I hear from a lot of people looking for a way to stay in the Philippines as basically a permanent resident. If you are married to a Philippine Citizen, or a former Citizen, it’s very easy to get a Resident Visa (13 series visa). If you are not married, it is very hard to get a permanent stay in the Philippines. Sure, you can hop on the Tourist Visa treadmill, keep running and taking care of renewals of your visa all the time, etc. It gets old, though, having to jump through hoops, and then having to leave the country at least one time every two years.
On Monday, though, President Arroyo took an action that may just make that treadmill obsolete. President Arroyo has signed Executive Order 758, which may make it easy to stay in the Philippine for the long term. Under EO 758 (details are limited at this time) people who provide employment for 10 Filipinos can stay in the Philippines indefinitely! Yes, indefinitely – in other words, as long as you keep 10 employees for some kind of business, you can stay! No need to keep making visa runs every two years, etc.
This can kill two birds with one stone too. You see, a lot of people ask me how they can make money in the Philippines, enough to support their lifestyle. Well, if you start a business in the Philippines, you can probably employ 10 Filipinos, and also earn enough money to support your lifestyle too! There are so many underserved needs here in the Philippines, and there are literally hundreds of ways for you to fill those needs with a small business. I have businesses here that I have started for under $100, so it can be done, and you can make a nice living here. For a business that would employ 10 people, you will almost certainly need to invest more than $100, but your investment can still be relatively small, certainly much less than you would invest in such a business in your home country.
If you are looking for a way to stay here for the long term, this may be an option to look at! It’s good for you, it’s good for at least 10 Filipinos that will have a job, and it’s good for the country in general! Then again, if you are looking for what kind of business you could start here, why not check out my book, “49 Ways to Make a Living in the Philippines“. It’s $49 (just $1 for each idea that I present to you!), and if you buy the electronic version, you can download it immediately after payment is made. I’m not just trying to get money from you here, but I genuinely think that this book can help you make a go of living in the Philippines! I offer a 100% money back guarantee if you are not satisfied, no questions asked! How can you go wrong?
After a while, more details of this new way to stay for the long term should come out, and we’ll know the details! What I see so far looks promising!
Hi Bob, it does sound promising and good news for those who want to stay in the Philippines a long time! You may be able to emply 10 Filipinos (including your family members) within your family business. The question is whether it only applies to a business which is registered and/or incorporated and what sort of procedures will be required.
Hope further details will be revealed shortly.
Hi Bob this could be interesting, my only question to this would be how do you prove that you employ 10 people
Hi Soichiro- Yes, it will be very interesting to see how things develop on this. I'll be watching!
I'm with andy here. It's really dependant on what the definition of an "employee' is. Does said person have to be permanently employed and paid SSS, Philhealth, pag-ibig, etc.? You know as well as I do most employers keep their employees on a 6 month contract to avoid these payments. Does domestic help qualify? Most are paid under the table.
Hi andyp- That should not be too hard. Whatever employees you are paying SSS for and other taxes are easy for the government to find out. Also, they may do inspections of the business, I don't know for sure.
Hi BrSpiritus- I would really doubt that domestic help would qualify – the EO specifically says you have to set up a business, and a household is not a business. We just have to wait to see how this flushes out, but it is certainly a step in the right direction.
Ami right in saying also you can get permenant residence here if you go for a retirement visa? Im 48 waiting for 50( i know you should not wish for time to fly but in this instance i do! haha) so i can apply i think $10k, but if i apply now i think $50 or $75k
yuo it will be interesting how this pans out although i would not hold my breath that anything will happen fast!
if it becomes law i will go out and buy 10 jeepneys employ 10 drivers, would that be classed as commercial?
I presume the business would still have to be 40 -60%?
Hi Graham- Yes, the SRRV is the Retirement Visa which you are talking about. Many people I talk to don't have the money needed for the required deposit, so this is another alternative for them, hopefully.
Hi Graham- There is no waiting… this is not a bill waiting for a vote, it is an executive order, and has already been signed, so it in effect is already law. The only thing we are waiting for on this is to see how the implementation works out. I would think this will be happening pretty quickly now.
Hi bob,
Hire me! hire me! I am available… will work for food!. 😆
@andyp
I have a running business in the philippines, When putting up a business in the Philippine you need to register with the DTI (Department of Trade and Industry) and you must declare the amount of your investment, type of business and the number of employees it requires, you also need to register with the BIR and Mayor's Permit to finally get your business permit.
Hi dans- Ha ha… who knows? I don't have any kind of new business in the works, though. 😆
Hi Bob, I try to get to the site where there was information about different places (cities) in the Philippines where to live , and I can not find it now, if you did not delited it, Could you please direct me to it?
Hi markus- I have lots of articles about that kind of thing, but I suspect you may be looking for this one.
Hi Bob- That edict will cover most expats as they support their wife's entire family anyway, only joking. We don't intend employing 10 Yaya's so thats me out of the loop. I just applied for and obtained a 13A visa which I will regularize when I reach CdeO and hopefullu live happily ever after without the hassle of employing anyone and all the ramifications that go with it.
I much prefer the quiet life, after all I am retired.
Regards.
Jim.
Hi Jim Cunningham- Firstly… I don't think that employing a yaya would qualify, no matter how many were needed! 😆 This is for a business where you provide products or services, I think.
Like you, I have a 13 series visa (mine is 13g), and can live here as long as I want, with or without some kind of business. But, I hear from a lot of people who do not have a wife from here and are looking for a way to stay here, so this article is written with people like that in mind.
how can i get a 13g visa can you tell me pls
You qualify for a 13g visa if you are married to a former Philippine citizen. If you are married to a Philippine citizen then you qualify for a 13a.
thanks for your help this year i be geting married there
Good luck to you george! I hope that your marriage is a super one!
and i have a child to my gf and has my last name and soon i will marry my gf
so it will be easyer for me to get 13a visa and how would i get this visa
After you get married, just go and apply at the Bureau of Immigration.
Hi Bob- I guess I am halfway there as I already have 5 sikad-sikad ( tricycle ) operating in the R.P, but I just remembered I am already married to a Philippine citizen!
The money from the sikad is really only for a little spending money for when we are on vacation, and to create a few jobs in the local barangay, but I'm sure this is good news for those who are on the tourist visa merry go round.
Hi Anthony- I had 6 trisikads when we lived in GenSan. It's a good little business… you won't get rich, but like you say.. a little extra spending money. Also, giving some jobs for people is nice too. My biggest problem was getting the drivers to take good care of the equipment.
This is good news. The Philippine goverment has finally realized the importance of foreign investments. Now if they can remove some of the red tape in the BIR, DTI and local city hall. It would make it easier for foreign investors to come in.
Hi Bob, when a great wave of British expats came to Andalucia, Spain to live, many came with large amounts of cash stashed in huge suitcases. The main reason was to buy property. In the eighties, Spain was rather a "wild, wild west" country with many lawyers in to make a killing—i.e.—connivance to get around rules and regulations and laws since Spain wasn't yet a member of the EU. It was common knowledge for the lawyers and Notary Public lawyers to get some
kind of "backhand" before they'd process non-Spanish papers/documents. Some British friends of ours did just that, paid "under-the-table complement", paid a quarter of the price of the real estate, then paid cash outright. So, title deeds were processed briskly, quickly, and hey, no problems with authorities.
The ease in which to buy property in the eighties still exist today, minus the corruption although it is still rampant in many parts of Spain. Our former mayor
has just been released. He was jailed, along with 100 other unelected functionaries and so-called civil servants. for real estate corruptioon. The seriousness of the real estate corruption is beyond imagining since many town and city mayors were in it together to make big bucks. Anyway, next door town which is mainly dominated by Brits, well, their elected mayor and his cohorts are still languishing in jail for the same thing: real estate corruption. This is regardless of the fact that Spain has been an EU member since 1986. But corruption being corruption per se, and where there's a foreign buyer, there will
always be a lawyer, a middleman of sorts to "smoothen things for you", so to speak, just can't be avoided and it has become a big headache for the government. In the past, non-spanish Europeans were allowed 3 months' stay, that is, if they didn't have a visa for longer stay. They'd slip into Portugal for a day
or two, or drive to Tangier, Morocco for a day or two, then come back "refreshed".
No stamped passport just back into Spain and then the rigmarole begins again.
For years, and years, many Europeans were doing this mainly to avoid paying
taxes but the Spanish Government is now clamping down on those who wish
to live and work in Spain without the necessary visas to work. They are requried
by law to have the correct papers before they can set up their businesses—usually, in the Bits' case, they open bars, and in the case of Germans, they open
real estate businesses. Bottom line, they'd need to inform their local authority and
submit their papers in the usual way. Perhaps, if Spain didn't join the EU, it would still be a case of "cowboys and indians". Spain has made tremendous efforts to comply with EU rules and regulations as well as EU laws so that nowadays, the Brits for example, just can't have their way. This time, no more underhand, or connivance with lawyers, middlemen. There are still at least 250,000 undocumented Brits in Spain, add that figure to the many EU citizens
who have come to buy property and live here and go by the backdoor and comeback again for their so-called 3-month stay. Of course black economy exists
here but the EU citizens living in Spain are nowmore careful, cautious, wiser. Some
have gone back to the UK. In the last six months, many have gone back for good because of the lousy exchange rate. In the Uk which has a large Polish population, they too have decided to go home. At least a good 100,000 Polish workershave left the UK since opportunities in Poland have improved and also because
of the weak British pound. Nevertheless, many EU citizens coming to live in Spain
do so because of, yes, you guess it, the weather. They always claim it's the only
reason they come out here and live—nothing more. But that's their personal opinion.
Hi Bobby- We are halfway there! But, every government has plenty of red tape, though. 🙂
Hi hill roberts- Very interesting info about Spain and the expat community there. I didn't know much about expat living in Spain before, so this is all new for me. Thanks for sharing.
Did I miss something, or can you still not own a buisness in your name ?
If you can't have a buisness registered in your name, you may have a hard time showing the investment.
hi bob,
here's a short version of the EO 758 from one of the analyst.
Libanan said that foreigners who will do business in the country and will employ 10 Filipinos must invest at least P200 million because one job creation costs P10 million. "This would be an active investment because foreign investors pay monthly compensation to their employees, thus revolving the economy", he added.
so i guess, there's the financial factor there aside from hiring 10 employees.
Hi John- There are things that you can do. Your wife could own (of course we are talking about how this would be helpful to those who are not married, though). You could own 40% with Filipino partners.
Hi dans- I didn't hear that before. If they are talking P200M investment, then this is a waste of time, as very few people will be able to avail of this.
WOW P200m I think I will just apply for the residency visa cost alot less
Hi andyp- Yeah, that amount of investment is crazy! 😯
Hi Bob,
This sounds great, but I plan on getting married there anyways. But I would still love to be able to employ 10 filipinos or more ( I still need to order your book!!! A Christmas present to myself) . I do want to help the community I will be living in, anyway I can. Rose and I also want to help the needy children in Southern Leyte as well….as there families..with whatever we can do for them. I know is very different there for the churches in Philippines because they don't raise the type of money as they do here for the needy people. At least in Maasin City they don't, as what Rose tells me.
I realize coming to the Philippines and become successful in business there, doesn't mean making millions of dollars….(maybe millions of peso's..hehe). It would be nice to do that, if I fell into a situation like that..and find a "niche" that is needed there ..and people are willing to spend there money on it there.
So far to me, the people in the area I will be living in, they mostly spend there money on there daily needs food, things for daily hygiene, and other products along those lines. So not sure what type of business is needed yet…but will research it more of course before coming over there.
And bringing the American way of retailing now a days, won't work there. Bringing stores like K-mart, or Walmart, and thinking people will buy in bulk at super low prices….which could be an impossibilty….as to importing products would be very costly. But China is close..so who knows…lol…ahh just some thoughts going through my head.
Back to the subject….this new "law" or regulation…sounds good. Hopefully, will boost the economics in the cities the expats live and conduct business.
daghang salamat,
Danny 🙂
Hi Danny- It did sound pretty good, but when the information came in about a minimum investment of P200m – well, then it got downright comical!
Hi Bob,
Oh…now its a minimum investment of P200 million? oh wow…that is a different story now. Not geared for smaller business owners there. I know of course…that type of investment….would be a small business here in the USA. So that is about 400,000 us dollars…am I correct? So that is even more than what a "small" business would cost here in USA….depending on what type of business it is.
Salamat ,
Danny
Hi Danny- I don't know that amount for certain, but Dans (another commenter) left that comment here in the thread, but I have not been able to verify it. Whenever the Philippines seems to be on the right track, they do something that seems stupid. I hope that is not the case on this one, but it appears to be.
P200m is the equivalent of $4 Million roughly.
hi bob,
here's the lonk of that article. it came from PIA (Phil. Information Agency)
http://www.pia.gov.ph/?m=12&fi=p081118.htm&am…
Thanks for the link Dans!
After reading the link, all I can say is . . . what is the point?
As far as I remember, investor's who bring in over USD75,000 are already elligible for an investor's visa. This new category seems kinda redundant if the capital requirement is even higher, which it is.
A lower capital requirement than required of an investor's visa and yet still being able to provide jobs to 10 Filipinos would seem to have made a lot more sense.
hi martin,
The EO 758 for me is stupid, i believe the current law for retirement is,you only need 50k? and you are entitled to a permanent/retirement visa. so whats the point of investing 200M just to stay permanently?
oh well.. our working government at its best!
Hi Dans,
I agree, it seems as if there is a problem in how this was rationalized.
The different visas already on the books seem to make this new visa a bit unnecessary. Like you say, one can already avail of either the retirement visa, or as an investor, the investor's visa — both of which have lower capital requirements than the new visa.
In my opinion, if the capital requirement was P2million, and you could demonstrate new employment of 10 Filipinos, then it would be a nice new visa that would spur SME development. I believe the USD75K for an investor's visa is a bit too high for many small businesses.
Yet, P2million is enough to open a small business that employs many Filipinos. Heck, you can buy franchise packages with this capital requirement. Why not give a foreigner a break if he builds a small business with a P2M initial start-up capital and that employs 10 Filipinos who would otherwise not have jobs? This would be especially good given that many jobs in such small businesses are entry-level jobs. This would mean getting underemployed and unemployed Filipino youth into the job market for the first time, providing valuable experience for them, a regular salary, etc. I could see such investments also going to the more remote cities and provinces where BIG investments never go, and yet where small investments make a huge, positive impact on a local economy. I think this is a golden opportunity that has of yet been missed.
But, it's just my opinion.
Hi dans- Thanks for the link, Dans. This is absolutely crazy!
Hi Martin- There are a couple of illogical things in the article on PIA. First, they say that you must employ 10 Filipinos, and that it costs P10M to employ a single Filipino, so the total must be 200M. Well, if it does cost 10m to employ 1 person, the total for 10 would be 100M, so where did 200m come from?
Also, it's crazy for them to say that it costs P10M to employ a person…. That's around $200,000. There is no way it costs that kind of money to employ a Filipino in the Philippines.
Hi dans- The SRRV is lower now too… you can invest only $10k and get an SRRV now, so it makes this EO doubly crazy.
Hi Martin- You can get some decent franchises in the Philippines for less than P1M. To me, they should drop the capital requirement altogether. If you employ 10 Filipinos and pay them at least the minimum wage, you should qualify.
Hi Bob,
I agree 100%.
But I think no capital requirement would be tough to pass — the analysts in government always want SOME number to crunch statistically, and by having at least SOME capital requirement they can argue the person is bringing enough to maintain the business for its first year of operation.
But I also agree with you, a floor of around P1M would probably be fine as well — although with P2M, the amount can definitely cover the costs of an operation employing 10 Filipinos full time for at least a year.
Too bad such opportunities are not available for foreigners with true small business prospects.
Hi Martin- Here is how I look at it…
I have started business with less than $100 capital investment. I worked on it myself and built it up myself until I could hire others to do the work. I've turned some of those businesses into some nice companies that made some good money for me. Remember, only $100 to start it up. These days, it is not hard to do that with the internet.
Now, if I started such a company in the USA, built it up to where I needed employees, and moved here, I could hire 10 Filipinos to do the work just on the cash flow. My understanding of this EO is that it is for the purpose of employing Filipinos. It is not supposed to be about building capital infrastructure of the Philippines. Now, if I can have a foreign business that employs Filipinos, even if I lay down zero investment, as long as I keep a minimum of 10 people working, that is beneficial for the Philippines.
Right now, all of these visas require a fair amount of up front money to be tied up. For the average Joe, it doesn't matter if the requirement is P2M or P20M, because the average guy doesn't have this kind of money to play with. But, a lot of people can get something started for a few bucks, employ some Filipinos, and let it grow from there.
Just my thoughts….
Hi Bob,
Again, I agree 100%. But the mechanics of getting the visa are complicated. The Philippine government doesn't allow foreigners to come in and stay and build up a business until it can run off of cash flow. If they allowed that, they would have 100 million Indians, Chinese, Burmese, Cambodian and Vietnamese 'investors' come in with no 'show money' and only a promise to employ 10 people after they have built up the business.
I'm not disputing any of what you say is possible when bringing a business from nothing to something. I think it's awesome that it can be done. Thats true entrepreneurship! I'm just saying from a Philippine Immigration standpoint, they don't want the floodgates opened for hordes of foreigners coming in on a promise to employ 10 or more people in the future. A minimum capital requirement is the only way to prove you can keep 10 people emplyed for a year. Even if you pay P3K a month plus benefits, say P4K a month all-in for a minimum wage earner X 12 months X 10 employees —- you need P480K just to prove you could keep them in employment for a year in which you perhaps do not make any money. Even with P1M that only leaves you with P520K for all other business costs for the year. I simply think MOST small businesses require at least this much if you are an operation that also needs to be employing 10 people.
So, I think there is a justification for a minimum capital requirement. What I think would be good, however, is to allow a foreigner to change their visa status AFTER they have built up a really micro-enterprise and are in a position to employ 10 Filipinos. That would be a nice way of rewarding people who have built up businesses from the ground up.
I had another thought, Bob.
I also think I should add that the Philippine government wants employment in conjunction with taxes, so if you want to use your pre-existing business from abroad that you have built up and want Filipinos to work for, then the Philippine government will want to have their share of taxes, even off of offshore income, especially if you are earning as a result of Philippine labor. The Philippines and the US are two of the few countries that actually tax worldwide income, not just locally derived income.
Anyways, I wish it would be possible to just be able to emply 10 people for a visa, and it wouldn't be hard to do that and provide the proper SSS, PhilHealth, Pag-Ibig documentation . . . but in practice I think the Philippine government will want to look at it from multiple angles and multiple objectives, and that would probably mean having a domestically taxable business, with a minimum paid-up capital to prove you can be viable for a year.
Hi Martin- As the EO stands now, the number of jobs actually created in the Philippines will be zero, or close to zero. If they opened it up for only small investment, I would estimate that a minimum of 10,000 jobs could be created in the first year alone. Small business is what drives the world economy these days. P200M is not a small business. That is thinking from 50 years ago or more. Time for the GRP to move into the 21st Century.
Yup, my sentiments exactly. This is pie-in-the-sky thinking. If big investments are made — which sometimes there are — there will be jobs created. But like you say, the real engine of growth is in SME development.
Just imagine how many small businesses would be created by foreigners, with foreign capital, if such a similar visa existed. The nett inflows would be pretty impressive in relation to the overall numbers of people availing of the visa.
Hi Martin- The reason I said that the new visa will produce zero investment is because any investments could have already been made under existing visas, so I see no reasons why anybody would now suddenly invest and would not have under existing visas. So, yes, I agree that sometimes big investments are made, but any that would be made could have already been made without this new visa.
Anyway, I think we are mostly in agreement.
Yes, that's my sentiments as well, Bob. They can already avail of the SRIV — Special Resident Investor's Visa — which can be had for any investments over US$75,000.00.
Like you, I believe there should be a visa more focussed on foreign Small and Micro investors. Any business made by a foreigner brings foreign capital into the Philippines, which is good. They pay taxes on their income, no matter if they remain small or grow to be a household name. And they employ Filipinos who might not otherwise be employed. I always counsel people to start as small as possible, as this gives them the best chance to succeed. Going for scale right off the bat in a foreign country can and often does result in a failed business. That's not a good thing if the goal is to continually get more and more business investment.
It's frustrating when the realities of obtaining an appropriate visa seem to be out of step with the realities of what it is like on the ground as an investor. In my opinion, the government would be better served trying to hit plenty of singles by making it easy for foreign small and micro investors rather than going for the investor home run every time.
Cheers!
Why in the world would anyone even consider investing 200million PHP when a permanent visa can be had for 500,000PHP to 1 million PHP? The SIRV only requires a remittance of 10,000USD into a USD/TD account and a verifiable pension into a direct deposit account here, of not less then 800USD/month. The SRRV minimum requirement is only 20,000USD into a USD/TD account. Would this new visa also provide for not having to register with the BOI evvery year, exempt you from entry/exit fess, eliminate the need for an ACR card or AEP and exclude you from ECC when you want to leave for a short (or long) time?
Doesn't make any sense to me. There must be something we're missing here in Gloria's great plan!
Doesn't much matter to me anyway. I came her to retire. Providing two drivers with a livable income is enough investment for me.
Hi Francisco San Giorgio- I can't disagree with you one bit!
Hey, it's a while since we heard from you, I hope you are doing well.
Bob, I'm doing quite well so far. Sharpening my Bisayan skills little by little, day by day. Now that we have the boy starting to talk it's quite a chalange.. He doesn't talk too much but, he's hearing Tagalog, Bisayan, Taosug and English. Seems to understand most but, I think his hesitation to talk is because he just doesn't know which language to use yet. Will be interesting, as time goes by, to see how this developes.
I read your web magazine most every day and it's a constant learning experience for me. Keep up the great work.
Hi Francisco San Giorgio- That's great to hear. There are studies that show that kids who grow up in a multi-lingual environment start talking later than kids who grow up in a uni-lingual environment. However, that's no big deal to me, much better that they learn as many languages as possible.
Good luck to you!