Info on location in Philippines and ease of long term residency visa

Hello there,

I'm Filipino-Australian and looking into moving back to the Philippines once the kids are independent. Anyways, the province of PALAWAN is not in the path of cyclones so you might wish to check that out when you visit the country. They have a main city there called Puerto Princesa City which has all the amenities of a regular, small city, but they still have municipalities which you might find suitable to your requirements (like EL NIDO or SABANG). Also, it being a province known to cater to foreign and local tourists, they are used to having people from all over.

My family has a small beach house in Puerto Princesa City and it is conveniently close to the airport/ WESCOM beach and we only visit it when we visit the Philippines (last visit was this Apr - June 2014). We just have a caretaker family who rents the back of the property. Our next-door neighbours is an Australian couple from Brisbane, however, their advantage is that they're retirees already.

Regarding visa requirements, perhaps their Bureau of Immigration website can be a good place to start: http://www.immigration.gov.ph/index.php/downloads/application-forms

In my case, I will have to re-acquire my Philippine citizenship in the next yrs as we still have family properties there.

Regards.

Thank you very much pujpujalte for your rapid reply and link. If only i could get a few more of the same quality I would have really good starting info. One question however-could I stay long term doing not too frequent visa runs for renewal instead of going the retired route? I also would love to hear from any expats living there now.

"I am content to live without electricity"

if that is true then there isn't much point in anybody replying to you is there,l as you won't be able to read it.

I was born in CDO in the mid-sixties and I thought CDO never been hit big time by a typhoon because that's what I remember from childhood to elementary to high school to college to postgrad....

Then Sendong hit CDO really hard, and it was devastating killing/missing over 3500 people...

Then people starts digging about CDO flood history...it turns out that there was a similar flood about 100 years ago that Cagayan river overflows even at DVsoria...

The moral of the story is, almost all of the Philippines was hit by a big typhoon in the past...and it will hit again...and that includes Palawan particularly Puerto Princessa...

1) If they call you "Hey Joe!!!" then most likely the locals are friendly...but friendliness is a two way street...
2) crime rate changes every now and then. Google a particular location and find out the crime rate. National Statistics Office is a good start.
3) No guarantee...it's weather...el nino...la nina...climate change...see my opinion above.
4)Banking are only available in cities and major towns...there are no banking at/near Mt. Kitanglad....
5)Visa applies to anywhere in the Philippines...there is no city or area that has different visa condition...it's the same all over the country. Visa renewal are only available on select major cities.

I have posted this question on three forums and I must say that all of the respondents who identified themselves as having Filipino ancestry or still living there were most helpful to me with their generous outpouring of information and advise. Only a non-Filipino responded stupidly to my query, which was the following,
'"I am content to live without electricity"
"if that is true then there isn't much point in anybody replying to you is there,l as you won't be able to read it."
In point of fact there are so many spoiled Westerners whose notion of poverty does not include the absence of electricity that they really need to visit a third world country. For your info, I hitch hiked into the city and back to post this at an internet cafe. Don't pity me; had a great time.

Now for the rest of you great guys with info I am looking for I will pm you and Big Jim, your name is at the top of the list. Thank you all who wanted to help.

I think Bisa will probably agree with me that whatever you do and wherever you go, in the Philippines you are always situated right on the Ring of Fire and if you can't cope with it then go somewhere else. That means that not only are there these volcanoes of various statuses or levels of activity dotting the landscape at periodic intervals, but you can get a big earthquake, at any time anywhere too. You can also get typhoons as well anywhere.

in Thailand and Cambodia you are lucky. Whern you go there from the Philippines you are not on the Ring of Fire any more. So in one way you are right. Who the hell needs electricity when you have the Philippines?