Judicial Action to Declare a Marriage an Absolute Nullity is only required for purposes of remarriage
What are the requirements for a Special Resident Retiree’s Visa?
by Kia Marie Emanel Pano
The Special Resident Retiree’s Visa (SRRV), is a special non-immigrant visa which entitles the holder to reside in the Philippines.
The basic requirements for the application of SRRV are the following: 1) Original Passport with valid/updated Temporary Visitor’s Visa; 2) Accomplished Philippine Retirement Authority (PRA) application form; 3) Original valid Medical Certificate; 4) Original Valid Police Clearance from country of origin, and an additional National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) clearance if applicant has stayed in the Philippines for over 30 days from last date of entry; 5) Photos (8 pieces, 2×2); 6) SRRV deposit that is inwardly remitted; 7) Processing/Service Fee of US $1,400.00 for the Principal Applicant, and an additional US $300.00 for each Dependent Applicant; 8) Annual Fee of US $360.00 for the Principal and two dependents if there are any.
There are four (4) SRRV options which you can choose from. First is SRRV SMILE which is intended for active/ healthy retirees, who opt to maintain their SRRV deposit of US $20,000.00 in any of the PRA Accredited Banks. Second is SRRV CLASSIC which is for active/healthy retirees, who opt to use their SRRV deposit into active investment such as the purchase of condominium unit or long-term lease of house and lot. The SRRV deposit is US $10,000.00 for 50 years old and above with a pension and US $20,000.00 for those without pension. For those who are 35 to 49 years old, the SRRV deposit is US $50,000.00.
On the other hand, for those ailing retirees who are 35 years old and above and who need or require medical/clinical care, a monthly pension of at least US $1,500.00, a health insurance policy accepted in the Philippines, and an SRRV deposit of US $10,000.00 are required to avail of SRRV HUMAN TOUCH. And lastly, SRRV EXPANDED COURTESY is available for foreign nationals who are 50 years old & above and who are also retired Armed Force officers of foreign countries with existing military ties and/or agreement with the Philippine Government. A monthly pension of at least US $1,000.00 and an SRRV deposit of US $1,500.00 are required. The SRRV deposit includes the principal applicant and 2 dependents. Additional dependent, entails additional SRRV deposit of US $15,000 each (except for former Filipinos). CHILDREN must be legitimate or legally adopted by the Principal Retiree, unmarried and below 21 years old upon joining the program.
Source: Philippine Retirement Authority (pra.gov.ph)
Happy New Year 2020!
From all of us here at the Firm, may you have a prosperous new year!
The Danger in Buying Beach Front Properties in the Philippines
A lot of foreigners are attracted in buying beach front properties in the Philippines. For a price as low as Php 2,500 (US$ 50.00) per square meter, these properties are just so tempting to resist. Most especially if the property is located near a popular tourist destinations like Boracay island (Aklan), El Nido (Palawan) or Panglao (Bohol).
There will be locals who will be offering beachfront properties and present a bunch of documents to prove their ownership or authority to sell (if they are not the registered owners). Caution should be exercised as there are several fraudulent transactions that were uncovered and have succeeded to dupe foreigners of their hard-earned money.
The wise thing to do is to check all documents that are presented as ownership of the property. These are usually the land title of the property, its tax declaration (if there is a house or building already existing in the property, a separate tax declaration is usually issued for it), tax clearance (showing that all real property taxes due the property are paid) and evidence of identity of the seller (like a government-issued identification card). Take note that even if the person offering the property for sale can produce all of these documents, it does not mean that these documents can be trusted. The buyer has to verify the same by asking for a certified true copy from the government agency or office which has custody of the original document. For example, the Register of Deeds of a particular province has custody of all torrens title of lands located therein.
Even with the verification of any documents presented by the person offering to sell the property, the legality of the sale transaction, the transfer and registration of the property in the the name of the buyer should be ensured. This is because most of the properties sold are usually inherited or co-owned. The person offering the property for sale could be just a co-owner or in some cases an agent or broker of the registered owner.
Just recently, sale transactions of untitled properties (those which are not registered with the torrens system and only covered by tax declarations) have become riskier. This is because some locals have offered for sale properties which are part of forest land or the protective buffer zone (in case of beachfront properties). Under Philippine real estate law, land classified as forest land cannot be subject of a valid sale. On the other hand, properties within the protective buffer zone may be considered part of the unalienable shore land of the government. In addition, buildings are not allowed at the protective buffer zone.
Real estate buyers especially foreigners should make sure that the property they are eyeing should be legally registered and not actually considered as public land.
Causing Dela Cruz Law Office 