obtain a 13A Permanent Resident Non-Quota immigrant visa. There is also a 13B Quota visa that allows single people to reside here and in appropriate circumstances, work. However you are still subject to the 6th Foreign Investment Negative List that tells you what you can and can’t do.

If you are going to a pre-arranged position as an expatriate employee then the company will take care of he paperwork. You could consider trying a 9G visa, but those are for missionaries and they do check your bona fides. If you want up to date information and advice, check out “Making A Living In The Philippines”. It could be the best investment you make.