if i decided to up roots and move from the uk to batangas to live with my filippino gf, what visa and financial requirments would i expect? i will have a small income of 400 pounds a month and 30 thousand pounds in savings, would this be acceptable by philippine rules, like i said before, is it just a dream i have.
Have you been before bearing in mind that a month long holiday is totally different from the gritty reality of spending a prolonged period of time there,as you said its just a dream but these sort of things can turn into nightmares.Four hundred quid a month at the moment is around 30 thousand pesos?Could you live on that?What about your health as you get older?Always think of the realities mate,your money,your life,your call,no one else can decide for you,the choice is always yours
Sometimes you're flush and sometimes you're bust, and when you're up, it's never as good as it seems, and when you're down, you never think you'll be up again. But life goes on.
The beauty of a woman is not in the clothes she wears, the figure that she carries, or the way she combs her hair. The beauty of a woman is seen in her eyes, because that is the doorway to her heart, the place where love resides. True beauty in a woman is reflected in her soul. It's the passion that she shows to the outside world.
Originally Posted by Tawi2
... as an older person myself, I would urge you to think VERY carefully before making any rash decisions.
Have you been before bearing in mind that a month long holiday is totally different from the gritty reality of spending a prolonged period of time there,as you said its just a dream but these sort of things can turn into nightmares.Four hundred quid a month at the moment is around 30 thousand pesos?Could you live on that?What about your health as you get older?Always think of the realities mate,your money,your life,your call,no one else can decide for you,the choice is always yours
"The World is a book, and those who do not travel read only a page."
"Keep away from people who try to belittle your ambitions. Small people always do that, but the really great make you feel that you, too, can become great."
thanks for the reality check Tawi2, yes, i have been to the phils a number of times and know what to expect, my gf visa application was turned down, for reasons which baffle me, moving to the phils seems the only option open to us at the mo. Any thoughts on why i shoud or not purchase a house in the batangas area, always good to get outside views on things, thanks for your reply.
Why not marry your girlfriend
Sometimes you're flush and sometimes you're bust, and when you're up, it's never as good as it seems, and when you're down, you never think you'll be up again. But life goes on.
The beauty of a woman is not in the clothes she wears, the figure that she carries, or the way she combs her hair. The beauty of a woman is seen in her eyes, because that is the doorway to her heart, the place where love resides. True beauty in a woman is reflected in her soul. It's the passion that she shows to the outside world.
hi ticker before you proceed your dream to live in phillipines firstly you need to stay for a couple of month there with your gf, second find it how much the costs of living every month i.e build your dream house, foods, house bills, and the important is the health care then and if you found out is good enough to live there will your free to make your own decision.
all things are possible!
why didnt you get the visa granted?
just go and marry her and she will be here in no time
until you see every advantage of both the uk and the philipines,i wouldnt up sticks.
i was thinking the same until i realised i like the uk more,you need to make sure you have a good backup plan incase things go wrong
i have learnt to do what my wife says!
i have to agree with the comments already made, although you have enough money to make your move things could go pearshaped if your health takes a turn for the worse or your relationship breaks down and then there are complicated issues over your ownwership rights of any property bought over there.
I think £300 per month might be a little tight once you've taken off all the weekly/monthly living costs. I read a while ago (ie when the pound was worth more pesos than it is today) that £500 to 600 per month was a much better amount to live and to enjoy living in Phils.
So with that logic, £300 at todays value might be tight. For sure you could live on that but would you be able to live life and enjoy it?? Just a thought.....
thanks everyone for your advice, which as been taken on board, there are still major issues, one being, she's married, which we are in the process of annulment, yes, its difficult, something always rears it's ugly head, but, she's worth it, thanks again.
VERYs ... especially the healthcare consideration!
ANother point to bear is the pound may very well get much weaker before it gets stronger.
Oh lord why did you make so many clothes and shoe shops
if my savings now is enough to keep me going to phils or invest in a business i will and i am definitely stay there for good but im afraid notbefore thinking of living in the Phils again... it means need to work more harder and longer i suppose
on my opinion, i think it will be better off to wait until her annulment finished, get married then apply for a visa for her. Base on my experience, though its nice to live here in the philippines because of it natural beauty, living here on a comfortable life is very hard to maintain. as other members here had said, you need to have around 500 - 600 pounds to live comfortably. The cost of medical treatment here is very expensive, though we have national health insurance(philhealth) it only cover 20% of the hospital bill excluding doctor's fee and medication. As of buying house, a decent house could cost as much as 30k pounds depends on your choice. So imagine if you only have 30k pounds saving, it will only go in buying a house. And if you happen to decide to sell the house in the future, because of the economic crisis that the philippines is experiencing, it will take time before a potential buyer can be found.
its best to have a long vacation to see what life is here in the philippines, then from that experience, you can decide.
Good luck.
Couple of points that may be a little misleading ..Sorry.
1.
Simply not true..Its so cheap that apart from Philhealth I have decided not to get involved with further medical insurance..Like most other Brits here,I would fly back to UK depending on how severe the situation is..The cost of medical treatment here is very expensive
2.
Crisis? What crisis?because of the economic crisis that the philippines is experiencing
You can come here and simply stay with a series of visa tourist extentions for up to 2 years..No financial requirements required...
My advise would be to come over and rent a small apartment unit AWAY from her family..You will soon find out how far your 400 a month will go..Its doable but depends very much on the lifestyle you wish to live.. As long as you keep your 30k in the bank and dont touch it,I cant see the harm in you having a go at realising your dream..Hey..If you only last a month at least you can say you tried..
I know it sounds a little harsh and perhaps a little shallow of me but I must repeat this one point.. NOT WITH OR ANYWHERE NEAR HER FAMILY..Your 400 will last 4 days probably...
If you are lucky.
Living in the Philippines with a married woman may not be a sensible thing to do for a foreigner.
First issue is that you may be too ill to get back to the UK easily. Second issue is that if you are living outside of the UK for more than 6 months you may well be charged for healthcare in the UK.
trouble or beauty of the NHS depending on your point of view is they dont ask if you are entittled to treatment or not !!! ever been asked to show your passport or status before treatment ....!!!
Not for emergency treatment, registering with a GP can be slightly different as many members on here have found out.
right on both accounts
but if you lived with her for 2yrs you could apply for a unmarried partner visa, you would need a lot of evidence, but as Darren has said, not a good idea living with a married woman in the phils thou.
and Fred, as soon as your moved from A&E, you might have to start paying for your treatment
But Joe how could I? I am but a poor homeless pensioner with no savings or income with the odd disability here and there!!right on both accounts
but if you lived with her for 2yrs you could apply for a unmarried partner visa, you would need a lot of evidence, but as Darren has said, not a good idea living with a married woman in the phils thou.
and Fred, as soon as your moved from A&E, you might have to start paying for your treatment
There must be something that I'm entitled too surely??
There are always many many issues in life that make certain people afraid to realize their dreams..First issue is that you may be too ill to get back to the UK easily. Second issue is that if you are living outside of the UK for more than 6 months you may well be charged for healthcare in the UK.
Better just stay in a watch Eastenders eh!!
Yes, it might be worth pointing out why it's not sensible
Adultery is a an offence in the Phils punishable with a jail sentence for both the man and woman. If she doesn't have an annulment the estranged husband can
have you thrown in jail but more likely he will use this as a pretext to extort money from you.
Jim
400 quid would be tight, very tight and as others have said the pound could weaken, indeed the peso may even get stronger on it's own, I would not bet on things remaining the same as they are today for many years ahead.
Also you can not personally own property in the Phils, it's really the land you cannot own, so thinking of buying a place is a bad idea. The only thing you can get in your own name is a Condo because you are not buying the lot it stands on and I believe in reality what you are purchasing is just a 50 year lease on the Condo you don't have outright ownership.
Even after you eventually get married the above still applies to you personally, if you did buy a house and lot it would have to be in your wife's name and if anything happened to her, you would be at the mercy of her family who would inherit the property from her.
There are ways to have rights to a property assigned back to you but I think it's a bit of a legal minefield, to be honest.
Jim
My limited experience of Philippines healthcare has shown me it's the main thing I would want to have covered if/when we ever move to the Philippines as literally it can mean life or death. Never said it was an issue to stop ticker realising his dream, just that your solution may not work.
Personally I think of health tourists as being no different to benefit cheats.....
Have to agree with Fred here, I'm not saying you should just bury your head in the sand...sometimes you just have to get on with life...Nothing is guaranteed.
darren -b i was talking from a male members point of view who was/is british returning from a period away, its unlikely that he would be asked for evedence of his rights to treatment...even if he was asked for id ....imho
regards
jonathan
I worked in Saudi for 2 years with expat status, not Uk taxed. I decided to pay a nominal NI payment, as I remember, something like £7 a month to keep my NHS status as fully paid. I went to the local tax office to make sure this was correct before I went.
I am also thinking along the lines of settling in the Philippines too. A similar situation to Ticker. I am actively looking for work, as an engineer and teacher/lecturer I might be able to find something to keep me employed to pay the bills.
hth
steve
teaching english might be an option, tfel courses the have organisation and placement or set up on your own, you wont make much money but enough maybe to pay for day to day needs , food accomadation, i have a few ideas for when i retire to the philippines, some depend on my assests when i retire !!!
Jonathan
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