If you’re over 35, a refundable bank deposit of just $20,000 – or, in some cases even less – buys you residency in the Philippines.
If you’re over 50 and have a pension income of at least $800 a month, a bank deposit of as little as $10,000 will suffice.
Even “ailing retirees,” those who have a non-contagious, pre-existing medical condition, which means they need close medical supervision and extra care, are catered for on the ailing retiree visa option.
No other country in the world that I know of will explicitly and gleefully accept ailing retirees on an official residency program.
The Philippines may be relatively poor, but from my experience, there’s a lot more money around than one might think.
Another thing I’ve always loved about the Philippines is that, when compared to most other Asian countries, it is very welcoming of outsiders.
Filipinos themselves share a mixed heritage, which is a product of the original Malay people who settled in the islands, and the Chinese, Spaniards, and Americans, who came in waves for trade, and as colonizers, and stayed. In terms of its racial mix, the Philippines is a lot more like Brazil than it is like Japan or South Korea.
