Retire in the Philippines?

[Highmystic 234]

Hi Everyone! Been awhile!

My filipina wife and I are approaching our 5th anniversary. We had applied for her US Citizenship.  We are talking about retiring in the Philippines, on some farm land in a year or two.  I've been researching

all the paperwork needed for spousal immigrant Visa because I want to be ahead of the curve before (and when) with filing on time.  She says because I am a spouse I can have my name as co owner of the property.  Doesn't matter to me one way or the other.  My question is.. What is the situation if my wife passes before me?   Do I need to leave at the end of the immigrant visa?  Is there actually an expiration date for the immigrant visa?  Just want to get my ducks in a row.    Thanks for reading!

 

[RO_AH 1,656]

5 minutes ago, Highmystic said:

Hi Everyone! Been awhile!

My filipina wife and I are approaching our 5th anniversary. We had applied for her US Citizenship.  We are talking about retiring in the Philippines, on some farm land in a year or two.  I've been researching

all the paperwork needed for spousal immigrant Visa because I want to be ahead of the curve before (and when) with filing on time.  She says because I am a spouse I can have my name as co owner of the property.  Doesn't matter to me one way or the other.  My question is.. What is the situation if my wife passes before me?   Do I need to leave at the end of the immigrant visa?  Is there actually an expiration date for the immigrant visa?  Just want to get my ducks in a row.    Thanks for reading!

Good questions, I will be following this post. I plan to do the same.

[nastra30 2,263]

41 minutes ago, Highmystic said:

Hi Everyone! Been awhile!

My filipina wife and I are approaching our 5th anniversary. We had applied for her US Citizenship.  We are talking about retiring in the Philippines, on some farm land in a year or two.  I've been researching

all the paperwork needed for spousal immigrant Visa because I want to be ahead of the curve before (and when) with filing on time.  She says because I am a spouse I can have my name as co owner of the property.  Doesn't matter to me one way or the other.  My question is.. What is the situation if my wife passes before me?   Do I need to leave at the end of the immigrant visa?  Is there actually an expiration date for the immigrant visa?  Just want to get my ducks in a row.    Thanks for reading!

 

+Are you a USC? Or you are a Filipino and need immigrant visa?

+Your wife is already in the US and she has applied for naturalization?

 

 

Please help clarify these questions.

 

Edited October 29, 2022 by nastra30

[Highmystic 234]

43 minutes ago, nastra30 said:

+Are you a USC? Or you are a Filipino and need immigrant visa?

+Your wife is already in the US and she has applied for naturalization?

 

 

Please help clarify these questions.

 

Yes, I am the USC and my wife the Filipino Citizen, she has her 10 yr card, and already filed the N-400.  She arrived in Jan 2018 and we have been in the US all this time.  Just looking in to retiring in the Philippines in a simple rural area. 

 

[RO_AH 1,656]

2 hours ago, nastra30 said:

+Are you a USC? Or you are a Filipino and need immigrant visa?

+Your wife is already in the US and she has applied for naturalization?

Please help clarify these questions.

 

All of these were answered in his original post. Understand he is posting in the Philippines Regional Forum to get region specific information.

[nastra30 2,263]

6 hours ago, Highmystic said:

Yes, I am the USC and my wife the Filipino Citizen, she has her 10 yr card, and already filed the N-400.  She arrived in Jan 2018 and we have been in the US all this time.  Just looking in to retiring in the Philippines in a simple rural area. 

 

Got it. Thanks. So you are seeking immigrant visa to the Philippines.

[jskibo 588]

If you're concerned on losing 13A status if she passes before you, why not get an SRRV visa then?

[Highmystic 234]

4 hours ago, jskibo said:

If you're concerned on losing 13A status if she passes before you, why not get an SRRV visa then?

I'll have to do some more research on this.  What is the $10,000 deposit for?  For the Philippine gov or for me to draw on if needed?  I do have a pension.

 

[RO_AH 1,656]

10 hours ago, jskibo said:

If you're concerned on losing 13A status if she passes before you, why not get an SRRV visa then?

It's rather expensive, if the 13a doesn't expire then it would be a better option right?

[Carpe Vinum 2,327]

If you are a veteran the SRRV deposit is $1500. It makes it much more attractive. I have sent you a PM for a link for a forum for Philippine expats where the 13A and the SRRV visas are discussed at length by people who have completed the process and those that are currently going through it.

[Stevephoto 230]

Joan and I are doing the same thing in about a year and I have done a lot of research (with some very valuable help here!) These answers are what I believe to be true as of now:

 

Your wife, as a Filipino Citizen has NO restrictions on buying land.

Your wife, as a USC, CAN still buy land (we did) BUT there are limits to how much she can buy.

Your wife, should she reclaim her Filipino citizenship (dual citizen) (Joan did after buying this plot of land) regains her ability to buy as much land as she wants

YOU, the USC with no ties to Filipino citizenship, CANNOT own land (you CAN own a condo, but not the land). You CAN be listed on the title as "married to...) i.e., "Property owner Jane Doe, married to John Doe."

There are mandatory rights of passage in the event something happens to your wife. You, as "married to" are automatically entitled to a part of the land as spouse. However, her family also has claims to a percentage of the ownership.

13A Visa seems to be the way to go and we will be pursuing that next year. From what I understand, it is like a Green Card here, but needs to be renewed every year for at least 3 years. IF you apply for a 13A in the Philippines, then you receive a temporary "card" that becomes "permanent" when you renew a year later. IF you apply for the 13A while you are in the US, then I believe the visa is "permanent" right away (pending annual renewals) and a much faster process. The Hawaii consulate just started processing them again, so check with your local consulate. As noted above, the retirement visa has some significant drawbacks, so it is 13A for us. Balikbayan visa is good for a year, but I believe you need to leave the Philippines and re-enter with your wife to renew it--too many hassles and risks for me...but it might be a way to legally "test the waters" and then apply for 13A in the Philippines.

Side notes:

Buying land is difficult anywhere, but "It is more fun in the Philippines!" I highly recommend finding a real estate professional to do the leg work. We found an incredibly nice and extremely honest guy. PM me if you want his name. I will not mention what he did for us on a public forum, but it was way beyond what we could ever hope for.

BE CAREFUL! We went through 4 scams before finding an honest seller (thankfully we only lost $60.00 on a bogus surveying job)

Building: Joan and I are in the process of building a duplex house (one side for her parents, one side for us). Again, we got very lucky and found an incredible architect/builder. The designs are beautiful and our parent's portion is almost complete (matching the design). The incomplete building has survived two earthquakes and a typhoon with no problem. We get weekly updates with photos. PM me if you want to know who it is.

Finally, have you thought about your budget? I will be on a "fixed income" (Joan will still work, but not me!), so once again, I have done a LOT of research. PM me if you want to see what I think is a realistic budget to live well on (based on many sources and over-estimating things by 1/3 to 1/2).

 

It is a very exciting time for you and I hope that I have been able to offer some help. Please do reach out to me privately if you want to chat more.

 

Edit: I BELIEVE that you can apply for Filipino citizenship after being a resident for 5 years married to a Filipina.

Edited November 1, 2022 by Stevephoto
More information

[Talako 778]

On 11/1/2022 at 10:35 AM, Stevephoto said:

13A Visa seems to be the way to go and we will be pursuing that next year. From what I understand, it is like a Green Card here, but needs to be renewed every year for at least 3 years. IF you apply for a 13A in the Philippines, then you receive a temporary "card" that becomes "permanent" when you renew a year later. IF you apply for the 13A while you are in the US, then I believe the visa is "permanent" right away (pending annual renewals) and a much faster process. The Hawaii consulate just started processing them again, so check with your local consulate. As noted above, the retirement visa has some significant drawbacks, so it is 13A for us. Balikbayan visa is good for a year, but I believe you need to leave the Philippines and re-enter with your wife to renew it--too many hassles and risks for me...but it might be a way to legally "test the waters" and then apply for 13A in the Philippines.

 

The part in red above is incorrect.  You initially apply for a temporary one-year 13A visa.  At the end of that first year, you apply again for a permanent 13A visa.  That visa is permanent and does not require any renewal or reapplication.  The associated ACR card does expire every 5 years, and you simply pay to have it renewed.

 

The only requirement for the visa is that you have an annual report where you have to show up at BI once a year in January or February and pay 300 or so pesos.

 

The downside to the 13A is that terminates on the death of your spouse.

 

(I've been here for about four months, and I will be applying for the Temp next week.  I couldn't apply in the states, as the Consulates stop processing during covid.  They started process the week I left.  That sucks because the process is simpler if you apply in your home country.  They issue permanent visas, and you can skip the temp process.)

 

[Stevephoto 230]

9 hours ago, Talako said:

The part in red above is incorrect.  You initially apply for a temporary one-year 13A visa.  At the end of that first year, you apply again for a permanent 13A visa.  That visa is permanent and does not require any renewal or reapplication.  The associated ACR card does expire every 5 years, and you simply pay to have it renewed.

 

The only requirement for the visa is that you have an annual report where you have to show up at BI once a year in January or February and pay 300 or so pesos.

 

The downside to the 13A is that terminates on the death of your spouse.

 

(I've been here for about four months, and I will be applying for the Temp next week.  I couldn't apply in the states, as the Consulates stop processing during covid.  They started process the week I left.  That sucks because the process is simpler if you apply in your home country.  They issue permanent visas, and you can skip the temp process.)

 

Thanks for the corrections and the additional information!