# SRRV Renewal



## English Andy (Mar 9, 2018)

My SRRV was issued on 5 July 2018, so will expire this month. I will go to the PRA offices in Makati sometime this month to renew and pay the annual fee. Quick question for those who have gone through this process. Can I pay the $360 in Peso? If so, what is the exchange rate given by PRA like? Is it better to go to a money exchange before going to the PRA and pay in USD?


----------



## Manitoba (Jun 25, 2014)

I paid in USD. Not sure if they accept peso.

You can pay for 3 years at a time. No discounts or refunds but also no return visits until 2022.

Get there as soon as they open. I was at the door first thing and was out in 50 minutes with my new card. That is good advice in any government dealing. The locals do do not appear to be morning people too much so getting to any office early means no line ups. (I was in and out with my driver license in 30 minutes.)


----------



## pagbati (Apr 9, 2014)

English Andy said:


> My SRRV was issued on 5 July 2018, so will expire this month. I will go to the PRA offices in Makati sometime this month to renew and pay the annual fee. Quick question for those who have gone through this process. Can I pay the $360 in Peso? If so, what is the exchange rate given by PRA like? Is it better to go to a money exchange before going to the PRA and pay in USD?


*Where to pay	* You have the choice of going to the PRA office in Manila but for those of us living in the provinces, it doesn’t make a lot of sense to do that. The other option therefore is to make your payment at the bank. PRA bank with Landbank and insist that payment is made via them. Take some form of ID and your SRRV number. Also provide them with PRA’s bank account details to save them looking for it. After doing this once, you simply turn up with the previous year’s payment slip and all the details are there. 
You don’t say whether or not you are living in Manila or the provinces. However, even if you do live in the capital, you may find it easier to make payment at a Landbank near where you live, rather than traipse through the city to get to Makati.

*Paying in Pesos at Landbank	*Landbank will calculate the exchange rate on the day and tell you the amount due in Pesos. The bank will add on P150, which the PRA require to courier your new card to your home address. With regard to the exchange rate, we always turned up at the bank with sufficient Pesos, having obtained a more favourable exchange rate at a place of our choosing. You then e-mail the confirmation of payment slip along with your passport to the PRA. They will send your card to you by courier.

*Paying in US$ (in the Provinces)	*As I recall, Landbank would also accept US$ but there was an additional charge of some sort that we didn’t like so we stuck to Pesos. 
You can, however, pay in US$ from the comfort of your own home by making an online bank transfer direct to PRA’s US$ account. After making the transfer, you e-mail the confirmation of payment slip along with your passport to the PRA and they will send your card to you by courier.

*Note: * The only reason we haven’t made an online payment in Pesos is because that would entail contacting both PRA and Landbank to establish/ agree the exchange rate; due to a laxity in communication, we felt that this route would involve a lot of hassle. At the end of the day, if making payment in Pesos, we deemed it easier to simply walk into the local Landbank and do the transfer that way.

*How many years should you pay in advance?	*This is matter of personal choice. We like the freedom of being able to lift and shift at any time, hence we choose to only pay one year at a time. If, for whatever reason, we had to leave the Ph after say 10 months into one of our annual year cycles, having paid for 3 years, we’re not confident that we could get the 2-years ‘overpayment’ back without a great deal of red tape and hassle. Others may feel that the benefits of only going through the payment process once every 3 years outweigh the potential negatives I’ve mentioned. Purely food for thought.


----------



## Manitoba (Jun 25, 2014)

pagbati said:


> ......If, for whatever reason, we had to leave the Ph after say 10 months into one of our annual year cycles, having paid for 3 years, we’re not confident that we could get the 2-years ‘overpayment’ back without a great deal of red tape and hassle. ....


When you pay for 3 years you sign a form agreeing to no refunds.


----------



## English Andy (Mar 9, 2018)

Thanks for all the info.


----------



## English Andy (Mar 9, 2018)

pagbati said:


> *Where to pay	* You have the choice of going to the PRA office in Manila but for those of us living in the provinces, it doesn’t make a lot of sense to do that.
> 
> *How many years should you pay in advance?	*


*

Thanks for all the info. At moment live in Manila, near Makati, so going to the PRA office is still the best option for me. Good to know you can pay for 3 years. Plan to move out of Manila, so that will be a good option to consider.*


----------

