Special Resident Retirement Visa

[Art2ro]

Thank you, Mayen; there is a lot of misinformation about this subject.Does anyone know why the SRRV application fee is so high? $1400 is a staggering amount of money for this, especialy over there. I wasn't able to find any explanation on the PRA site; only the required amount. Are they doing extensive background checks, etc? If they were serious about encouraging foreign retirees to help their economy, you would think the fees would be more in line with the actual costs of processing the application.Also, what is the purpose of the deposit? Since the government can't touch it, is it a "good-faith" gesture on the part of the applicant?Thanks

Also another drawback about the SRRV Program, is that if you are receiving any U.S. based Government pensions, you are required to show proof of your U.S. pension direct deposit is going into your Philippine dollar account! On a side note to that, since all the banks in the Philippines have to follow a local directive from the U.S. government, that all U.S. based Government pensions can only avail the dollar "passbook"type account, where ATM and internet access is not available! That means, every payday, you have to stand in line at your bank just to withdraw your pension money! Does that sound fair? I wouldn't do without ATM or internet access to my government pensions for any visa program like that! That's why I keep all of my U.S. Government pensions direct deposited in the U.S., where I still have ATM and internet access and also here in the Philippines!

I think you have misinterpreted or been given incorrect information. I can state factually as an SRRV holder that this is NOT the case for me or all of the SRRV holders I know. There is no requirement for direct deposit to a Philippine dollar account a of US Goverment pensions and there is no tracking and monitoring of pension deposits. In fact, there is no difference in treatment of a government or corporate pension in the PRA requirements. See http://pra.gov.ph/main/faq?page=1#req2 for requirements.I had to produce authenticated documents specifying my corporate pension above $800 minimum for my application to be approved. I did not have to prove any remittance of my pension to the Philippines. I had trouble with this requirement as it is not practical at the time of application as I was not yet fully living here They did not and do not require it. When I met with the bank and PRA they did not express this as a requirement and seem to know that local money transfers are inevitable if one is to live here. You must have your money here in some form to live here.I also have many SRRV friends and associates who are on US government pensions, Social Security and military who have their pensions deposited in US banks and then write checks to a local bank or do transfers or wires to get the money to their local banks. There is NO checking and monitoring of this activity by PRA.Requirements aside, In practical reality, to live here it just makes sense to move money here for convenience. My monthly expenses are over the $800 minimum requirement so if it was a requirement this would not be an issue. When I go to VECO to pay my bill, I can write a check or pay it in the bank or through the bank. I move money to the local bank at my convenience. I occassionally make direct withdrawals from my US Bank via ATM and have that option but in most cases I have moved money in advance to the local bank peso account as withdrawal fees are lower or zero. The local accounts can be set up to earn interest and can serve as a hedge against dollar changes.Remember, relying solely on your US bank as means of finances represents a different risk. Many may remember the bind they were in when they could not get to their US banks because of the transatlantic cable snap a few years ago. They could not get the money they needed to live. Many times you will go to a local bank and they cannot dispense cash because they cannot communicate outside the Philippines due to network issues. In my opinion, it pays to have both anyway. I have a US bank, A Philippines dollar, and a Philippines Peso account. The trick is to find cost effiencient and fast methods of moving money.We have a member Mayen from Bank of Commerce who has provided insightful comments who I hope can also comment. They have a good working relationship with the PRA.

I wasn't giving out any misleading information on this subject matter! I read it from an article a few months ago on an Iloilo website, see the link below and read for yourself where I got the information from under the paragraph on SRRV facts, pension-based SRRV of the article concerning direct deposit and my post concerning why U.S. based U.S. government direct deposit accounts no longer have ATM or internet access and can now only avail the use of a direct deposit dollar passbook account. See link below under my post. Your comprehension maybe better than mine and if I'm wrong, I'll be the first to admit it! But if I'm correct as to what I've read and I'm not contradicting your statement, I'm just saying in my POV, that the PRA are not following their own policies or published procedures to follow and are just accommodating the applicants in order not make it a hinderence for the applicants and still be able to collect the necessary fees! As you may well know, anything is possible in the Philippines if you have the bank roll and most foreigners do using the SRRV program! That's all I'm saying! Lucky for those that are satisfied with the SRRV program!http://goiloilo.com/...ment-visa-srrv/http://www.philippin...?showtopic=148. Edited February 1, 2010 by Art & Jho

[Gold Heart]

I wasn't giving out any misleading information on this subject matter! I read it from an article a few months ago on an Iloilo website, see the link below and read for yourself where I got the information from under the paragraph on SRRV facts, pension-based SRRV of the article concerning direct deposit and my post concerning why U.S. based U.S. government direct deposit accounts no longer have ATM or internet access and can now only avail the use of a direct deposit dollar passbook account. See link below under my post. Your comprehension maybe better than mine and if I'm wrong, I'll be the first to admit it! But if I'm correct as to what I've read and I'm not contradicting your statement, I'm just saying in my POV, that the PRA are not following their own policies or published procedures to follow and are just accommodating the applicants in order not make it a hinderence for the applicants and still be able to collect the necessary fees! As you may well know, anything is possible in the Philippines if you have the bank roll and most foreigners do using the SRRV program! That's all I'm saying! Lucky for those that are satisfied with the SRRV program!http://goiloilo.com/...ment-visa-srrv/http://www.philippin...?showtopic=148.

I apologize, I did not mean to suggest you were giving out misleading information. I wanted to just clarify the facts. Sometimes they are different than the official statements or their may be variations based on office or circumstances. Bob, the owner of the Iloilo site, is a very close personal friend. It was with him that I consulted to understand how to meet this requirement before applying as it was the most difficult one for me. I now have my own personal experience to relate along with my connections through the PRA to a broad base of members. I can now give the facts. There is NO requirement for a direct deposit. There is a requirement that your income flows into a Philippines bank. Bob did this by showing his deposits -- Not direct deposits. Bob was living here for a while before applying. A lot may have to do with the bank and the PRA office that is working with you to fulfill this requirement. For me with Bank of Commerce in Cebu with Mayen and the PRA in Cebu, they required nothing. At the time of application, I did not even have a local bank account. I did have certified pensions documents, officially certified through the Philippine consulate in Washington DC. Now I do meet the requirement for deposits, as I flow living expenses regularly to the local bank for convenience but no one verifies this and I dont' do direct deposits. I talk to a broad number of members at local PRA functions and when visiting the PRA office. No one I have met so far does direct deposits and handle it the same way Bob and I do. We move money via depositing a personal check in the local dollar account. We then transfer to the Peso account when needed. Bob actually withdraws dollars and goes to a Market exchange to get the highest rate, and then goes back to the bank to deposit. I don't do all that. Bob also had to go to Manila for things. I did not. All my documents were certified at the US and Philippines consulates in Washington. I paid a service to have this done. Bobs were not. They may have some special validations around social security or uncertified documents, requiring additional proof.So I would not make a decision around the SRRV based on a direct deposit requirement. There may be other good reasons to select other visa options and to reject this one. Most people complain about the $1400 fee which is quite high or the $10K investment that must be maintained. I personally like the speed, simplicity, and convenience of this benefit option. Universally, people talk of the PRA as one of the best run government agencies they have seen. In terms of personal service, competency and speed of execution, I'd agree. They are well run and go out of their way to help and support you. I find I can visit their office or make a call and they will helpl with just about any thing.

[Art2ro]

I wasn't giving out any misleading information on this subject matter! I read it from an article a few months ago on an Iloilo website, see the link below and read for yourself where I got the information from under the paragraph on SRRV facts, pension-based SRRV of the article concerning direct deposit and my post concerning why U.S. based U.S. government direct deposit accounts no longer have ATM or internet access and can now only avail the use of a direct deposit dollar passbook account. See link below under my post. Your comprehension maybe better than mine and if I'm wrong, I'll be the first to admit it! But if I'm correct as to what I've read and I'm not contradicting your statement, I'm just saying in my POV, that the PRA are not following their own policies or published procedures to follow and are just accommodating the applicants in order not make it a hinderence for the applicants and still be able to collect the necessary fees! As you may well know, anything is possible in the Philippines if you have the bank roll and most foreigners do using the SRRV program! That's all I'm saying! Lucky for those that are satisfied with the SRRV program!http://goiloilo.com/...ment-visa-srrv/http://www.philippin...?showtopic=148.

I apologize, I did not mean to suggest you were giving out misleading information. I wanted to just clarify the facts. Sometimes they are different than the official statements or their may be variations based on office or circumstances. Bob, the owner of the Iloilo site, is a very close personal friend. It was with him that I consulted to understand how to meet this requirement before applying as it was the most difficult one for me. I now have my own personal experience to relate along with my connections through the PRA to a broad base of members. I can now give the facts. There is NO requirement for a direct deposit. There is a requirement that your income flows into a Philippines bank. Bob did this by showing his deposits -- Not direct deposits. Bob was living here for a while before applying. A lot may have to do with the bank and the PRA office that is working with you to fulfill this requirement. For me with Bank of Commerce in Cebu with Mayen and the PRA in Cebu, they required nothing. At the time of application, I did not even have a local bank account. I did have certified pensions documents, officially certified through the Philippine consulate in Washington DC. Now I do meet the requirement for deposits, as I flow living expenses regularly to the local bank for convenience but no one verifies this and I dont' do direct deposits. I talk to a broad number of members at local PRA functions and when visiting the PRA office. No one I have met so far does direct deposits and handle it the same way Bob and I do. We move money via depositing a personal check in the local dollar account. We then transfer to the Peso account when needed. Bob actually withdraws dollars and goes to a Market exchange to get the highest rate, and then goes back to the bank to deposit. I don't do all that. Bob also had to go to Manila for things. I did not. All my documents were certified at the US and Philippines consulates in Washington. I paid a service to have this done. Bobs were not. They may have some special validations around social security or uncertified documents, requiring additional proof.So I would not make a decision around the SRRV based on a direct deposit requirement. There may be other good reasons to select other visa options and to reject this one. Most people complain about the $1400 fee which is quite high or the $10K investment that must be maintained. I personally like the speed, simplicity, and convenience of this benefit option. Universally, people talk of the PRA as one of the best run government agencies they have seen. In terms of personal service, competency and speed of execution, I'd agree. They are well run and go out of their way to help and support you. I find I can visit their office or make a call and they will helpl with just about any thing.

No need to apologize, your clarification of the facts was sufficient! I understand how the SRRV program works. I was just pointing out a little tid bit of information concerning direct deposits that a lot of people still don't know about until recently. The SRRV program does crater to the well to do foreigners, especially to the Koreans and Japanese and since there's a language barrier, they need assistance by the the agents in the PRA offices. I know, we have a few Korean friends and they rely on the PRA agents constantly. Well, I appreciate your clarification on this subject matter! The SRRV program is a good way to go for some and it's more of a hassle free procedure than trying to do a 13a visa application on your own and the SRRV program also has some other added benefits too! No need to expand on it, because anyone can find it on the web and read for themselves. Have a good day or evening!

[Gold Heart]

The SRRV program does crater to the well to do foreigners, especially to the Koreans and Japanese and since there's a language barrier, they need assistance by the the agents in the PRA offices. I know, we have a few Korean friends and they rely on the PRA agents constantly.

You are right about Japanese and Koreans and this suprised me. The local office here in Cebu recently confirmed that the largest number of participants are from Japan, followed by Korea, then Europe. I don't know why -- but this surprised me. This explains the $1400 fee as it is what the market will bear and all the extra services to support these clients.

[bkm]

As far as I know, as of March 2010, there's a new immigration bill sitting on GMA's desk waiting to be signed which is supposed to contain new visas available to foreigners. Have not been able to find what's in this new bill. Hopefully there will be some good news for foreigners living here...If anybody has any info on this new bill please post...