Back to the Philippines

For short-term stay up to 21 days, there is no need for a visa for citizens of The Netherlands.
The same goes for a U.S. citizen.

Because I am a former Filipino citizen, the following will be our options when we decide to stay longer than 21 days:

• Balikbayan Program

Here, both me and my spouse can stay visa-free for a period of one year. With this, we can purchase tax free up to $1500 worth of goods from a government owned/operated duty free shops. We are also exempted from paying travel tax. However after that one year, we will have to deal with renewals of visas which can be a big hassle if it takes place every 2 months or so. It can also be costly in the long run. We also both need to register as aliens and get an ACR card.

• Retention of Citizenship

When I became a naturalized US citizen, I had lost my Philippine Citizenship. However, with the new provisions of Republic Act No. 9225 I can regain my citizenship after taking an oath of allegiance to the Republic at the nearest consulate. After then, I can apply for a passport. With this option, we will not have to worry about percentage of ownership when opening a business there and other things such as land / property ownership. My husband can also apply for a Permanent Residency and engage in business. I believe applying for his permanent residency involves a lot of paperwork and waiting which we don’t want to happen (after our experience here).

• Special Resident Retiree’s Visa (SRRV)

This newly-introduced visa is granted by the Bureau of Immigration’s Retirement Program under the Philippine Retirement Authority. All foreigners and overseas Filipinos are eligible to apply for this visa. Under this program, the holder is entitled to multiple-entry privileges and the right to stay permanently in the Philippines. Requirements include: Age must be at least 35 years old (I am almost 36 now) and a required time deposit. For our situation, since I am a former Filipino citizen, our required time deposit is only US$1,500.00. Not bad!
The one-time application fees are the following: US$1,400.00 application fee or equivalent Philippine Peso for the principal applicant and US$300 for the spouse. If we had children, each dependent is also $300. For every additional dependent (in excess of two) an additional US$15,000.00 deposit shall be required per head except for former Filipino citizens. Whew! that was close. I am glad it doesn’t apply to us. And to add to that I can purchase a lot not exceeding 5,000 square meters in urban areas or three (3) hectares in rural areas for business use or other purposes. We can use our deposit towards purchasing other kinds of properties such as condominium or a house or office space for our business. Sounds too good to be true? Maybe we should really schedule an appointment with the Consulate soon to clarify this. This visa also welcomes business ventures with less restriction on foreign ownership if our business is totally for export or within the list of investment priorities as outlined by the Board of Investments. As of now, this is the option we are most interested in. The application process seems simple and we only need a medical clearance from the physician here. For more details on the SRRV, please visit this link.

As I have said earlier, we have to confirm all this information from our embassy here. I wonder when I can set up an appointment?

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

• More on Dual Nationality for Filipino - Americans
• A Visit to the Philippine Embassy
• Bringing your foreign partner to the Philippines
• A Visit to the Philippine Embassy (Part 3)
• A Visit to the Philippine Embassy (Part 2)
• A visit to the US Consulate (More information about Dual Nationality, etc.)