Philippines Forum

pinaymentor
Joined 2009
Posts: 206

12 years ago

REMINDERS TO ALL EXPATS

12 years ago

Expats from all over the world are swooping in to the country with the hope that they can live and retire here in like a king. Expats from the US, Australia, Europe, Korea, Japan and more. There are those who come in with a pension, with savings, with a business. Most of them have high hopes that they will have a better life than their own homeland. There are different ways to live here legally if you are a foreigner.

1. To get a retirement visa from Philippine Retirement Authority which will require cash deposits

2. To get an investor’s visa

3. To get a working visa

4. To get married to a local

In any of those options, one has to invest money. So, if you are coming here with a $1000 pension but don’t have savings to get you started, please make sure that you stay put where you are until you have more than enough to survive for the next two years with at least $50,000.

If you decide to get involved with a local, please take note of the following:

1. A foreigner can only own a condo under his name.

2. If you decide to buy a residential property under your partner’s name, make sure that you put something in writing. Create a lease agreement. Relationships are not guaranteed to last long if you are not serious about marrying the person whom you decided to live with from the beginning. So, to protect you and the local, put everything in writing with your terms that in the event that your relationships does not last, create an exit agreement.

3. Realize too that filipinos have big family extensions. Learn to say NO when you have to. Learn to be HONEST , STRAIGHTFORWARD about what you want and what you don’t want. Otherwise, you will drain your bank account.

4. If you find a trustworthy Filipino, learn to respect, honor and appreciate them and you will find more.

5. Please don’t settle for someone for the sake of getting a resident visa. You can get kicked out very quickly if you do so. We have an active group of Immigration Officials ready to kick you out of the country.

I am writing this again to remind the EXPATS to do their due diligence before they plunge in. There are advantages and disadvantages of living and retiring in the Philippines. There are good and bad people here. There are great and not so great things here. Everywhere you go, there are risks, there are adventures. It’s up to you to do what needs to be done to make sure that you find the right place, the right people and the right lifestyle to live in.

I am also writing this because I have a Filipina friend who has to deal with her boyfriend whom she has a child. This expat and my friend were supposed to get married but for some circumstances never pushed through. The expat don’t want to find a job or get into a business and wants his girlfriend to work to support them. They bought a house under my friend’s name and now that their relationship has turned sour, the expat is demanding that the house be sold so he can get his money even both of them don’t have a regular source of income. This expat is threatening my friend for a criminal charge. This expat was the one who agreed to buy the property and was the one who left, now tell me, is it fair that he charges her with criminal offense just to get back his money?

What’s the moral of this story? Unless you are married, don’t purchase any property under the name of your local partner. Unless you are married, don’t have a child. Unless you are serious about living with your partner for the rest of your lives, don’t get married.

Meantime, while in a relationship, put everything in writing to document what might be needed in case a legal issue arises.

We appreciate expats coming in for you are part of our growing economy. Together, if we do things right, you can have a lifestyle like a king.

Pinaymentor

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