SRRV, the Philippine retirement visa

The Special Resident Retiree’s Visa (SRRV) lets a foreign national, or a former Filipino who has not reacquired citizenship, live in the Philippines with multiple entry and an indefinite stay. The Philippine Retirement Authority (PRA) issues it from age 40. You place a dollar deposit in a PRA-accredited bank, pay a processing fee and then a yearly fee. The PRA’s page says principals must be “40 years old and above”, and its fact sheet dated August 2025 says the same.

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These are visa deposits. Each covers the principal and two dependants; each extra dependant adds USD 15,000 to the deposit, except on the Courtesy option for former Filipinos. A Classic pensioner shows a lifetime pension of at least USD 800 a month if single, or USD 1,000 with dependants. On top of the deposit, the PRA lists:

• Processing fee: USD 1,500 for the principal, USD 300 for each dependant.
• Yearly fee: USD 360 (Classic) or USD 50 (Courtesy for former Filipinos), for the principal and two dependants, with more for each extra dependant.

The PRA also has a Courtesy option for some foreign nationals, such as retired diplomats. Check every figure on the PRA’s own page on the day you apply.

For former Filipinos: Courtesy option or dual citizenship

The Courtesy option is “an SRRV Option for Filipino retirees that are naturalized in other countries and have not re-acquired Filipino citizenship”. Your other route is to take back Philippine citizenship under RA 9225.

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See dual citizenship under RA 9225 for the steps. If your other country does not allow dual nationality, the Courtesy option lets you keep that citizenship.

For a foreign spouse

The PRA lets a principal bring a legally married spouse, and unmarried children under 21, as dependants. The PRA lists the legitimate spouse of a principal as a dependant, so a foreign spouse of a former Filipino can join as a dependant on the Courtesy option. Confirm with the PRA.

If your spouse is a Filipino citizen who never gave up citizenship, the PRA has no page on that case. Its principals must be foreign nationals or former Filipinos, so the foreign spouse may apply as a foreign national principal. Confirm the right option with the PRA before you apply.

The deposit

The deposit is sent “as an inward remittance from any bank abroad to a PRA-accredited bank”. The PRA does not say it earns anything, and we make no claim about that.

Classic retirees can turn the deposit into an investment in property, under PRA rules:

• A condominium unit in the principal’s name, worth at least USD 50,000, from 30 days after the visa is issued. The title carries a PRA annotation, so selling the unit needs PRA approval.
• A sublease of a ready-to-occupy home for at least 25 years, also worth at least USD 50,000, from 30 days after the visa is issued.

Both need more than the smallest Classic deposits, so ask the PRA’s investment unit how the difference is paid.

Steps and documents

The PRA’s August 2025 checklist includes:

1. Your passport, with a tourist visa valid for at least 30 days that can be converted.
2. The application form.
3. A PRA medical certificate, valid for six months, apostilled or authenticated if done abroad.
4. A police clearance from your home country or last country of residence, for the principal and every dependant 18 or older.
5. A Bureau of Immigration clearance certificate, and an NBI clearance if you have been in the Philippines 90 days or more.
6. The certificate of visa deposit.
7. Proof of relationship for dependants, such as a marriage certificate.
8. Eight 2x2 photos, and the processing fee.

The PRA says you must stay in the Philippines for the whole application, which takes 30 to 45 working days from complete documents. The processing fee is not refunded if you stop.

Living with an SRRV

The PRA lists these privileges: permanent residency; multiple entry and indefinite stay; exemption from the Bureau of Immigration’s annual report and ACR I-Card, from exit and re-entry permits, from travel tax, from tax on pensions and annuities, and from separate work or study permits; and a one-time customs exemption on household goods up to USD 7,000.

The SRRV is a visa. It does not make you a citizen, so citizens’ rights such as voting and full land ownership stay with RA 9225. For what life at home costs, see the cost of living in the Philippines.