# US citizen visiting/moving to the Philippines 🇵🇭



## mpollizzi (2 d ago)

Hi 👋 I'm a native Filipina who moved to the US when I was a kid. I'm nearing retirement age and don't want to work anymore. I have a little bit of savings and thought I can move back to the Philippines and wait till my social security payments start. I was thinking of the balikbayan program for overseas Filipinos and during the 1 year I'll apply for dual citizenship. I thought that since I'm a native Filipina I can work if I start running short of money 💰. Is this not the case? Do I need a work visa too? Any advice is appreciated 🙏


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## Lunkan (Aug 28, 2020)

I dont know but I believe you are counted as foreigner until you have got your Philippine citizenship back.


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## M.C.A. (Feb 24, 2013)

I would contact your nearest Philippine Consulate, have you done this yet? 

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Can I work on a balikbayan visa?

If you are holding a Balikbayan visa in the Philippines, you are NOT ALLOWED to take any form of work. You need to apply for a 13a Non-Quota Special Working Permit (SWP) (applicable if you are married to a Filipino citizen) if you wish to take any local employment.Aug 25, 2022.
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Are you planning on keeping your US bank account? Where will your SS pension go and if deposited first into a US bank (who will send your replacement ATM card and checks) then in order for you to access your money you'll use an ATM card or write a check to yourself and deposit it into a Philippine bank account, it takes 21 businesses days to clear, not including holidays before you can access your fund's. 

Opening up a bank account in the Philippines is not a simple process, it requires a passport and a Permanent Resident ACR card if your not recognized as a Philippine citizen, the banks here are like immigration offices. 

If you can establish a Philippine bank account then you could have your SS deposited Direct Deposit into a Philippine bank. Acquiring SS is a process that I've been working on between the US Embassy Manila and our bank...I'm currently doing this for my wife who is a Philippine citizen, this can take months to accomplish, I started in September and it's still in work but nearly done. 

Will your savings hold up and will you be accompanied by your husband and if not do you have a back up or exit plan if all else fails.


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## Gary D (Oct 28, 2013)

Apply for dual citizenship now before you travel.


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## mpollizzi (2 d ago)

I'm traveling soon everything's booked. If Philippines doesn't work out I was thinking of checking out Sweden and/or Canada. I hear that they are very generous with poor immigrants. I know that I am not able to live comfortably in the US with my savings or SS. I'll always have to keep working. Any thoughts or advice?


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## Gary D (Oct 28, 2013)

mpollizzi said:


> I'm traveling soon everything's booked. If Philippines doesn't work out I was thinking of checking out Sweden and/or Canada. I hear that they are very generous with poor immigrants. I know that I am not able to live comfortably in the US with my savings or SS. I'll always have to keep working. Any thoughts or advice?


What are your chances of emigrating to Canada or Sweden, Sweden tbe cost of living will be very high. You may need to look south of the border, I hear the wall is not complete yet.


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## Ekspat (5 mo ago)

mpollizzi said:


> Sweden and/or Canada. I hear that they are very generous with poor immigrants


Unfortunately for Sweden and Canada that's true. And a big reason I live in the Philippines which isn't generous with any immigrants. 😁


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## M.C.A. (Feb 24, 2013)

mpollizzi said:


> I'm traveling soon everything's booked. If Philippines doesn't work out I was thinking of checking out Sweden and/or Canada. I hear that they are very generous with poor immigrants. I know that I am not able to live comfortably in the US with my savings or SS. I'll always have to keep working. Any thoughts or advice?


You are a smart person, who wants to work until their in diapers "not me" but hey.... some people do and only a few people like you figure this out so I take my hat off to you mpolizzi, so I wish you well in advance, sometimes throwing caution to the wind works.

Gary is giving good and sound advice, retire to Mexico, that's where I would have retired if hadn't married a Filipina and the food is so much better. Worst case scenario you have to drive back across the border or take a bus back, trying to leave the Philippines is much harder, what if you've overstayed, so fines and also the plane ticket price.

I grew up in ND and was also stationed in Washington State, Canada is expensive but who knows maybe they have jobs, I had a coworker that tried to retire there and they turned him back, their immigration is tough.

How many more years before you turn 62? the other issue is, if you apply for SS from the Philippines, your gonna need a bank account to stick it in and it has to be a Direct Deposit only account only in your name, you'll have to show that SS 
Entitlement letter. If you don't have a safety net in the Philippines or somebody willing to give you cash if you run out, your screwed and stuck, think about this, what if you lose your ID and passports, what a hassle and costly one. 

There are homeless expats here that decided also to throw in the towel before collecting their SS and it doesn't always go well for them unless they have huge safety net = $$$.

I wish you well mpolizzi and welcome to the forum, hope to hear more from you.


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## severi (1 d ago)

Unfortunately for Sweden and Canada that's true.


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## Lunkan (Aug 28, 2020)

Almost all earnings are terrible as employee in Philppines (but on the other hand much better potentials for own business than in our home countries if you have some suiting skill. 
But perhaps you can find an income by internet, which you can start in USA and bring when you move to Phils?
(I have worked mainly from home with "office jobs" since 1978, fully siince 1993. E g acounting, researches, software development, writing... So since long before internet, which nowadays have added many opportunities, but on the other hand added hard competition from low salary countries.)


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## mpollizzi (2 d ago)

I was thinking of Mexico or South America but I don't speak Spanish. I barely speak tagalog. That's why I'm giving myself 6 months to a year before my cash is gone and I have to dig into my savings. I haven't done much research yet in my 2nd choices. I'm hoping Philippines stick since I have family here but I don't know them. When I was last here in my early twenty I met only a couple but I felt like I had to support all our outings and dinning. I was barely making money back then and it was tough that's why I never came back to visit and the flight was too expensive for a short vacation. I'm looking for someone who is around metro Manila to get together to show me the rope. I need to meet new people. I also want to travel around the Philippines you know take in the country of my birth. If I take family I'll end up paying for everything and then I'm back to being broke. So I'm hoping to meeting people as I travel. What do you guys think.


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## Lunkan (Aug 28, 2020)

mpollizzi said:


> I was thinking of Mexico or South America but I don't speak Spanish. I barely speak tagalog. That's why I'm giving myself 6 months to a year before my cash is gone and I have to dig into my savings. I haven't done much research yet in my 2nd choices. I'm hoping Philippines stick since I have family here but I don't know them. When I was last here in my early twenty I met only a couple but I felt like I had to support all our outings and dinning. I was barely making money back then and it was tough that's why I never came back to visit and the flight was too expensive for a short vacation.


 Not because of family, as you say that cost more than you afford,
but because you can get back the advantages as Filipino citizen. (Without the limits for foreigners for land owning, business and what being allowed to work with.)

You havent told what experiences, skills and contacts in USA you have.
Perhaps we will need someone trading our products to USA  when we reach big enough amounts. (It take time to get biger crops raw material so I expect spring next year, if we havent sold all that then allready in advance to Sweden. But if it goes as we expect/hope  the production will end up 5 times biger later, when we have made te raw material production 5 times biger. Thats around the max the manufactory we build can manage.)


mpollizzi said:


> I'm looking for someone who is around metro Manila to get together to show me the rope. I need to meet new people. I also want to travel around the Philippines you know take in the country of my birth. If I take family I'll end up paying for everything and then I'm back to being broke. So I'm hoping to meeting people as I travel. What do you guys think.


 Why Manila? Its much more expensive there.

The best people I have found are tribe people at Palawan. I mean as a group, of course there are exceptions both bad tribe and good malay Filipinos.
I know some tribe at south Palawan as well as an American living there too, who say its the best place he has ever lived at.

I have contact to a cheap good guide there, if he has time.


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## mpollizzi (2 d ago)

Manila is where my relatives mostly live at least on my mom's side. I want to get to know my dad's relatives too. I have to find out to get in touch. Anyway I'm at loose ends. I don't have a family of my own. I was taking care of my parents but I keep getting into fights with my brother. He thinks I don't do a good job of it. He told me to leave so I'm hitting the road. I'm giving myself this time to travel and see some of the world.


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## Howard_Z (7 mo ago)

It's much better to retire in Philippines after you are old enough to get social security checks.

There is a video here somewhere about a man who came from USA with savings, used it all, could not find work, lost lots of weight from not eating. Other expats contributed money to buy him an airline ticket back to the USA.

I wonder why you can not continue working in the USA. Why the rush to leave the USA ? You don't need to tell us. This is unusual, as I think most Philippines people would love to go work in the USA.

Coming to Philippines without social security or a pension is a bad idea. Maybe someone will point you to the video ?


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## Lunkan (Aug 28, 2020)

Howard_Z said:


> Coming to Philippines without social security or a pension is a bad idea.


 Yes. Or get an income through internet FIRST so can bring it to Phils. Or if having suiting business skill, start own.

@OP Think of in USA there is a social security system, in Phils there is (almost) none,
except family, but by you come from USA, family will expect *you will contribute to them.*


Howard_Z said:


> Maybe someone will point you to the video ?


 I believe you think of him in Dumaguete. Thats not a so good example by he got stroke so dont know if he would have screwed up that much otherwice, but he did misstakes before too.

But there are many, who have lost much, even got broke, by being to nice or to naive. There are many scammers in Phils. OP has the advantage though by can after become Filipino citizen put things in own name which reduce get scammed risk some.


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## mpollizzi (2 d ago)

the reason I'm leaving the USA is that I'm tired of working and that I can't afford rent working only part-time. when 6 months is up I know I'll end up probably flying back to the USA and working hopefully in a cruise ship or being a flight attendant crossed fingers🤞I have health issues and don't want to have regrets. I want to see the world and don't care if I might stroke out or have a heart attack just trying to go to the places. I want to do this before I can't anymore or too old to barely walk without aid.


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## Gary D (Oct 28, 2013)

mpollizzi said:


> the reason I'm leaving the USA is that I'm tired of working and that I can't afford rent working only part-time. when 6 months is up I know I'll end up probably flying back to the USA and working hopefully in a cruise ship or being a flight attendant crossed fingers🤞I have health issues and don't want to have regrets. I want to see the world and don't care if I might stroke out or have a heart attack just trying to go to the places. I want to do this before I can't anymore or too old to barely walk without aid.


The Philippines is a very bad place to be with health issues. Healthcare here is by western standards inexpensive but it can very quickly nickel and dime you to death.


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## mpollizzi (2 d ago)

I'm not thinking about that. either way I can't afford healthcare in the US. from taking care of my patents I learned do what you want to do before you're too old. I'd rather go out trying to see the world than just getting old taking pills to stay alive too depressing


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## grahamw57 (May 27, 2018)

At least here in the Phils you would be among experts at being poverty-stricken, and with reduced life-expectancy.


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## mpollizzi (2 d ago)

grahamw57 said:


> At least here in the Phils you would be among experts at being poverty-stricken, and with reduced life-expectancy.


great minds think alike


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## M.C.A. (Feb 24, 2013)

mpollizzi said:


> I'm not thinking about that. either way I can't afford healthcare in the US. from taking care of my patents I learned do what you want to do before you're too old. I'd rather go out trying to see the world than just getting old taking pills to stay alive too depressing


Don't forget about the incredible heat soon to hit us probably next month, avoid too much walking and make sure to keep hydrated.

You could start immediately working on your Visa and get a Police record print out for immigration purposes before you leave, it cost me $10.



https://immigration.gov.ph/visa-requirements/immigrant-visa/returning-formal-natural-born-filipino-citizen


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## Ekspat (5 mo ago)

M.C.A. said:


> Mexico, that's where I would have retired if hadn't married a Filipina and the food is so much better.


Foreigners can buy land in Mexico too. Kinda dangerous though as an expat target, unlike the Philippines except around Mindanao.


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