Philippines

Working for a Philippine employer — 9(g) plus the Alien Employment Permit

The employer petitions; you do not self-file your way into a job. A Philippine employer sponsors the 9(g) pre-arranged employment visa while DOLE issues the Alien Employment Permit (AEP); the permit is tied to the job and the employer, and the labour-market test stands behind it.

The current regime is DOLE Department Order No. 248, s. 2025 (effective 10 February 2025, as amended): AEP filing within 15 calendar days of contract or appointment, a 45-day Labour Market Test publication, and — per DOLE’s own January 2026 statement — the employment contract becomes effective only when the AEP issues, and an AEP is refused where a competent Filipino can do the job.

A job offer is not a work right. Employment may not lawfully start until the permit and status are in hand, and changing employer or role is a new compliance question — confirm the sequence against the signed DO 248 order and your employer’s counsel before resigning anything.

Investor — the SIRV’s US$75,000, held while the investment stands

The Special Investor’s Resident Visa (BOI/BI) lets the holder reside indefinitely while the investment subsists: at least US$75,000 in eligible shares — publicly listed corporations, Investment Priorities Plan projects, or manufacturing/services.

Two stages. A probationary SIRV (about six months) parks the funds as a time deposit at DBP or Land Bank; the money must convert into the actual eligible investment inside that window before the indefinite SIRV issues. Wholesale trading, condominium units and partnerships are not eligible forms.

Conditional, not passive. This is investor residence that lasts while the investment stands — not a bank-deposit retirement visa — and running the invested business is not an automatic exemption from the Alien Employment Permit. The BOI material carries a vintage warning: confirm the current BOI/BI checklist before filing.

Family and the returning-Filipino doors — 13(a), Balikbayan, quota

13(a) marriage. The foreign spouse of a Filipino citizen moves through immigrant stages — a one-year probationary year first, then permanent — with no investor deposit. It is not available to unrelated couples.

Balikbayan is an admission privilege, not a status. Former Filipino citizens, and qualifying foreign spouses and children travelling with them, receive a one-year visa-free stay — extendable, but it is not immigrant status and not a work right.

The quota immigrant visa is real and scarce: 50 places per nationality per calendar year, with the current Bureau of Immigration checklist (effective 17 November 2025) requiring financial proof by any one route at US$100,000 — inward-remittance certification, condominium ownership documents, or investment in an existing enterprise. The older US$50,000 figure in secondary sources is superseded.

Buying in — land, condos and leases stand under every route

Land is closed to foreign nationals (1987 Constitution, Art. XII); land ownership is reserved to Filipino citizens and corporations at least 60% Filipino-owned. Freeports do not change this: Subic and Clark zone land remains leasehold.

Condominiums are the foreigner’s purchase: units under Republic Act No. 4726, provided total foreign ownership in the project does not exceed 40%. That cap is project-wide and can already be exhausted in a given building — get written confirmation of remaining foreign-ownership availability before any reservation fee.

Long leases are the usual land-use substitute — the same shape a converted SRRV deposit takes (at least 25 years on the PRA terms in the retiree card). Nominee or “dummy” land arrangements are illegal under the Anti-Dummy Law; any helper proposing one is disqualified.

The old SRRV numbers still circulating — labelled, never current

Printed only so you can recognise them. Older consulate pages, brochures and agent sites still quote the pre-September-2025 schedule: minimum age 35, Classic deposits of US$10,000 (pensioner) and US$20,000 (non-pensioner) at 50+, the Smile and Human Touch options, and a US$1,400 principal application fee.

Every one of those figures is superseded by the PRA public schedule captured 8 October 2026 in the retiree card above: age 40+, US$15,000/US$30,000 at 50+, Classic and Courtesy only for new applicants, US$1,500 application fee. Smile and Human Touch survive, if at all, only for existing holders — they are not doors a new applicant can walk through.

The recognition test for any helper: an agent still quoting US$10,000/US$20,000, Smile or Human Touch to a new applicant is quoting a dead schedule — exactly the stale-number failure this dossier exists to correct, and a rejected category in the contacts section.

Remote work — the digital-nomad visa is law on paper, not yet a filing

Executive Order No. 86 (24 April 2025) authorises the DFA to issue Digital Nomad Visas: up to one year, renewable once, multiple entry, for remote work for overseas employers only, with health insurance for the stay, a clean record, and a reciprocity condition — your country must offer Filipinos a digital-nomad route and host a Philippine Foreign Service Post.

As of our check on 8 October 2026, the official eVisa portal listed no digital-nomad category, fee, or checklist — the last live-status check (27 September 2026) found the same. The visa is authorised; ordinary applicants cannot yet complete an application. Until the DFA opens it, the working route for a remote worker is the visitor-extension ladder below, used honestly.

No income figure prints for this visa. A dollar threshold circulates in secondary compilations, but the Executive Order states none — sufficient income generated outside the Philippines is the Order’s own wording — so no number appears here until the DFA publishes one.

Retiring here — the SRRV, one door among several

What it is. The Special Resident Retiree’s Visa (Philippine Retirement Authority) is a special non-immigrant status that lasts while programme conditions and fees are maintained — not permanent residency, and not a work right (paid work still needs a DOLE Alien Employment Permit). Principal applicants are foreign nationals or former Filipino citizens aged 40 and above; a legally married spouse and unmarried children under 21 may join.

The deposit (PRA public schedule captured 8 October 2026). Classic: US$15,000 at 50+ with a pension, US$30,000 at 50+ without; US$25,000 / US$50,000 at 40–49. The pensioner tier proves a lifetime pension of at least US$800/month single, US$1,000/month with dependents. Courtesy (special categories — retired diplomats, international-organisation officers, retired military of recognised partner countries, recognised high achievers; former Filipinos at the same figures): US$1,500–US$6,000 by age and pension. Fees: US$1,500 principal application plus US$300 per dependent; each dependent beyond two adds a US$15,000 deposit (former Filipinos excepted).

Attribution, printed with the figures. Philippine Retirement Authority public schedule as captured 8 October 2026 (pra.gov.ph). The PRA revised the programme effective 1 September 2025; the reference number of the governing PRA circular was not published on the PRA pages we opened, so confirm the current schedule with the PRA before you move money.

The ID and the annual fee are different clocks. Your PRA ID card is valid for two years at a time (PRA Circular No. 02, 9 May 2023 — the card was valid one year before that change). Renew it on the PRA’s Retiree Request Form at the PRA head office or a satellite office (Baguio, Clark, Subic, Cebu, Davao), or online at [email protected] — and keep the visa deposit intact, because that is a condition of the card staying valid. Separate from the ID, the PRA charges an annual fee: US$360 for Classic (principal plus two dependents; +US$100 per extra dependent), US$10 per member for Courtesy.

The deposit pipe is the application. The dollar deposit must arrive as an inward remittance from a bank abroad to a PRA-accredited bank (Development Bank of the Philippines, or a named private bank after a PRA Letter of Introduction requested via [email protected]) — never cash carried in, never money first parked in an ordinary local account. Deposit-insurance honesty: PDIC coverage is capped at ₱1,000,000 per depositor per bank (effective 15 March 2025), so a dollar deposit exceeds the insured ceiling many times over; never read “insured” without that cap beside it.

Converting the deposit — and leaving. You may convert the visa deposit into a condominium in your own name (deed of sale at least US$50,000; the title is annotated with a PRA restriction — you cannot sell, transfer, or encumber it without PRA approval), a long-term lease of at least 25 years worth at least US$50,000, or a sublease on the same terms. Conversion starts only 30 days after your SRRV is issued, runs through the PRA Investment Unit ([email protected]), and includes an on-site inspection. Leaving the programme is a defined process, not a walk-away: file the SRRV Cancellation Service Request (or email [email protected]), present the passport carrying the SRRV, and surrender any unexpired PRA ID. Cancellation alone costs US$10 per member (PRA) plus ₱1,000 per member (Bureau of Immigration); downgrading to a 59-day visitor visa instead is US$20 (PRA) plus ₱5,520 (BI) per member (PRA form PRA-SD-FORM-0008, July 2025 — the PRA’s Citizen’s Charter prints a lower immigration figure, so confirm the BI fee when you file).

Application documents. Passport with a valid visitor visa (at least one month while processing), PRA application form, a medical certificate issued within six months, police clearance, Bureau of Immigration Clearance Certificate, NBI clearance if you stayed more than 90 days before filing, photos, and bank certification of the inward remittance. Foreign documents in English or translated, apostilled or authenticated.

The long-stay visitor ladder — a scouting bridge, never the plan

How most people scout. Repeated temporary-visitor extensions, with the Long-Stay Visitor Visa Extension granting up to six months at a time inside hard caps: 36 months total for non-visa-required nationals, 24 months for visa-required nationals. Beyond the cap takes higher-level Bureau of Immigration approval.

What the ladder is not. No deposit, no retiree status, no PhilHealth retiree enrolment route, no work right — and status depends on continued BI discretion at every renewal. A visa run or a stack of extensions is not legal long-term residence.

Duties attach anyway. Registered aliens carry ACR I-Card and Annual Report duties (report 1 January–1 March); tourists are expressly excluded from the Annual Report. Anyone who stayed over six months, or is downgrading status, plans on an ECC Series A before departure (apply at least 72 hours ahead); valid status holders departing temporarily use ECC-B. “Lived here for years on extensions” is exactly the profile that must check ECC before booking a flight out.

To enter (short stay)

No vaccine proof is a condition of ordinary entry. No current Philippine rule captured for this edition imposes a general vaccine mandate on ordinary U.S. visitors, and COVID-era proof is no longer required in the secondary guidance we read — entry health rules can change by issuance, so verify on Bureau of Immigration / Bureau of Quarantine channels immediately before travel.

eTravel registration is treated as a required pre-arrival step in current guides (secondary-sourced for this edition — confirm on the official portal before you fly).

The hospital ladder, honestly tiered

Manila is the ceiling — the deepest tertiary care (complex cardiac, neuro, trauma, multi-specialty ICU) sits in Metro Manila: St. Luke’s Global City (BGC) and Quezon City, Makati Medical Center, Asian Hospital (Alabang), The Medical City (Ortigas).

Cebu is a genuine second hub: Chong Hua (Cebu City and Mandaue; the institution states 1,010 beds across the two centres) and the Cebu Doctors’/UCMed bench. Complex cases still route to Manila by air.

Davao has real depth with an advisory attached (Davao Doctors Hospital; Southern Philippines Medical Center) — printed with the Mindanao carve-out in the politics section, never as a safety slogan. Dumaguete, Clark/Subic and Baguio are stabilise-and-transfer markets for the most complex care: Silliman University Medical Center (300-bed teaching hospital) in Dumaguete, The Medical City Clark, ACE Medical Center–Baypointe inside Subic (Level II, 87 DOH-authorised beds), and Baguio General Hospital and Medical Center — the tertiary referral hospital for Northern Luzon, whose authorised bed capacity a 2022 law (Republic Act No. 11889) raised from 800 to 1,500.

To stay (long stay)

SRRV filers: a medical certificate issued within six months (principal and dependents), on the PRA’s terms in the retiree card — an application document gate, not proof of insurability.

PhilHealth, printed with its date on it. If you hold an SRRV, PhilHealth enrolment runs through the Philippine Retirement Authority: ₱15,000 per year. Other foreign residents pay ₱17,000 per year (PhilHealth Circular 2017-0003). That circular is still the last one PhilHealth has published for foreign nationals — we re-checked PhilHealth’s list on 8 October 2026 and found no successor, so confirm the amount when you enrol. Benefits exclude Z Benefit packages, maternity special privileges and confinements abroad, and the qualifying rule is premiums paid for at least three months within the six months before confinement.

School vaccination is not a legal bar. DepEd’s school-based immunisation guidance states it plainly: no student shall be deprived of education over vaccination status — records are checked and catch-up is referred. Private and international schools may impose their own admission health forms: confirm with the chosen school in writing.

Medicare pays US$0 here. Private-pay and private insurance are the working model; PhilHealth, if you enrol, is a partial public layer with exclusions — not comprehensive cover.

Private insurance at 65, 70 and 75 — a rule, and a printed gap

GAP: We could not obtain written at-age premiums for ages 65, 70, and 75 from any Philippine insurer in text form, so no age-band price table appears here. One verified rule instead of a price: Cigna’s Senior plan for the Philippines is sold to applicants aged 60 and over with no upper age limit at sale or renewal and lifetime guaranteed renewability — ask Cigna and Pacific Cross Philippines (Makati; Cebu and Clark branches) for a written quote at your age before you rely on any number.

GAP: Elapsed air-ambulance (medevac) response times from Dumaguete, Baguio, Subic, and Iloilo were not published by any operator or authority we could open (checked 8 October 2026). If fast evacuation matters to you, get a written response-time commitment from a medevac provider before you choose the place — do not plan on scheduled flight or road times. Scheduled legs print only as what they are: Baguio to Clark airport is roughly 3 hours by road, Subic to Clark about 1¼ hours — travel times, not response times.

SRRV and immigration — the PRA direct route first, then named help

Official route (the authority, not a vendor): the Philippine Retirement Authority publishes the schedule, requirements and accredited-bank mechanics itself at pra.gov.ph — a marketer is optional. Letter of Introduction requests for private-bank account opening go to [email protected]. ID renewals: [email protected]. Conversion questions: [email protected]. Cancellations: [email protected].

Listed — not vetted — one firm per line:

• Duran & Duran-Schulze Law (Taguig) — named lawyers Atty. Marie Christine Duran-Schulze (immigration) and Atty. Mary Wendy A. Duran; SRRV listed among the firm’s visa services; stated professional visa assistance ₱30,000–₱70,000 depending on scope; [email protected], +63 917 194 0482. Named on the firm’s own pages, and its guide uses the current post-September-2025 schedule; confirm current fees and PRA marketer status before engaging.
• TESZARA — SRRV assistance firm (Makati) stating PRA-accredited marketer status since 2012 (firm-stated; the PRA’s public marketer directory rows did not render in our capture, so accreditation is not confirmed against the directory). Its published SRRV update sheet effective 1 September 2025 carries the current schedule — the currency check passes. Named individual adviser: not captured.
• JRC Visa Consultancy — Cebu, Manila and Dumaguete offices (the only SRRV helper evidenced inside a compared city, Dumaguete); [email protected]. PRA-accreditation status was not stated in the material read — do not read JRC as “PRA-accredited,” and confirm any quote uses the post-September-2025 schedule.
• Borra Law — SRRV casework by email only: [email protected]; no named individual published, and none is invented here. It publishes a total SRRV price of ₱82,600 (₱18,000 professional fee + ₱70,000 deposited for government/notarial costs) — and its page still notes a PRA application fee of US$1,400, superseded by the live US$1,500. Confirm every figure with the firm in writing.

Refuse on sight: any marketer quoting US$10,000/US$20,000 deposits, Smile or Human Touch to a new applicant; deposit-lending or “seasoning” services; pension-proof fabricators; nominee land facilitators; unnamed social-media visa agents with no legal name or office.

Health insurance — listed firms, premiums a printed gap

Listed — not vetted for price — one firm per line:

• Pacific Cross Philippines (insurer) — Makati head office +63-2-8230-8511, [email protected]; Cebu and Clark branches (Clark inside The Medical City Clark). Verify current senior products, entry-age and renewal terms on the insurer’s own site.
• Pacific Prime (international broker) — Philippines retiree/senior guidance published; senior process material captured, no written 65/70/75 premium. A PH office/phone prints only when the broker’s own contact page confirms it; treat as listed for Philippines senior pricing until a written quote exists.
• Cigna Philippines — carried here only for the verified rule in the health section: its Senior plan is sold at 60+ with no upper age limit at sale or renewal and lifetime guaranteed renewability. A rule, never a price.

GAP: no insurer premium at ages 65, 70 or 75 appears anywhere in this dossier. Local HMOs (PhilCare, Maxicare, AXA Philippines) are names only until priced retiree terms are captured.

Rentals — platforms dated, tenant-side help a gap

What prints: the dated individual asking samples in the places section (Lamudi, Dot Property, Nestoria, Bahay.ph captures), each with platform and capture or listing date. They are asking prices, not signed leases.

GAP: no named tenant-side agent with a written tenant-fee statement was captured for Manila, Cebu, Dumaguete, Clark/Subic, Davao or Baguio — an individual tenant-representation contact remains a gap on this page, filled by nobody. Do not accept a “typical rent” from any agent who will not state, in writing, who they represent and what the tenant pays.

Hospitals — the desks this edition could evidence (institution level)

One institution per line; no hospital here publishes a named individual international-desk contact, so the entry is the institution and its public channel — verify each phone on the hospital’s own page before print or travel:

• St. Luke’s Medical Center — Global City (BGC) & Quezon City — 32nd St. cor. 5th Ave., BGC, Taguig; product information hub +63-2-8789-7700.
• Chong Hua Hospital — Cebu City & Mandaue — (032) 255-8000 (Cebu), (032) 233-8000 (Mandaue); the institution states 1,010 beds across the two centres.
• Silliman University Medical Center — Dumaguete — V. Aldecoa Sr. Road, Daro; +63-35-420-2000; 300-bed DOH-licensed tertiary teaching hospital.
• The Medical City Clark — 100 Gatwick Gateway, Clark Global City; (6345) 598-4000; international patient concierge desk, local 80163.
• ACE Medical Center–Baypointe — Subic Bay Freeport — Level II hospital, 87 DOH-authorised beds: stabilisation and general care, with tertiary overflow to Clark (about 1¼ hours by road) or Manila.
• Davao Doctors Hospital / Southern Philippines Medical Center — Davao City — institution-level anchors. Davao Doctors’ public phone conflicts across the directories we read, so no number prints until it is read off the hospital’s own site; SPMC (082) 227-2731.
• Baguio — Baguio General Hospital and Medical Center (authorised capacity raised 800 → 1,500 beds by Republic Act No. 11889, 2022), SLU Hospital of the Sacred Heart, Notre Dame de Chartres: names captured at institution level; no verified international-desk contact captured.

Money, tax and the move

One firm per line:

• SSA Federal Benefits Unit (Manila) — the paying agency’s own service point: [email protected], +63-2-5301-6200, U.S. Embassy, 1201 Roxas Boulevard, Ermita, Manila. Appointment only; SSA-7161/7162 annual forms are mailed to FBU Manila, originals by courier.
• FilePino (BGC, Taguig) — Philippine tax consulting: [email protected], +63-917-892-2337. Retiree-specific depth (foreign-pension territorial treatment, treaty Arts. 18–19) was not evidenced — confirm in writing before recommending; named individual adviser not captured.
• Taxes for Expats (TFX) — U.S. expat tax preparation, fully remote; a Philippines-specific retiree guide was not captured in this pass — confirm Philippines treaty/FBAR depth before treating it as the Philippines answer. HTJ Tax’s opened Philippines page publishes return floors (U.S. federal from $1,000, state from $400, FBAR from $400; [email protected]) — listed, verify independently.
• Asian Tigers Philippines (Lane Moving & Storage, Inc., Taguig) — Verified on the FIDI directory (opened for this edition): [email protected], +63 2 837 0932, FAIM expiry 2028. A directory row verifies existence and affiliation, not service quality; get the destination-agent name in writing for your actual city.
• AGS Four Winds Philippines — Verified on the same FIDI directory pass: +63 2 8441 4154, FAIM expiry 2028.

Bringing a pet — listed firms, official fees a gap

Listed — not vetted — one firm per line:

• PetTransPRO Philippines — end-to-end import/export handling claimed; no IPATA verification and no published Philippines price captured.
• ReloPet Philippines (Manila) — [email protected], +63 2 8893 5899 (firm-published; verify on the firm’s own page). No Philippines-specific written quote captured.
• PetRelocation (international) — [email protected], +1 512 264 9800; its Philippines material covers microchip, rabies certificate, health certificate within 10 days and USDA endorsement for U.S. departures.

GAP: Current Bureau of Animal Industry SPS import-clearance fees and permit timeline were not opened for this edition — old embassy-PDF fees are stale and do not print. A pet move prices only with a written door-to-door quote naming the arrival airport, veterinary steps and total.