The Real Reason Americans Retire in Philippines

In this report, I will explain the real reasons Americans retire in the Philippines while I show you video I took while living in the Philippines.  

Based upon most videos, you would think people retire in the Philippines because of the beautiful friendly locals and the gorgeous natural scenery.  Well, that is what reels them in.  But a few other things make them stay. 

Once people get here, many just fall in love with the place and decide they want to stay.  They start talking to other ex-pats and they quickly realize, they don’t have to leave.  

I only remembered this secret larger reason when I received an email from one of you today.  You see, we fell in love with the Philippines and didn’t want to leave. So we had to find a way to stay that didn’t involve retirement visas. 

And the email I received reminded me of this.  For privacy reasons, I will say that Joe sent me the email.  Joe explains that he only receives around $1800 USD per month in social security.

Yet, he sees all these videos on Youtube about people living on less than $1500 in many countries around the world.  So Joe checked online and learned that many countries have a minimum pension people must have to qualify for a retirement visa in many countries around the world.

And his email suggested a conflict there. Many countries require retirement pensions in excess of $1800 per month so he is asking how do all these people with low pensions get their retirement visas around the World? 

That question is what reminded me to share this idea with you today.  

Joe writes, “So my real question is, is it realistic to think I can retire overseas taking into account that many countries require more monthly pension income than $1800 to qualify for residency in those countries?”

So, Joe’s pension is around $1800 per month, but all he receives after paying his Medicare Part B is around $1500 USD per month. Plus, he has virtually no retirement nest egg.

So how can he qualify for a retirement visa in whatever country with such a low income and virtually no retirement savings when many countries require more monthly income or savings to issue a retirement visa?

Great question.  I forget how much I have learned over the years until someone asks a great question like this.

Without the great questions we receive from you guys, it never occurs to us to share how we think about things after 17 years living overseas.  We forget what we learned along the way that you guys haven’t heard about yet. So here it goes.

Joe has two other problems hidden in his question that you also need to know that I will talk about next, but first I want to answer the main question Joe is asking.

But the idea I am sharing now is not limited to the Philippines. The concept I am about to share applies to most retire-cheap-in-paradise countries around the world, not just the Philippines.

How do I get a retirement visa with such a low pension income?

Let me start by explaining, Joe might be asking the wrong question. I am not faulting him for asking the wrong questions. I did the same thing 15 years ago when I first went to the Philippines.   

I researched the Philippines retirement visa before I flew over there 15 years ago.

But I decided to go to the  Philippines anyway even though I didn’t like the terms of the retirement visa.  But I have learned over and over again, in many countries, that there is more than one way to stay in a country than a retirement visa.

But you often don’t learn about the tricks until you get your feet on the ground and meet the ex-pats that know the tricks in each country. But even if it turned out there were no tricks in the Philippines, I was determined to see the Philippines anyway.  Traveling to beautiful places is what I do.

Now, I am going to talk about the Philippines as I answer Joe’s question, but this discussion applies to many other countries in the world.

If you go to the Philippines Embassy webpage in your home country, you will find the requirements someone from your country needs to get a retirement visa in the Philippines.

If you were Joe, or me, you would read that if you are over 50 years old, you will need to either make a big cash deposit and show a minimum monthly pension or make an even bigger cash deposit with no proof of Pension to get a retirement visa in the Philippines.  But most expats stay in the Philippines legally no matter their age, without fulfilling any of those requirements.

But if the Philippines or any other country is your favorite country in the world to retire, you need to start asking a different question.

What is the Right Question to Ask?

The visa question you should be asking is this, “What is the easiest way to legally stay in the Philippines long term with as little money or hassle as possible?”

For many of you, it will be the retirement visa in whatever country you want to retire. There is nothing wrong with that if you qualify and want to give them your money. But for me, it would not be the retirement visa if I decided to retire in the Philippines.

I prefer not to deposit large sums of money in foreign banks. I have read too many stories about delays and complications when people try to get retirement deposits back around the world when they later decide to move to other countries.

So, we flew into the Philippines on a tourist visa. They gave us a 30-day visa upon arrival. We had heard that we could extend the tourist visa by 30 days by paying a small extension fee. That is all we knew when we landed.

We were having a great time in the Philippines so decided to get the 30-day extension. When the extension was running out, we learned from an American ex-pat that we could keep extending it for up to 36 months before we would have to leave the Philippines.

One of our neighbors, an American, explained how he had been living in the Philippines for about 5 years without a retirement visa. He just extends his tourist visa 36 times.

He said most of the Americans he knows don’t bother with a retirement visa. They just get extensions for 36 months. 

At the end of 36 months, you just do a visa run to another country and come back for 36 more months. Now that was a tune I could dance to happily.  

So, the right questions to ask for many countries is “What is the easiest way to legally stay in the Philippines long term with as little money or hassle as possible?”

But, you also have to ask the right people the right question.  And the people to ask are the expats living on the groun din that country when you visit.   

The Real Reason Americans Retire in the Philippines

So many Americans retire in the Philippines just because it is easier than in other countries. They don’t need to provide any evidence of a pension or make any deposit in the Philippines banks.

Many people come to the Philippines and fall in love with the natural beauty, the white sand beaches, the lovely local smiles, and the low cost of living.

But they stay because the Philippines government lets them stay without creating a bunch of silly requirements or unnecessary paperwork. So people stay in the Philippines on tourist extensions.

So people who come to the Philippines for the beautiful people and scenery, stay because they feel welcome by a government that appreciates them.

The Philippines government is smart. They know that the average American pensioner is making about three times what the average local family earns in the Philippines so they welcome us with open arms and smiles.

So, expats they let in from all over the world, not just Americans, on average, spend two to three times more than the average locals. So that foreign money helps support the local businesses and economy by allowing us to stay longer.

You can stay for up to 36 months on tourist extensions. Then you just do a visa run to another country like Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia, or Your Home Country. Then return for the next 36 months as a tourist. Easy, peasy retirement life.

There is another reason Joe needs to chill out about getting a retirement visa so soon. After 18 months, he may find out about an amazing place somewhere else in the world that he wants to move to.

So does he make another deposit and get a retirement visa in the new country too before he arrives? No! You need to think of the world more like a bunch of countries that you are going to date for a few months or years until you find and fall in love with the one country where you want to live happily ever after.

Just take life easy peasy until you have lived somewhere long enough to know you will never-ever leave. By that time you will know the easiest way to live there for as long as you want with all the limitations you have including your budget.

Almost All Countries Have Other Visa Solutions

You might be asking the wrong question in other countries too. I have a friend that spends most of the year in Thailand. But he is too young to get a retirement visa.

He makes incredible money online with a few businesses he owns and he loves to travel the world. But he loves Thailand most. He is also very smart and frugal.

He got tired of doing monthly visa runs about 5 years ago. So he started asking the right question, “How do I stay in Thailand for as long as I want without doing visa runs?”

He found an answer. He applied to a school in Thailand to learn how to speak Thai. He now studies Thai a few hours per week on a student visa. He can take Thai kickboxing once he learns Thai fluently.

Just start asking the right question and you can probably avoid most if not all of the hassles and paperwork in most of the countries around the world. Be creative.

One of Qiang’s model friends from Eastern Europe stayed in Malaysia for a decade on a student visa. Now she is living in New Zealand on a student visa.

But there are many other kinds of visas around the world than retirement and tourist visas. There are business visas, religious visas, charity work visas, and many others.  And after a few years, you may fall in love, marry a local, and get a marriage visa. 

I have another report that explains why you should not be trying to get a retirement visa right away, even if you easily qualify. Just click the link in the notes below this video.

Now, I promised to talk about two other problems hidden in Joe’s question about how to get a retirement visa on a low pension. But first I want to talk about the other wrong question that many new and experienced ex-pats are asking.

Can I buy Real Estate in this Country?

One of the first things we learn growing up is that it is smarter to own our homes than rent. My mother used to say, “You don’t want to throw rent out the window do you?” In fact, nobody ever told me it is better to be a renter.

But I want to throw some cold water in your face on this subject. You see, I agree that you should buy your home in your home country when you are young.  You know the laws there. You know all the right questions to ask or people that care about you can help you ask the right questions.

But once we leave our home country, we are naive. We are not stupid. We may even have a genius-level IQ. But the truth is, we just don’t know the rules of the game outside our home country, do we?  We are naive. 

Once we leave our home country, we are not in Kansas anymore Dorthy. So we need advice from people that know the local laws and history. But most of us don’t have trusted family and friends outside our home countries. So, is it okay to trust strangers in foreign countries with our life savings?

There are companies out there that share cost of living data online about the best places to retire cheap in the world. They spend a bunch of time talking about how you need to buy real estate in foreign countries.

They explain how it might be the best investment in your life. They will argue that buying will freeze your living costs so you won’t have any problems with inflation as you age.

But do these strangers in foreign countries have a conflict of interest with you? I have heard that some of them are getting kickbacks if you buy real estate they are promoting.

I am not telling you what to do. I just think you should read my report about why retiree ex-pats should not buy real estate overseas before spending months or years living there, link provided.

Okay, I promised to discuss the other hidden problems in Joe’s question at the end of this report. So, here it goes.

Hidden Problems in Joe’s Question.

Joe said he has $1500 per month he wants to use to live happily ever after in some country on a retirement visa and never leave. He also mentioned that he has US Medicare health insurance.

So what happens when he gets old and needs some expensive healthcare treatment? He has Medicare so he can fly home and get treated. Hopefully, he has a friend or family with a couch he can sleep on for a few months while he recovers.

But Joe also says he has “virtually no retirement nest egg.” What happens to Joe if he rents a scooter somewhere in SE Asia and gets his leg broken? What if he is injured in some emergency and he can’t fly home for treatment? What if he has a heart attack or stroke and is rushed to the hospital?

In many of these retire cheap in paradise countries around the world, they will be able to provide some sort of emergency treatment to save him if he gets to the hospital on time.

But how will he pay for the services? Will they require a deposit from him upfront before they treat him?  It is true that the costs can be as much as 80% cheaper in some of these countries than they would be in the USA, but you do need money for these and other emergencies.    

I cover these questions and others in another report I have called, The Two Biggest Risks Of Retiring Cheap Overseas, link provided.

Finally, while you are at it, you should read my report, The Top 10 Mistakes International Retirees make, link provided. I don’t want to temper your excitement about enjoying the world in retirement, I just want to load your gun with ideas that will help you avoid many of the mistakes I made while traveling the world for the last 17+ years.

Okay, thanks for reviewing this report, the real reason Americans Retire in the Philippines. 

Make sure to grab a copy of my free eBook, “How I Fired My Boss and Traveled the World for 14 Years.”

This is Dan of Vagabond Awake, the Youtube Channel for VagabondBuddha.com.   The world is your home, what time will you be home for dinner?