How to Retire in the Philippines

By Les Johns

This book is a further volume in the "How to Retire in ... " series. It is intended as an initial aid for pending retirees to choose to which country that may like to retire. In addition to a description of the country and a synopsis of its history it cover most topics in which retirees must take an interest. Such things include residence visas, pensions, banking, tax, climate, driving and time differences. There are many links to useful sites which will provide additional help and warnings about some which may cost a lot but provide little value. It is intended that much research time will be saved by using this book and others in the series. It is all too easy to become distracted and to waste much time when searching the web without specific directions in mind. This book and its companions will be a reference and an aide-memoire when the internet is not available, in a car, on a boat, when flying or in remote areas.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Les Johns
• Release date: Feb 26, 2015
• ISBN: 9781310691454

Les Johns

The author has traveled widely on all continents and is still keen to visit new places and to meet new people. He has lived and/or worked in Europe, Africa, Australia and U.S.A. and has visited Asia frequently. He has moved from country to country frequently often with the whole family when the children (2) were young, under five, and when they were older. Children are flexible and adaptable and their education loses nothing from wide and varied experience. Over one period the family had made an international or intercontinental move every eighteen months. The reasons related to employment, political/social conditions and simple preference but there was always an eye on safety and the future of the children. Given the university and career successes of the children travel has been a great educator. The author is always looking for further adventures in different places meeting more friends.

Book preview

HOW TO RETIRE

IN

The PHILIPPINES

by

Les Johns

(Revised)

All Rights Reserved © 2015 Les Johns

SmashWords Edition

Contents

Introduction

Chapter 1 : Choosing Your Place

Chapter 2 : Describing the Philippines

Chapter 3 : Residency and Citizenship

Chapter 4 : Police Clearance

Chapter 5 : Income

Chapter 6 : Driving

Chapter 7 : Climate and Time

Chapter 8 : Interesting and Expensive

Chapter 9 : Resources

Disclaimer

Cover Clipart

Privacy

By the Same Author

How to Retire in Your World

How to Retire in Australia

How to Retire in New Zealand

How to Retire in Canada

How to Retire in Uruguay

How to Retire in Belize

How to Retire in Malaysia

How to Retire in Panama

How to Retire in Ecuador

How to Retire in The Dominican Republic

How to Retire in The Commonwealth of Dominica

How to Retire in The Republic of Colombia

Retirement Abroad : Your Complete Resource

Notes on URLs

Web sites change. Ownership changes, location changes, subject emphases change, availability changes. All of this and other things mean that the link that you click on may reveal something quite different from what you expected or it may not work at all. Some sites are slow to open. In addition not all browsers perform well. The internet is dynamic and it changes by the minute, even by the second. That there is any consistency in the web sites that are viewed is amazing.

None of this is to excuse non-performing links or non-relevant sites. Every link in this book was tested immediately before publication using at least two browsers, usually Firefox and Safari but also including Chrome, Brave and Internet Explorer (the latter via a smart 'phone). All were found to be live and relevant to the subject matter. This does not mean that this will be true tomorrow.

If you have problems accessing a site or if its subject matter seems to have changed then try Googling that subject and you may find the site that it was originally intended that you should or you could get to an even better one. If the latter is the case please demonstrate your community spirit by advising the site administrator so that the appropriate changes can be made and that all can benefit from your discovery. Thank you.

We will also welcome any new ideas, experiences and indications of perceived omissions or errors. The author can be contacted at [e-mail] and again, we thank you.

Introduction

The words of Neil Spencer's song The Age of Aquarius are, on his own admission, astrological gibberish. The new age of freedom and intellectual achievements of which he wrote, if it ever occurred, has long since passed with most of the hippie movements that it spawned. Since the late 1960s the world has seen oil shocks, recessions, global financial crises, banking failures and global warming. Each and every event has been or is now a world-destroying phenomenon. Only those who are no longer active participants in jobs or careers that took part in, ostensibly caused or are to be disastrously affected by such events are likely to survive them. Those who are no longer brashly confident enough to believe that they can solve all problems need, and are gracefully able to accept, help. It is the retired or soon-to-be retired who can smile sweetly and say thank you for any assistance. This site would like and hope to help you to reach your desired retirement haven. You cannot start planning early enough. Governments can be very slow.

There is an alternative to retirement to a single country. The first five web sites listed in the Resources chapter under Commercial Assistance page describe this different way of life. It is promoted by Freedom Confidential and it is well worth examining

Reasons for this Book

This is an age of fast mass communication and travel. More people now know more about the world, international events and countries other than their home base than ever before. It is also the age of mass retirement after the boom in the birth rate all over the developed world after the end of WW11. Improvements in medicine and public health have ensured longer lives for most in the first, although not yet in the third, world. Life after a career is lasting longer for more. Today's retirees also will probably be better off than the current work force or future generations. Generous, possibly over-generous, perhaps unsustainably generous pension schemes have ensured a rich and healthy non-working group which will live for longer after retiring than any of their predecessors. The 2008/9 Global Financial Crisis and continuing world financial problems have also ensured that future retirees are likely to be looking for low cost places in which to live. Although there are no longer dirty, dark, smoke-begrimed industrial towns full of slums and uneducated masses who know of nothing beyond their own close environment, of the struggle to live and their jobs, many people crave a life away from home. They have been to or know of environmentally friendly, low cost places with comfortable climates, good food and a slow paced life-style that suits retirement. Helping retirees or soon-to-be retirees to escape and to get to the places of their dreams are the reasons for this book and those that will follow. In the first instance it might be best to read these books on a computer. The web links will render the pages better. Not all e-readers are in color or have a large enough screen to display a web page well. Make notes as you wish and they will be available on the e-reader to enhance the reading of the book while you travel when it is possible that use of a computer will not be allowed or the machine cannot access the internet.

Informed Choices

Governments have become increasingly intrusive and their processes unnecessarily complex. This has opened opportunities for many who purport to give assistance in negotiating with the bureaucracy to take overly expensive fees for their services. The philosophy of this book is that any basically educated person can fill in government forms adequately enough to achieve their own objectives. Some assistance with the foibles of some administrations is useful but it is not worth many hundreds of dollars, pounds, euros etc. Some countries are generous in taxation matters with immigrant retirees, others less so; some distribute pensions to all countries; some impose restrictions residentially or financially. None of these matters is secret or confidential or hidden but the details can take some finding. With this knowledge informed choices can be made. This book is intended to help in all of these ways.

Unique

Compared with the other books in this series this one has a unique aspect about it. The author has followed the steps required to obtain residency rights in the Philippines. There will be notes at the appropriate places to provide directly experienced information with respect to residency in the Philippines. It is hoped that these extra comments in particular will be of assistance to all who are considering retirement in the Philippines.

Chapter 1

Choosing Your Place

The Important Points

Your first decision is to choose to which country you wish to retire. Perhaps you may have a few in mind. It is