Investor visa in Philippines

• The SIRV is open to an alien aged 21 or over with no conviction for a crime involving moral turpitude, no dangerous or contagious disease and no institutionalisation for a mental disorder, who is willing and able to invest in an eligible form of investment and holds a tourist (9(a)) visa with at least one month of validity.
• Only the spouse and unmarried children under 21 of the applicant count as dependants and can also apply. An investor who has already put money into an eligible business can be considered if the required sum was remitted within the 12 months before filing, and may be issued an indefinite SIRV straight away if the Board approves.
• The Board of Investments' SIRV page still lists the FAQ, application forms, checklists, deed of undertaking, conversion to indefinite SIRV, annual report and SIRV ID forms for download. We found no notice closing the programme, but the FAQ carries no revision date.

Sources: Board of Investments. Checked 17 October 2026.

• The minimum is an inward remittance of about US$75,000 into the Philippines, which is then invested. To be safe, have more than US$76,000. The Board's checklist also names this as the sum that must reach a time deposit with the Development Bank of the Philippines or a Land Bank of the Philippines branch.
• You must keep at least the same sum invested at all times; falling below it is listed as a ground for cancelling the visa. A time deposit earns interest at the Development Bank's rates, less tax, and can be withdrawn on request if you drop the application.
• Allowed investments are shares in publicly listed companies, companies in the Investment Priorities Plan, companies in the manufacturing and services sectors, and government securities. Shares in wholesale-trading corporations and condominium units are no longer allowed, and the Board says a restaurant counts as retail trade, which is not eligible.
• The bank pays out by cheque to the company you invest in, or to the stockbroker for listed shares, never to you. Investing after the six-month probationary visa has ended carries a penalty of PHP 1,000 plus PHP 100 for each day late.

Sources: Board of Investments. Checked 17 October 2026.

• The Board's checklist for a probationary SIRV lists, in three copies: Form SIRV-001A (principal) or SIRV-001B (dependants), a signed and notarised Deed of Undertaking (principal only), a Personal History Statement for everyone aged 14 or over, a police clearance valid six months, a medical certificate validated by the Bureau of Quarantine, a birth certificate and (if relevant) a marriage contract.
• Police clearance is from your country or place of residence, authenticated by the Philippine embassy, or an Interpol-division certificate from the National Bureau of Investigation issued in the Philippines. The Board's documents say authenticated and do not mention apostilles; the Philippines joined the Apostille Convention on 14 May 2019, so ask the Board which it accepts.
• You also need proof of the inward remittance from the Development Bank (or the Land Bank branch the checklist names), your passport with an updated stay and the Board's processing fee.

Sources: Board of Investments, Hague Conference on Private International Law. Checked 17 October 2026.

• You file with the Board of Investments' Incentives Administration Service in Makati; the Board's application form also says it can be submitted to a Philippine Foreign Service Post. Before filing, you send a letter of intent to the Board, which prepares an endorsement letter to the accredited bank for your remittance.
• The Board estimates 7 working days for its review and a minimum of 10 working days at the Bureau of Immigration, and the same for conversion from probationary to indefinite. It advises you not to leave the country until the SIRV is implemented in your passport.
• The probationary SIRV lasts six months (180 days). You convert the time deposit into investment within that period, and the Board suggests starting at least 30 days before it ends.

Sources: Board of Investments. Checked 17 October 2026.

• The Board's application fee is US$300 (paid in pesos) for the principal and US$300 for each dependant. The checklist adds a Bureau of Immigration fee of PHP 10,110 for each person aged 14 or over and PHP 9,360 for each person under 14.
• The SIRV ID card costs PHP 2,000 per person. The Philippine Embassy in Canberra's schedule of fees, dated 9 March 2016, lists an SIRV visa fee of AUD 720; that schedule is old, so the current figure is unknown.

Sources: Board of Investments, Philippine Embassy in Canberra. Checked 17 October 2026.

• The probationary SIRV lasts six months. It becomes an indefinite SIRV when you give the Board the documents proving the actual investment; the Indefinite SIRV has no end date as long as you keep the required investment and file the required reports.
• The SIRV ID is valid for one year and renewable each year, or three years where the investment is in a company registered with the Board, an economic zone authority or a listed company with a lien on the stock certificates. Renewal needs a sworn report with the company's financial statements, tax returns and permits.

Sources: Board of Investments. Checked 17 October 2026.

• The Indefinite SIRV is the long-term status: it has no fixed end date while the investment is maintained. The Board's documents we read do not call it permanent residence and set no path or waiting period to Philippine citizenship.

Sources: Board of Investments. Checked 17 October 2026.

• The tax code taxes an alien individual, resident or not, only on income from sources within the Philippines. A non-resident alien not engaged in trade or business pays a flat 25% on that income, and one engaged in trade or business pays the same rates as residents.
• The Board's renewal list asks for the holder's individual tax return filed with the Bureau of Internal Revenue, where one applies, and the investee company's income tax return.
• An alien individual cannot claim a credit for foreign income tax against Philippine tax under the tax code. A non-resident alien who stays more than 180 days in a calendar year is deemed to be doing business in the Philippines.

Sources: Official Gazette of the Republic of the Philippines (Republic Act No. 8424, 1997 text), Bureau of Internal Revenue (Philippines), Board of Investments. Checked 17 October 2026.

• Retirement visa in Philippines
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• Visas in Philippines
• Philippines

1. Welcome to the Philippine Visa Online Portal (PH Visa Policy), Department of Foreign Affairs, Office of Consular Affairs (eVisaPH). Checked 16 October 2026.
2. Questions & answers: Special Investor's Resident Visa Program, Board of Investments, Philippines. Checked 17 October 2026. PDF uploaded to the Board's site in November 2019; carries no revision date. Exact figure: investment of at least US$75,000.
3. Philippines: income tax convention of 1976, Internal Revenue Service (treaty text). Checked 16 October 2026.
4. Status table: Convention of 5 October 1961 abolishing the requirement of legalisation for foreign public documents (Apostille Convention), Hague Conference on Private International Law. Checked 17 October 2026. Entry into force: Australia 16 March 1995, Canada 11 January 2024, New Zealand 22 November 2001, United States 15 October 1981, Philippines 14 May 2019.
5. Schedule of fees, Philippine Embassy in Canberra. Checked 17 October 2026. Schedule dated 9 March 2016; fees may have changed.
6. Agreement between Australia and the Philippines for the avoidance of double taxation and the prevention of fiscal evasion with respect to taxes on income (signed at Manila, 11 May 1979), United Nations Treaty Series, vol. 1217, no. 19635 (registered by Australia). Checked 16 October 2026.
7. Visa (visa-free entry, 9(a) temporary visitor visa, other visas the Embassy issues), Philippine Embassy in New Zealand (Wellington). Checked 16 October 2026.
8. Philippines: 1980 agreement, Inland Revenue (New Zealand), Tax Policy. Checked 16 October 2026.
9. Application for probationary SIRV: checklist of requirements, Board of Investments, Philippines. Checked 17 October 2026. PDF uploaded in February 2018; carries no revision date. Exact figure: remittance of at least US$75,000.
10. Special Investor's Resident Visa (SIRV) application: FAQ, checklists and forms, Board of Investments, Philippines. Checked 17 October 2026. Page lists the SIRV FAQ, application forms, checklists, deed of undertaking, conversion to indefinite SIRV, annual report and SIRV ID forms for download.
11. National Internal Revenue Code (Republic Act 8424), sections 22, 23, 25, 34, 42 and 51, Official Gazette of the Republic of the Philippines (Republic Act No. 8424, 1997 text). Checked 17 October 2026. 1997 enactment of the National Internal Revenue Code. Section 22(F) and (G) define resident and nonresident alien; Section 23(D): an alien individual, resident or not, is taxable only on income from sources within the Philippines; Section 24 and Section 25: graduated rates for residents and for nonresident aliens engaged in trade or business, flat 25% for a nonresident alien not engaged in trade or business; Section 25(A)(1): a nonresident alien staying more than 180 days in a calendar year is deemed to be doing business; Section 34(C): an alien individual cannot claim the foreign tax credit; Section 42(A)(3): pay for services performed in the Philippines is Philippine-source income; Section 51(C)(1): annual return by 15 April. Later amendments were not checked. The wording was checked against a copy of the same Act.
12. Revenue Regulations No. 8-2018 (income tax rules under the TRAIN Act), Bureau of Internal Revenue (Philippines). Checked 17 October 2026. Section 2: a nonresident alien who stays more than 180 days in a calendar year is engaged in trade or business, and one who stays 180 days or less is not. Section 4: a nonresident alien engaged in trade or business pays the same rates as residents on income within the Philippines; one not engaged pays 25% on income from all sources within the Philippines. Section 10: annual return by 15 April.