Retire to the Philippines and Succeed

You Ask, I Answer. Find Your Answers Here.

The Hardest Post To Write — Or The Easiest

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In one respect this blog is essentially dead.  I haven’t posted here for months.  On the other hand, nearly 50 people a day still come here searching for information about living in the Philippines, marrying a Filipino, getting citizenship for their Philippine-born children, and dozens of other issues.

Why did you land here upon this article?  Leave me a comment below or write me at davestarr@gmail.com and let me know?

Because I have more than 15 years of knowledge gained by living full-time in the Philippines, and I have been occasionally able to help folks with issues and questions, I’ve decided to bring this blog back to life.

FULL DISCLOSURE

I no longer live in the Philippines.  I moved to Florida a few weeks ago.  The reasons were many and varied and I’ll be writing a lot about them in the future.

Will I ever move back to the Philippines?  As of now, I doubt it … but a very wise man once taught me to never say never.

For now, I’ll just remain your SME (Subject Matter Expert) on living in the Philippines (I still own a house and car there, I have family living there and communicating daily and I am keeping my finger on the Philippine pulse.

Let me know if I can help and for all you faithful folks who have read  my scribblings for the past 16 years or so, thanks,

Hang on, the ride isn’t over.

Leave a comment on this article, or a question/comment on my dedicated, no-spam contact page, and feel free to read the FAQS page, many questions are already answered there.

 

Business Ideas With a Lot of Potential

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Business Ideas With a Lot of Potential

(Last modified 30 October 2021)

Recently I received an email regarding a Phil-Am couple wanting to set up a business in the Philippines.

I get many like it. Unlike many at least this couple have thought about doing something regarding a business (and I suppose a large part of their income after their move) before they actually make the move to the Philippines.

Would that more couples gave this some thought.

… Hey Dave – great article. Particularly the advice to get the experience while you are in the US. My wife is here and has a B.S. degree in business from the Philippines. She’s currently working in a supermarket and we will only be here 2-3 more years before moving to PI. I know she will be too young at that point to do nothing (like her husband) and would probably like to have some kind of small biz. I encourage her to use the experience she is building in the US to take there. Any suggestions about what she might learn or how she might approach this all in the relatively short time we have here?…

Several good questions and important factors here and I will give my opinions on them for the benefit of this reader and all the rest of you interested in this subject.

My opinions are mine alone, you may have different ideas, and that’s good too … but at least give this some thought before you arrive in the Philippines, FOP (Fresh Of the Plane) with no money, no business, no job, and a whole bunch of hopes.

Dave’s Rule One:

Lose the idea of “the wife” having some business while the husband sits around being bored, living off a pension (if he has one), and growing jealous of the time his wife has to devote to her business.

Boredom, drink and health-related woes of inactivity are the number one reason I see couples moving here and then splitting up (or soldiering on in a very unhappy state).

Running any business anywhere takes a lot of time, effort, and commitment, and working together is by far the best way to keep a business from going broke and/or breaking up a marriage.

Trust me on this, inactivity and boredom are both health and marriage killers.

Dave’s Rule Two:

Lose the idea of living in the Philippines and making your money from the Philippines.

It’s possible, of course, but it is by far the most difficult way to do it.

Instead consider ways to live in the Philippines and make your money from the rest of the world, like I do (in a very small way) and literally thousands of other expats (a few of whom I know personally to be totally legit) do.

You don’t have to earn from where you live.

Dave’s Rule Three

Ideas, including “ideas with potential” are all virtually worthless.

Without motion and guidance “ideas” are just about as useless as sitting around and doing nothing.

Consider this example for a moment.

A big diesel truck and cargo trailer are sitting at the side of the road at a top of a long, long hill.

Imagine you had the key to that truck. If you have any idea about heavy trucks and highway grades you know that that truck has a tremendous amount of “potential” energy just from gravity.

If you jump aboard and release the brakes, wow are you in for the ride of your life.

Perhaps even the last ride of your life if you can’t keep it on the road.

Huge, huge, huge “potential” but profitability and the chance to build a business that will sustain you? Ahhh, well not so much.

But let’s make a slightly different assumption.

Let’s suppose you know how to drive such a truck, and you use the right gear, keep it under control and actually find someone who needs something hauled.

The “potential” may not be as “huge” as it was … you only have one truck and you can only haul so much cargo in a day, but the ability to build a real business suddenly becomes very apparent.

It’s the same truck starting with the same “potential”but the outcome is so very, very different.

Dave’s Rule Four
If you want to earn a living, and perhaps even become wealthy for your business, find a need and fill it.

Let’s stick with my weird trucking example. A friend of mine (let’s call him “Willard” because that’s not his name), bought some ranching land east of Colorado Springs when he retired from the military. He was planning to raise good quality cattle and sell them at a good profit.

But after he invested some money in cattle and a lot of time in trying to develop his ranch, he found that the land he had purchased was pretty much worthless for raising cattle. Most of the property was a thin layer of rather poor soil atop a huge bank of clay that made it almost impossible for the land to grow enough feed to keep the cattle alive, let alone allow them to thrive and gain weight.

(when it comes down to the bottom line, weight is all there is in the cattle business… you only get paid, one way or another, by how much weight your cattle gain while you own them)

Willard could have just given up and become yet another tired old complaining senior citizen, bitching to everyone he met how he had been bilked out of his life savings.

Not a very pleasant prospect, but the mode that many people seem to be inclined to fall into.

Willard decided to follow Dave’s Rule Four, and “find a need to fill it”.

Thinking through all the things one can do with clay, he found that the largest market for clay in Colorado was brick making. Several companies in nearby Denver had been making bricks for years.

Willard scooped up some samples of the clay and visited Denver’s largest brick factory.

Turns out that “Willard’s Clay” was a type they had a real need for, and they were even having trouble finding a regular source.

So, one used front-end loader and one used tractor-trailer dump truck rig later, Willard “made” himself a full-time, lifetime income from those banks of clay he had unintentionally purchased.

Each weekday he gets up early loads his dump truck, drives to the brickyard, drives across the scale going in, dumps, and drives across the scale going out.  The difference in the two weights is the number of pounds delivered that he gets paid for.

After paying daily expenses, and setting aside money for truck maintenance and eventual truck replacement, he nets about $4,000 USD per WEEK from scooping up the so-called “useless” clay, hauling it less than 100 miles, running the truck across the scales (yes, again, when it comes to trucking, weight, once again, controls the bottom line), and then returning home.

Usually, he’s back in town before lunchtime, and can be found hanging out in a famous local rancher’s hangout with the other old retired guys … some of whom have nothing to do all day except bitch about how little their Social Security checks amount to.

Ideas With Potential Are a Dime a Dozen

Now tell me the truth. While you were reading the paragraphs leading up to Willard’s discovery of the profit potential in the clay that every other rancher in the area hated and despised, did you see the “potential”?

Probably not. But it really doesn’t matter. The “potential” really meant nothing. What makes the money, in this case, is Willard’s refusal to accept the fact he had essentially purchased “worthless” land and his determination to make a plan and execute that plan.

So What’s Your Plan?

You who read this wondering about how you can make money in the Philippines (or in the US for that matter) could learn a lot from my friend Willard. Virtually any “idea” can be profitable if, and only if, you are willing to do something about it.

That is your free, proven many times over, business tip for the day.

“Ideas” won’t make money for you, but actions will”.

Now go move some clay .

More US-based Things You Need To Keep

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Updated 27 October 2021

A few days back I published this post:

Home Country Things You Better Hold On To

If you are even daydreaming about moving to the Philippines and you haven’t read it, you should.  Go ahead, I’ll wait here for you.

Back now?  Great.

Right after that post was published one of my oldest and most faithful readers, Tito Joe (thanks Joe) sent a comment which provided a lot of valuable suggestions.

I also thought of a few things myself which I should enlarge upon a bit, so here we go:

More Home Country Things To Keep

I have one thing I think would be valuable insurance:

A so-called Physical mailing address in the states. Could be a very close and trusted friend or relative letting you use their address, OR for one example get a South Dakota Address like a lot of the RV crowd does to receive mail (For a fee they scan and email you digital copies of what arrives).

If something comes in the mail that you absolutely feel you must have the original paper copy of. the service will, on request,  forward the mail to you via airmail or express overnight services.

Dakota Post is just one of these companies, there are many others.  They provide you with an address in the states.

This can be very handy for taxes or any other reason that comes up where you would need to show a presence in the US. South Dakota will even issue you a driver’s license with as little as a 24 hour stay.

Especially if you live in a horrendous taxation state like California, you owe it to yourself to establish residency in a low or no state income tax state before you move to the Philippines.

The tax savings will count up, year after year.

Keeping several USA-based Credit cards and keeping them active also gives you some liquidity for emergencies.

What emergencies?

Could be anything, but  TRAVEL and MEDICAL are top of the list.

Travel

I’ve already mentioned this previously, but if you are sitting in the Philippines (or some third country where you have fled because of a disaster, or where some no-name airline canceled your flight and left you stranded, your US-based credit card is your real ticket home.

As Karl Malden used to say, “Don’t Leave Home Without It”.

MEDICAL

I know from first-hand experience that those USA-based cards are gold at the Hospital and they accept it as payment for everything except the actual doctors’ fees. (my experience was that the doctor wants cash, even at the Upper-tier Hospitals)

Lastly, and this is a big one.

Make sure you have credit cards and an ATM card for any USA accounts you keep that do NOT charge a foreign transaction fee and will also REFUND any network or bank charges for using the card to get cash or buy stuff.

I have NFCU no fees and no ATM charge on certain networks.

Charles Schwab Checking and my Fidelity IRA checking Accounts not only have no fees but use very favorable exchange rates AND they both refund any ATM network or Local bank charges when using the ATM in the Philippines. (I have used BOTH in foreign ATMs and POS transactions and can attest to this being true and a big money saver.)

Many Credit cards have similar terms. AMEX, USAA, and some Capital One cards etc.

Long term that can save a sizable sum of money also. Full stop. from Joe.  Thanks.

To start winding this up, this is my personal plan regarding medical expenses.

As a retired US serviceman I have medical coverage called TRICARE For Life.  This will pay as much as 89% of reasonable and necessary medical expenses for me.

But TRICARE only reimburses after the bills have been paid.  Not for partial payments.

So you need something to plunk on the cahier’s counter at the hospital before you can be admitted (confined we call that here, how cute).

Unless you carry around a LOT more cash than I ever do, one or more high-limit USA-issued cards will fill the bill and get you treated. (and hopefully cured).

Two Very Important Tips For Using US Credit Cards For Philippine Medical Expenses:

One:

Do not make deposits on your bill with your cards or with the cash you may have.  Pay the bill for the whole stay with the card when your final bill is rendered.

TRICARE (and many other insurance companies) will not any preliminary deposits you make before the final bill is calculated and presented.  Let the hospital open a charge against your card and then submit the final charge at the end of your stay.  Trust me, many, many expats have been burned by the “Catch 22”.  Don’t be the next one.

Two:

Don’t Use Joint (husband and wife) Credit Cards

If you decide to have one or more US credit cards that you keep mainly as a reserve for emergencies, especially medical emergencies, here’s an important tip:

Use only credit cards issued to you and you alone.  Not jointly held with you and your spouse.  Example,

I have three fairly high limit US cards in my name, and my name only.

This is not because I don’t trust my wife.  Not at all, I trust her implicitly.  She has her own “authorized user card for each of those accounts and she has complete use of the cards and their credit limits just as if the cards were in her name.

But if I should pass away, after running up big balances on those cards trying one medical procedure after another to keep myself alive, as an authorized user my wife will not be forced into destitute widowhood trying to pay down the card balances.

As an authorized user, you’re not legally responsible to pay the credit card bill or any debts that build up.

This is still the primary account holder’s responsibility.

From the US Consumer Financial Protection Bureau on the subject of wives being forced to pay their husbands credit card debt after the husband’s death:

Can I be held responsible to pay off the debts of my deceased spouse?

In most cases you will not be responsible to pay off your deceased spouse’s debts. As a general rule, no one else is obligated to pay the debt of a person who has died. There are some exceptions and the exceptions vary by state.

Home Country Things You Better Hold On To.

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Home Country Things You Better Hold On To.

(Updated 27 October 2021)

Home Country Things You Better Hold On To.Just recently I was telling a reader that writing about moving to the Philippines seemed very boring to me.

I had gotten very old and stale.

But then I just had a conversation with a fellow US military retiree here in the Philippines and I realized there’s a whole raft of things out there I should be writing about.

One thing people always ask about over the years I have been writing about living in the Philippines is:

“What to Bring from the US and What to Leave Behind”

Well, I think rather than a blog article someone could write a whole book on that subject.  Sorry, that won’t be me.

See Also:

More US-based Things You Need To Keep

But one thing that did come up with my retiree friend recently is something many westerners who move to the Philippines don’t think about a lot when packing their moving boxes.

Home Country Bank Accounts and Credit Cards

First, let me clarify something.  Since I’m an American I tend to write everything based on what I know about the USA,  Only seems natural.

But many of my readers here are from other counties.  That’s great, I love it that things can get so international here at times.  But please do realize, the advice I give about the way things work in the USA may not be valid in other countries, so always check with local experts, OK?

Also, I am not a lawyer, an accountant, a financial planner, or any other sort of licensed or degreed expert, so when you need an expert, use one.

You wouldn’t go to your friendly car mechanic to have your tooth pulled, would you?

Now The Day Has Come To Make Your Philippines Move

I’m sure most of you have some sort of checklist or to-do list for your move.

If not, sit down and make one before you start filling boxes.

Now if there’s an item on your list that says “close your US bank account“, stop and think a moment before you take action.

Maybe you feel that you’re making a clean break with the USA and that you’re pretty sure you are never coming back.  That’s fine.

Or maybe you feel you’re really broke and the small amount left in your US bank account to maintain it in an active status is money you need elsewhere.  Well, that’s OK too.

But Before You Burn That Bridge Consider This:

If you give up your US bank account and leave for the Philippines, life will be just dandy for you …

Unless you ever need a place for someone to pay you.

Or a place to pay others from… say some utility bill or credit card account which had been forgotten.

There could be a lot of reasons that come up over the first year or so why you would want a bank account in the USA.

But if you are outside the USA, and not physically available to open a bank account, you may really find yourself out of luck.

It Is Close To Impossible To Open a US Bank Account From Outside The USA.

In my own case I never even dreamed of closing my US bank account when I moved.

First of all

My monthly pension payments go directly into my US account.

Many sources of US pensions (military pensions, for example), will NOT pay into a non-US account.  Ouch. Also, some US agencies (Social Security as a prime example) ) _SAY_ that they pay your retirement into a Philippine bank account, but they really don’t do so, directly.

They pay your benefits into a third-party clearinghouse (private) bank in New York and _THAT_ anonymous bank pays the money into an approved Philippines bank, in your name.

The Social Security Administration is a very reliable payor.  They send out benefits to millions of people every month and I have never known them to miss a payout.

But f the money is going to a third party in New Your City and then to your Philippine bank, and you find no deposit made to your Philippine account .. who ya gonna call?

This has happened before to readers of mine and it can be devastating if the reader is low on funds and needs that deposit on time.

Everyone that ever had this happen to them eventually got their money … so far as I know … but for me, having the money already in my US banking facility on time is a much easier and safer way to go.

Secondly…

my online profit-making efforts need a place to be deposited.

Many companies will send money they owe you anywhere in the form of a check, but it takes a long time and often involves a lot of fees.

Others refuse to do business with anyone overseas.

Third…

I can pay anyone (business or personal) in the USA with a check from my US bank account, for free, sent out overnight by request from my Internet banking account.

Just like having a personal assistant with access to my checkbook living there in the USA on 24/7 call

.And Because I Kept A US Bank Account It Is Easy To Keep US Credit Cards

Now I can hear a few exclamations out there in “reader land” already.

“Why have a US credit card if you are living in the Philippines”?

“Isn’t credit card debt dangerous, financially”?  (no, Mr. Ramsey, it is not if you use it wisely)

And I’m sure you can think of a few more not to have a US credit card.

Personally, I keep several US credit cards for two main reasons:

Reason 1: Buying Things Online In The USA:

If you want to send a gift to a family member or friend back in the USA, what could be easier than ordering online, having it shipped to the recipient, and paying for the whole process almost instantly with your US credit card?

Once you make a purchase, you’ll have a balance to be paid on your US card.  So how do you handle that?

Simple, just use your US bank’s online bill pay service to send the credit card payment before it’s due.  No interest accrued, no fees due.  It really couldn’t be easier.

Now, a question some of you might have after reading this far is, wouldn’t it be just as easy to have a Philippine credit card?

That’s a good question.

The answer is, yes you can get a card here if you have a Philippine bank account.

I have a Mastercard issued by my Philippine bank, BDO (Banco de Oro).

They are a good company and have taken decent care of me, and I use my card often.  Beats carrying around cash and then always needing to find an ATM to replenish.

But I never carry a balance from month to month on this card.  I pay it in full every month,

Why?

36 percent interest rate, that’s why.  Ouch.

If you are in a bind and have to carry a balance and make monthly payments on a card, by all means, use a US-issued card.  The rates are markedly lower.

Also, think about The Exchange Rate

Suppose I decide to buy one of my children in the USA a birthday gift.

I go on Aamazon.com, shop, select something and when it comes time to check out, I pull out a credit card.

If it is one of my USA-issued credit cards, no problem.

The card gets charged for the exact amount of my purchase, and later in the monthly billing cycle, I go online with my bank’s bill pay service and electronically pay the balance off on the card.  Easy-peasy.

But what if I use my Philippine BDO Master card?

Well, everything still works, but the Philippine card only uses Philippine Pesos.

So BDO has to “buy” dollars to settle the charge to the US merchant.

I have to lose out on whatever rate the bank has to pay to “buy dollars” to pay the bill at the merchant, and then I have to live with whatever rate I have to pay to convert (or “buy” Philippine Pesos to pay the Philippine card balance.

I loser twice on every purchase.

Assume the charge is $50 USD.

At the official exchange rate right now as I write this, that would be 2540 Pesos.

(This will be different almost any day you happen to read this.  Sometimes different by a large amount.)

But to get those dollars the bank has to “buy” them at 53.55 Pesos per Dollar.

This means my  $50 gift purchase now costs me almost $54 USD and there will also be a $3USD (or higher) Foreign Transaction Fee added on by Mastercard Corporation, making my $50 gift cost me about $57 dollars.

But “Wait, There’s More”

Before the end of my current billing period … if I don’t want to pay that ridiculous 36% interest, I have to pay the balance on my card.  I’ll owe at least P2900 on the card, and remember I get paid in Dollars, not Pesos, soI have to buy pesos to pay my balance off.

In other words, if I use my Philippine credit card, I lose both ways on the exchange rate.

USA All The Way For Me

One other issue that just came up.  An online friend has been living here in the Philippines for about 17 years now.

He long ago paid off and got rid of his US Credit cards.

Now he wants to take a vacation trip to the USA.  He kind of figured that it would be handy to have a US credit card for things like car rentals, buying domestic travel tickets, etc.

(You basically can not rent a car for cash, and certainly get flagged for special TSA attention if you try to buy airline tickets with cash.  I don’t have a US drivers license anymore.  I’ve rented a car in the USA almsot vry year that I have been living in the Philippines using my Philippine license, never a problem.  But without a US credit card?  You’re going to br dyuv with Uber my friend.)

He called his bank in the USA.  The same one where his pension has been being paid for 17 years now and asked for a credit card.  Know what they said?

No.

Because my friend has not had a credit transaction for more than 7 years, officially he has no credit history, and thus the bank is not allowed to issue him a credit card.  Sorry ’bout that.

I said I had two reasons to keep one or more US credit cards.  I took a lot of time and words to explain reason 1

Next article I’m Going To Explain Reason 2.  A US Credit Card Just Might Save Your Life Here In The Philippines.

So aside from a US bank account and a US credit card, can you think of any other Home Country Things You Better Hold On To?

All Vets in the Philippines and their Spouses

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The Manila VA Clinic is now offering COVID-19 vaccinations to all vets and their spouses.

One jab and done Johnson and Johnson band,

My wife and I got ours, we feel good and we’re so relieved to have the vaccine in our bodies, especially with the Delta variant now sweeping all over the world.

Here’s the current info … take action if you haven’t done so already.

Veterans:  Get Your J&J Vaccine Now — Free and only one clinic visit

COVID-19 VACCINATIONS FOR ALL VETERANS & SPOUSES

Based on our current available supply, VA Manila is now able to offer COVID-19 vaccine appointments to spouses of Veterans in the Philippines effective immediately. If you are a Veteran, it’s now time for you and your spouse to get a COVID-19 vaccine from VA Manila. Please consider making an appointment and getting your vaccine as soon as possible. Our goal is to vaccinate as many Veterans as safely and quickly as possible before Saturday, August 7, 2021. Please help us meet our goal.

Veterans who have never been to the VA Manila Outpatient Clinic before, as well as their eligible spouses who wish to schedule a COVID-19 vaccine appointment, must complete the attached COVID-19 VACCINATION WORKSHEET: SAVE LIVES ACT and return it to the VA Manila Outpatient Clinic. You can return the attached form to the clinic one of three ways: 1.) use the Veteran’s Secure Message System within MyHealtheVet and send to your Primary Care Team; 2.) fax the completed form to the VA Manila Outpatient Clinic at: +63-02-8550-3964; or 3.) email the completed form to ManilaCOVIDVaccine@va.gov. Please wait 2 business days after submitting your form for it to be processed. Once processed, you can call to schedule an appointment for your vaccine. The Clinic needs to register you in our medical record system before we are able to schedule you an appointment.

You can also call the Clinic and speak to an enrollment staff member who can enroll you and give you an appointment for a COVID-19 vaccine, but given the anticipated demand, phone lines may have extended hold times. To reach the dedicated VA Manila COVID-19 scheduling hotline, please call: +63-02-8550-3888, Press Option 2 for the Outpatient Clinic, and the Option 3 for COVID-19 vaccine appointments. You can also dial the Clinic toll-free at #MyVA (#6982) on any Smart, Sun, or Globe mobile device.

Currently, VA Manila is not able to accommodate caregivers in our vaccination efforts. In accordance with the SAVES LIVES Act, VA Manila is prioritizing Veterans and spouses based on available vaccine supply and anticipated demand. We will continue to provide regular updates about our vaccine availability. Please note, the SAVES LIVES Act did NOT authorize VA to provide COVID-19 vaccines to dependents, and furthermore the J&J Vaccine is not approved for use in minors under the age of 18.

Expanded Hours of Operation for COVID-19 Vaccinations

VA Manila is trying to vaccinate as many Veterans and spouses as possible. To that end, many of our staff will be working extended hours over the next several weekends to offer as many options as possible to get a COVID-19 vaccine. We will be administering vaccines every weekday between now and August 6, 2021, with the target audience for weekday appointments Veterans who already have scheduled clinic appointments on those days. In addition to weekday vaccine appointments, VA Manila will have dedicated COVID-19 Mass Vaccine Clinics on the following Saturdays and Sundays:

Saturday, July 17, 2021 – 12:00 – 15:00

Sunday, July 18, 2021 – 08:00 – 15:00 ***Walk in Hours from 11A – 2P***

Saturday, July 24, 2021 – 08:00 – 15:00

Saturday, July 31, 2021 – 08:00 – 15:00

Sunday, August 1, 2021 – 08:00 – 15:00

Saturday, August 7, 2021 – 08:00 – 15:00

Please consider scheduling to come on a Saturday or Sunday. Usually traffic conditions in the Metro Manila area are much more favorable on the weekends, and we are hoping to vaccinate between 300 – 400 Veterans each of the days above. However, if you would prefer a weekday appointment, we will do everything we can to accommodate your request for a vaccine on your specific day.

This upcoming weekend, on Sunday, July 18 from 11a-3p, and on Monday and Tuesday, July 19-20, 2021, VA Manila will also offer same day walk-in registration and vaccination. Please be certain to arrive no later than 2:00 PM if you wish to walk-in for a vaccination, to ensure we can complete the necessary paperwork and registration protocols.

How do I get scheduled for an appointment?

Getting an appointment for a COVID-19 Vaccine is easy – follow one of these 3 steps!

A dedicated phone line has been set up at the VA Manila Clinic to accommodate the high demand to schedule vaccine appointments. Veterans can contact the Manila Outpatient Clinic at +63-02-8550-3888, Press Option 2 for the Outpatient Clinic, then press 3 for COVID-19 Vaccine Scheduling. Please understand that there may be extended hold times over the next several days as we try to schedule as many Veterans as possible. The Clinic’s phone lines are open Monday to Friday from 8AM to 3PM.

If you would like to be scheduled on one of the upcoming Saturday or Sunday mass vaccination clinic days, you can send a Secure Message to your primary care team via MyHealtheVet with your preferred date and time. One of our staff members will get back to you to confirm your appointment.

You can also send an email with your preferred date and time to ManilaCOVIDVaccine@va.gov. Please include your last name, last 4 of your SSN, and your current address and phone number in your email so that we can confirm the information on file. VA Manila will send you a text message to confirm your appointment time, or an email reply if no cellular phone is on file.

Philippine Visa Overstay Information

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Following is republished for public information purposes

United States Embassy Manila, Philippines

United States Consular Agency Cebu, Philippines

July 13, 2021

Extension of Expired Philippine Visas for Foreign Nationals

The U.S. Embassy in Manila and Consular Agency in Cebu remind U.S. citizens in the Philippines with expired Philippine visas of the Bureau of Immigration’s (BI) policy on extension of expired Philippine visas due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The BI has authorized grace periods for foreign nationals whose visas have expired during the pandemic:

1. Foreigners whose converted visas (work, student, or resident visas) expired from March 16, 2020 up to July 4, 2021, are given up to November 30, 2021 to file for visa renewal or amendment; and

2. Foreigners with expiring visas were also given a non-extendable grace period of six months from the expiration of their visas to file their applications for visa renewal or extension.

Only foreign nationals who have not left the Philippines since the pandemic began are eligible for extension. Foreigners who fail to file their applications before November 30, 2021 could be subjected to deportation proceedings for illegally staying in the country.

This policy does not apply to travelers who hold Philippine tourist visas. Those with a Philippine visa which expired while they are outside of the Philippines should reapply for a new visa at a Philippine Consulate or Embassy.

For further information and assistance:

· Philippine Bureau of Immigration website

· U.S. Embassy in the Philippines: +63(2) 5301-2000 or ACSInfoManila@state.gov

· State Department – Consular Affairs: 888-407-4747 or 202-501-4444

· Philippines Country Information

Making It Hard On Yourself In The Philippines

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Making It Hard On Yourself In The Philippines.

(updated 19 July 2021)

Why would people want to make it hard on themselves?

Especially when breaking the law and prison time is involved?

Frankly, when the consequences of breaking a law include possible prison time, I personally become very law-abiding… you can be sure of that.

But what about a law that seems ancient and virtually obsolete to many Westerners?

Adultery.

[Read more…] about Making It Hard On Yourself In The Philippines

No More Dollar Drafts For Passport Renewal

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Great news for US citizens in the Philippines.  21 years into the 21st century the US State Department has moved into the current century.  For your information and action as deemed necessary:

 

Seal with white background

 

United States Embassy Manila, Philippines
United States Consular Agency Cebu, Philippines 

July 9, 2021

Discontinuation of U.S. Dollar Demand Draft Payments for Mail-in Adult Passport Renewals

The U.S. Embassy in Manila and Consular Agency in Cebu encourage all eligible, adult U.S. citizens in the Philippines to renew their passports by mail as in-person appointments remain limited.

U.S. citizens in the Philippines who are eligible to apply by mail using the DS-82 form can pay the passport application fee exclusively online via the U.S. government’s secure website, Pay.Gov. The website accepts payment by credit card, debit card and PayPal.  U.S. dollar demand drafts will be discontinued as of July 12, 2021.  U.S. dollar demand drafts dated before July 12, 2021 will still be accepted with the accompanying passport application, but applications with enclosed demand drafts purchased after that date will be returned without being processed.

As a reminder, online fee payment is only available for mail-in passport book renewals at this time.  If you wish to renew or apply for a passport card, you must make an appointment to apply in person at the U.S. Embassy in Manila or the Consular Agency in Cebu. In-person appointments are also required for first-time adult passports, child passports, or to replace lost or stolen passports.

Online Jobs At Home In The Philippines — July 2021

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Online Jobs At Home In The Philippines.

(Updated 02 July 2021)

Online Jobs At Home In The Philippines.
I’ve written quite a bit about this subject previously.
Two articles with some “meat” in them are here:

Online Jobs At Home In The Philippines

I Can’t Make Money Online in the Philippines, What Am I Doing Wrong?

If you want to read them (and I encourage you to do so if you haven’t seen them before), then go ahead and click on the links, I’ll wait for you here.
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Basics of Working in the Philippines for Foreigners.

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Basics of Working in the Philippines for Foreigners.

(Last updated 02 July 2021)

This article was originally published nearly 11 years ago and it is sad to see how little has changed.

Jobs Are Dead, People

Even though the future for conventional jobs as we used to know them gets worse every year, the vast majority of people just want to sit on their barstool and bitch about how they can’t find a job.  Wake up and smell the coffee guys and gals.

Today (July 2021) with the COVID 19 issues facing the entire world, thousands and thousands of jobs that are shut down because of pandemic issues are just NOT going to return after the virus situation resolves itself.

Even here in our beloved little backwater of the world, the Philippines, where “work at home jobs” were never even mentioned in polite business circles, thousands and thousands of Call Center/Business Process Outsourcing jobs are working as usual, ’round the clock by the same agents who were working in huge, expensive, centrally located centers before the quarantines took effect.

(Please do me the favor of at least READING this article before you send me the inevitable “I want a job in the Philippines” query.  My prose may be far from entertaining and YOU MAY NOT GET the ANSWER YOU WANT … but I write from reality, not a dream world.  You want answers about the Philippines, then you should be dealing from reality as well.  If you, as an foreigner, want a job in the Philippines, what are your own answers to the questions and concerns the visa process poses?)

Fair enough?

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