Above is a picture of our condo. It’s the tallest building, center left of the frame.
My wife, son and I are American citizens. l’m a Vietnamese-American, and our 11 year old son was born in Dallas, Texas. My wife was born in Manila, but lost her Filipino citizenship after moving to the U.S., because she did not renew her Filipino passport. At the time, we never planned on leaving the U.S.
A friend of mine retired at 63, then sadly passed away 9 months later. We started brainstorming about early retirement, and the Philippines is the most feasible option for us. It’s a bonus that the majority of my wife’s family are living in metro Manila. Most Filipinos speak some English, so I don't have to learn another language. The dollar to peso exchange rate is very favorable, and the cost of living is very low here.
We just bought 3 one way tickets to Manila and flew here on February 2012. When asked by customs why we don’t have return tickets to the U.S., we told them that we were moving here. The immigration officer stamped a 1 year departure date on our passports. This means that we were given 1 year to get our documents in order, so that we can live permanently in the Philippines.
My wife filed to re-acquire her Filipino citizenship and petitioned our minor son as a naturalized Filipino citizen. This process took about 1 month and costs about $50.
Since I am an adult foreigner, my wife can only petition me for permanent residency. This process took about 3 months and costs about $400. As a permanent resident, I have to check in annually at immigration before March 1st. The annual check in at a satellite immigration office in Makati City takes about 5 minutes and costs about $6. I also have to renew my permanent residency card every 5 years. This process takes a couple weeks and costs about $50.
My son has been attending private school since May 2012, and is currently attending college majoring in Medical Technology as his pre-med. In Texas, he attends public school, which surprisingly is better than the private schools here and is free. It’s strange, but college tuition is about the same compared to junior high and high school here. It’s a big bonus that it’ll be easier for our son to get accepted into medical school here. The tuition for medical school here is also very affordable, around $2,000–$4,000 per year.
Our lives here are similar to how it was in Texas. It’s just a lot less stressful as we’re retired and don’t have to deal with the normal stresses which comes with work. My weekly routines include tennis at my club (unfortunately, you have to be a member of a tennis club or country club or be their guest in order to play tennis here. You can also play at a public court, but there's a fee and it's on a first come first served basis, and you need to arrive by 6 a.m. in order to secure a court), lifting weights, jogging, dining out with my wife and son, going to the theaters etc…
My family and I have been living here for over 8 years. It’s one of the best decisions we’ve made, as it allowed me to retire at 45. If we stayed in the U.S., then I would have to work until I’m 60. I’m fortunate to have a government pension, which gave me the option to retire early. We have 1/6 as much money compared to when we’re both working, but it’s still enough to give us a very comfortable standard of living here.
My example is applicable to any foreigner married to a Filipino citizen or who plans on marrying a Filipino citizen. If you’re coming here by yourself to retire, then I believe there’s a SRR Visa or Special Resident Retirees Visa. You just need to deposit, then have a running balance of $20,000 U.S. into an accredited Filipino bank. Foreigners aren’t allowed to buy house and lots here, but are allowed to own condominiums. Therefore, you may buy a condo worth at least $50,000, to satisfy the bank balance requirement.
I believe Philippines Immigration raised the minimum age to qualify for the SSR Visa to 50. Please check with the Philippines Immigration or the Philippines Retirement Authority to confirm their policies for expats. A single retiree with about $20,000 per year in passive income, pension, social security etc…, can have a relatively comfortable standard of living here. Add $5,000 if you're married and an additional $5,000 for each additional child.
Feel free to comment with any question regarding moving to and living here in metro Manila and I'll be happy to answer them.
Update June 24, 2024:
My son, recently graduated with a degree in Medical Technology from a university here in the Philippines. He passed the international medical technology board exam, which was offered in Makati City. He decided to start working, instead of going to Medical School here.
We flew back to Houston for a work/vacation trip, and have been in Texas since May 26, 2024. It took him 20 days to secure a job in his field at a hospital in Texas. He'll start work at the beginning of next month.
It's not recommended and a little complicated if you bring your school aged children with you to live in the Philippines. If you brought your child with you like we did, then it's very important that you encourage them to major in the medical field, engineering, IT etc…, so that it'll be easier for them to obtain a job in their field upon graduation and moving back to the U S. or the West to work. The current salary for Medical Technologists in the U.S. is about 10 times more compared to the Philippines. It was the same for my wife, who graduated from a university in the Philippines with a degree in Physical Therapy back in 1990.
My wife and I will fly back to Makati City, Philippines to start the next chapter of our marriage and retirement. We will be proper retirees upon our return.
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