New to Philippines.

[racinkc1]

What the best way to stay long term (like a year)? If I come to Philippines without a visa (us citizen) for the first 30 days, will I legally be able to rent an apartment without one? Is it difficult to get a 6 month visa in the Philippines, or should I go to an embassy back home?

[BritManToo]

You just turn up and can stay for 3 years, extensions cost around $30/month.

After your 2nd extension they provide an ID card that allows you to open a bank account.

No problems renting. 

[racinkc1]

1 hour ago, BritManToo said:

You just turn up and can stay for 3 years, extensions cost around $30/month.

After your 2nd extension they provide an ID card that allows you to open a bank account.

No problems renting. 

So to reiterate; Landlords dont report alien residents to immigration, and/so I dont need a visa to rent an apartment? And no problem obtaining a visa IN the Philippines?

[BritManToo]

43 minutes ago, racinkc1 said:

So to reiterate; Landlords dont report alien residents to immigration, and/so I dont need a visa to rent an apartment? And no problem obtaining a visa IN the Philippines?

I've no idea what landlords do ......... but there's nothing to stop a foreigner renting.

There's no problem getting extensions of stay in PI, but after 3 years you need to leave for at least 1 night.

[racinkc1]

1 hour ago, BritManToo said:

I've no idea what landlords do ......... but there's nothing to stop a foreigner renting.

There's no problem getting extensions of stay in PI, but after 3 years you need to leave for at least 1 night.

I just want to make sure I can rent without a visa. It sounds like that is the case. Is the visa application easy? Or should I hire a visa service the first time I extend?

[BritManToo]

10 minutes ago, racinkc1 said:

I just want to make sure I can rent without a visa. It sounds like that is the case. Is the visa application easy? Or should I hire a visa service the first time I extend?

All my pals used a local agent for extensions, no big fees like Thailand.

I've been there about 10x and never had a VISA, always liked to stay In Barretto, on Baloy Long beach.

Plenty of houses, apartments, guesthouses to rent, lots of places to eat, German, English, Australian, Mexican.

Clean beaches and clear water.

 

 

Edited February 5 by BritManToo

[racinkc1]

27 minutes ago, BritManToo said:

All my pals used a local agent for extensions, no big fees like Thailand.

I've been there about 10x and never had a VISA, always liked to stay In Barretto, on Baloy Long beach.

Plenty of houses, apartments, guesthouses to rent, lots of places to eat, German, English, Australian, Mexican.

Clean beaches and clear water.

 

 

I just spoke to a visa agent and she said I can not stay more than 6 months if I am not on a retirement visa or married to a filipino national, and will have to fly to Singapore or Thailand to renew my visa......

[BritManToo]

25 minutes ago, racinkc1 said:

I just spoke to a visa agent and she said I can not stay more than 6 months if I am not on a retirement visa or married to a filipino national, and will have to fly to Singapore or Thailand to renew my visa......

That's BS.

[racinkc1]

9 hours ago, BritManToo said:

That's BS.

 Which immigration office are you using that grants your extensions?

[BritManToo]

10 hours ago, racinkc1 said:

 Which immigration office are you using that grants your extensions?

Maybe you're confusing them by asking for a VISA,

A VISA is permission to enter a country, once in the country you get 2 month extensions of stay.

My pals used the agents in the main road of Barretto.

[spongeworthy]

You will receive a tourist visa stamp in your passport upon arrival with a validity of 59 days. As mentioned by Brit you can extend that for up to 3 years at which point you'll have to leave the country for a day (as in be out of the country for 24 hours) and then return and start the process over again.

 

Tourist visas can now be extended online at https://e-services.immigration.gov.ph. No need to use an agent or go to an immigration office in person unless for some reason they've requested you to do so after applying for the extension online.

 

While the immigration website states you can receive up to a 6 month extension, in reality this varies at the regional offices for whatever reason. Smoothest option would be to apply for 2 months at a time as you're basically 100% guaranteed to have that approved. If you apply for a 4(?) or 6 month extension you may be denied. Now that the extensions can be performed online with online payment, there's really no reason to apply for more than 2 months.

 

After your initial 59 days here immigration will require you to apply and pay for the ACR card. I don't know if they will allow you to apply for one online at the moment. The card will state Tourist. If you're here on a retirement visa (SRRV) it will state Resident or something similar. This status will impact your ability to open a bank account at certain banks and obtain a drivers license, although just like in Thailand, corruption is rife and things that shouldn't be possible may become possible... with or without repercussions down the road.

 

Opening a bank account with a tourist visa is possible, but in my experience and the experiences of others, not at BDO nor BPI. They don't open accounts for tourists. There are plenty of other banks to choose from. You may have to try a few branches before finding one that will open an account for you, as depending on the bank, different branches can have different ownership and policies (franchise model).

 

In addition to opening a bank account, you'll make you're life a heck of a lot easier if you create a gcash account. Banking here is not as simple as in Thailand, and paying bills via your bank (electric, phone, internet, etc.) is often limited to certain "partner" banks but the bills can almost always be paid via gcash and some other e-wallets.

[spongeworthy]

As for the rental, there is no similar requirement for landlords to report your stay as is there is currently in Thailand. You will find it's quite common requirement (request) of landlords that you provide post dated checks for the full term of the lease, but I would never do that as it could lessen the landlords motivation to maintain the unit. Everything is negotiable, so just use standard common sense that would use anywhere when leasing a place to live. Another thing to be aware of when renting, if looking for a longer term lease at a condo, is that condos in the touristy areas appear to be more likely to allow daily airbnb rentals. If such a transient environment bothers you, be sure to ask for a copy of the house rules before spending much time on negotiating a lease.

[racinkc1]

On 2/7/2024 at 4:28 AM, spongeworthy said:

You will receive a tourist visa stamp in your passport upon arrival with a validity of 59 days. As mentioned by Brit you can extend that for up to 3 years at which point you'll have to leave the country for a day (as in be out of the country for 24 hours) and then return and start the process over again.

 

Tourist visas can now be extended online at https://e-services.immigration.gov.ph. No need to use an agent or go to an immigration office in person unless for some reason they've requested you to do so after applying for the extension online.

 

While the immigration website states you can receive up to a 6 month extension, in reality this varies at the regional offices for whatever reason. Smoothest option would be to apply for 2 months at a time as you're basically 100% guaranteed to have that approved. If you apply for a 4(?) or 6 month extension you may be denied. Now that the extensions can be performed online with online payment, there's really no reason to apply for more than 2 months.

 

After your initial 59 days here immigration will require you to apply and pay for the ACR card. I don't know if they will allow you to apply for one online at the moment. The card will state Tourist. If you're here on a retirement visa (SRRV) it will state Resident or something similar. This status will impact your ability to open a bank account at certain banks and obtain a drivers license, although just like in Thailand, corruption is rife and things that shouldn't be possible may become possible... with or without repercussions down the road.

 

Opening a bank account with a tourist visa is possible, but in my experience and the experiences of others, not at BDO nor BPI. They don't open accounts for tourists. There are plenty of other banks to choose from. You may have to try a few branches before finding one that will open an account for you, as depending on the bank, different branches can have different ownership and policies (franchise model).

 

In addition to opening a bank account, you'll make you're life a heck of a lot easier if you create a gcash account. Banking here is not as simple as in Thailand, and paying bills via your bank (electric, phone, internet, etc.) is often limited to certain "partner" banks but the bills can almost always be paid via gcash and some other e-wallets.

 

[racinkc1]

Thanks for the down low. So to reiterate, the ACR card is not a visa, but will enable me to stay in the country past 59 days, correct? And I am "extending" the ACR card, since I wont have a visa? And Im assuming they are relatively easy to obtain? I guess my only other questions are do you think I can realistically find an apartment in downtown Davao (or somewhat close to) for 10,000 a month? Im finding apartments on the outskirts of the city that are too far from infrastructure, gyms, food, etc. Also, do you know if they will accept a 6 month lease, or will they try to rope me in for a year?

[spongeworthy]

So I took a look at my passport and realized you get a 30 day stamp on arrival, not 59 days. This can be extended an additional 29 days online or in person. Your second extension will likely have to be done in person as immigration will require you to complete the ACR application. It's possible they offer this online too, I just don't know.

 

20 hours ago, racinkc1 said:

So to reiterate, the ACR card is not a visa, but will enable me to stay in the country past 59 days, correct?

 

Yes, it's an ID card which is required for stays beyond 59 days. In my case I was told to come back to immigration in 4 weeks to pick up the card as they are made in, and shipped from, Manila.

 

20 hours ago, racinkc1 said:

And I am "extending" the ACR card, since I wont have a visa?

 

No, you're extending the permission to stay, which I guess is technically the stamp you receive in your passport (visa-free permission to enter and stay for so many days based on nationality). The receipt is your proof of extension (an email if done online). No additional stamps in your passport. You'll only receive additional stamps upon entry to the country. The date of entry on your most recent stamp is what your foreign drivers license validity is based on (you can legally drive with a foreign license for up to 3 months from date of entry).

 

The card is just an ID card which expires after 1 year. If you leave the country and return, even multiple times, the card is still valid until the expiration date on the back.

 

20 hours ago, racinkc1 said:

And Im assuming they are relatively easy to obtain?

 

I don't know if immigration looks into anything beyond what they typically look at when issuing the extensions, but I've haven't heard of anyone being denied an ACR ID card after being approved for an extension.

 

20 hours ago, racinkc1 said:

I guess my only other questions are do you think I can realistically find an apartment in downtown Davao (or somewhat close to) for 10,000 a month? Im finding apartments on the outskirts of the city that are too far from infrastructure, gyms, food, etc.

 

Never been there and no plans to go, but most of the apartments I see on facebook marketplace are going for around 5k. Condos appear to be going for 10-20k at the low end, with a few exceptions below 10k. I don't know anything about the city so I can't comment on the locations of these units.

 

20 hours ago, racinkc1 said:

Also, do you know if they will accept a 6 month lease, or will they try to rope me in for a year?

 

Back when I was looking, most condo ads will state their desire for either a 6 month or 1 year minimum term, but everything is negotiable. I don't know what's typical for <10k apartments. If an apartment building has high occupancy with 1 year leases, management will have little motivation to offer a shorter term. Supply and demand. Plenty of apartment and condo ads though, so I imagine you'll be able to find something nice with a 6 month term. Airbnb is also an option, and most owners should be open to bringing the price down to typical rates for long term stays if you reach out to them. Good luck!

Edited February 12 by spongeworthy