If you would like to immigrate to an Asian country, in most of the cases you usually can have just a kind of Golden Visa, like MM2H in Malaysia, Thai Elite Visa, Global Investor Program (GIP) in Singapore etc., but all of them have a limited time duration and require a significant investment of money. I am not talking about employment or student visa, but about options equally open to different groups of interested persons, like investors, digital nomads, retirees etc.
For example, the cheapest version of Thai Golden Visa (validity 5 years only) would require a payment of 900.000 BTH (approximately 27.000 USD). A Visa for 15 years would cost you already somewhat around 74.000 USD (2,5 million BTH). These fees are not reimbursable.
The conditions of MM2H were significantly changed after the lockdown and require a minimum deposit of 150.000 USD out of which you can use 50.000 USD for selected activities, like housing purchase. But the minimum deposit of 100.000 USD is to be maintained in the account. Malaysia also requires a minimum stay in the country of 90 days per year. If you plan to move to Malaysia anyway, it should not represent an issue. But if you are a digital nomad or would like to secure a residency as a plan B, this would be not the right choice for you.
Talking about Singapore, the GIP is one of the best Golden Visas in Asia but requires a minimum investment of 10 million SGD (about 7,5 million USD). You should also prove that you are entrepreneur or company owner since over 3 years and the last turnover of your company should be at least 200 million SGD (around 150 million USD) per year.
Philippines have long-term visa options as well, like SRRV (Special Resident Retiree’s Visa) in different variants like Classic, Cortesy, Expanded Cortesy or SIRV (Special Investor’s Resident Visa). Due to abuse of these programs in the past decades, the government is currently reviewing both programs and the Philippines Congress is revising the immigration law for both of them.
But at the same time, a new program was set up – FIV or FAB Investor Visa. FAB is the Freeport Area of Bataan – a special administrative region directly attached to the Presidential Office.
Philippines is the country with the most boosting economy in South-East Asia in the last years. It has renowned hospitality of its citizens, stunning natural beauty (over 7.000 islands with beautiful beaches, snorkeling and diving areas, mountains and tropical forests). The population is mainly very proficient in English which makes the communication much easier.
Being an emerging economy, Philippines provides a huge range of business and investment opportunities. But it is also a good opportunity for families and retirees to move to. The country is very family friendly, there are a lot of international schools. The health care is of a very high-quality level. You can seek treatment in public or private hospitals at affordable costs.
And even if you do not plan to move directly to Philippines, FIV is a great possibility for a plan B with one of the fastest, easiest and cheapest process with an immediate permanent residency and no stay requirements. Your residency remains valid even if you do not stay in Philippines.
The advantages of this new program are evident at first sight:
- Streamlined application process with a waiting time of approximately one week after the submission
- Low investment requirement of 75.000 USD (the amount should remain invested for the duration of your FIV validity) – one of the fastest and cheapest residency-by-investment programs
- Possibility of getting the citizenship of Philippines (in this case you can also get your investment refunded)
- Up to 7 years of tax holidays with 0% taxes if incorporating an own company
- No taxes on foreign-sourced income (territorial taxation)
- No minimal stay requirements – you can come to Philippines and go as you like
- FIV residents can live, work or study anywhere in Philippines, no need of a separate work permit for main applicant
- You get permanent residency from day one and it counts immediately towards your future citizenship (the requirement for the citizenship: holding the FIV for 10 years out of which you spend 5 years in Philippines)
- No restricted nationalities – everyone is welcome to join
- No intrusive net-worth requirements
- Access to high quality banking services
- No requirement of investment in real estate (but you surely can purchase a home if you would like to)
- Single 5-days visit to Philippines to complete the process
- Philippines is one of the few countries in Asia accepting a dual citizenship – you can officially hold the passport of Philippines and keep your initial one if you wish to (subject to the legislation in your initial country of citizenship)
The processing fee for the application is 25.000 USD for the main applicant and 2.500 USD per dependent family member. This fee is not refundable and includes the VIP treatment, like
- Land-based transportation between Clark International Airport and the hotel
- Accommodation for four nights (five days)
- Local transportation to required appointments
- Meals
- The Philippines ID card processing fee
- The hospital medical examination fee
- The mental health examination fee
- The local SIM card fee
- The fingerprinting fee
- Miscellaneous fees for the Bataan Special Administrative Region oath-taking
- The permanent residence card issuance fee
- The local team will be also happy to assist you with opening a local bank account during this time (but you need to request it upfront for the team can arrange the appointments in time)
The process is very easy and straightforward:
- Arrange the first introduction meeting with us
- Sign agreement and prepare the documentation
- pay the fees
- application submission
- pre-approval and trip scheduling (important! Do not schedule your trip before the pre-approval will be provided. Once it is available, you will have 3 months within which you would need to come over to Philippines for the oath-taking in FAB).
- Take an oath in the Philippines
Keep in mind that you need to have all your required original documents with certified translations available on your trip to Philippines. They will be asked for.
All the process in Philippines will be completed within 5 working days. That’s why it is advisable to fly in on Monday.
In case you are interested in getting the permanent residency in Philippines, do not hesitate to schedule your free-of-charge introductory consultation with us:
An update from 20.11.2024:
At the beginning of the program the police clearance was requested from the country of the citizenship. This is not the case anymore. Now it is ok to provide the police clearance from your current country of residence, which simplifies the process even more.
Also important: be prepared for banks asking for a proof of funds. This is a usual procedure at many banks in the world nowadays, but worth mentioning here as well to avoid bad surprises in the last minute.
