The four numbers
$15,000. About 943,000 pesos. The smallest deposit the Philippines retirement visa takes in 2026: you’re 50 or older, and you have a lifetime pension of at least $800 a month. No pension? Double it.
15,000 pesos a year. About $239. What PhilHealth, the national health insurer, charges a foreign retiree registered with the Philippine Retirement Authority.
$0. What the Philippines charges in tax on your US Social Security.
62.89 pesos to the dollar. The rate on 13 October 2026, used for every conversion on this page.
Cheap to stay. Expensive to start.
Philippines retirement visa (SRRV) requirements
The Special Resident Retiree’s Visa is run by the Philippine Retirement Authority (PRA) and issued by the Bureau of Immigration. It gives you multiple entries and an indefinite stay. Since the PRA’s August 2025 overhaul, the minimum age is 40 and only two options remain: Classic and Courtesy. Older guides that still list “SRRV Smile” or “Human Touch” are out of date.
Here’s the Classic, the one most Americans would use, as of October 2026:
| Your age | With a pension | Without a pension | PRA fees |
|---|---|---|---|
| 50 and older | $15,000 deposit (≈943,000 pesos) | $30,000 deposit (≈1.89M pesos) | $1,500 to apply, $360 a year |
| 40 to 49 | $25,000 deposit | $50,000 deposit | $1,500 to apply, $360 a year |
The pension has to be a lifetime pension of at least $800 a month for a single applicant, or $1,000 for a family, according to the PRA’s Expanded SRRV Program sheet. Social Security is paid for life, but ask PRA up front whether your award letter, apostilled, will satisfy them.
The deposit covers you plus two dependents (a spouse, children under 21). Each dependent pays a $300 application fee. Past two, each extra one adds $15,000 to the deposit and $100 to the annual fee. The money has to be wired into a PRA-accredited Philippine bank before you file.
The paperwork, per the PRA’s fee schedule and checklist:
- A PRA medical certificate, issued within six months
- A police clearance from your country of origin or last residence, also within six months, apostilled
- An NBI clearance if you’ve already spent 90 days or more in the Philippines
- A passport with a tourist visa valid for at least 30 more days
And you have to be in the Philippines for the whole application. Plan the trip around it.
A cheaper Courtesy option exists: a $1,500 deposit at 50 and older. It’s for former Filipino citizens, retired diplomats, retired officers of international organizations, some retired military, and “high achievers” in fields like business, the arts and sports. If none of those fits, it isn’t for you.
Not ready to commit? US citizens get 30 days visa-free. The Bureau of Immigration’s FAQ says visa-free nationals can then extend by 29 days, and after that by one, two or six months at a time, up to 36 months. Past 59 days you’ll need an ACR I-Card. A spouse of a Filipino citizen has a separate route, the 13(a) visa.
There’s also a digital nomad visa on paper. Executive Order 86, signed in April 2025, allows stays of up to a year plus one more, according to EY. I couldn’t find an official application form or income bar for it as of October 2026. Check with the DFA before you plan around it.
Cost of living in the Philippines for Americans
Numbeo’s figures for a single person, converted at 62.89 pesos to the dollar:
| City (Numbeo month) | 1-bed, city center | Monthly costs without rent | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Manila (October 2026) | 34,117 pesos ($542) | 36,797 pesos ($585) | about $1,127 |
| Davao (October 2026) | 17,300 pesos ($275) | 34,163 pesos ($543) | about $818 |
Outside the center, a one-bedroom averaged 17,660 pesos ($281) in Manila and 10,760 pesos ($171) in Davao.
Look at what that does to the visa math. Davao’s center total is about $818 a month. The SRRV’s pension floor is $800. Close. But those totals leave out health insurance, and the deposit sits on top of everything.
Rent is where Manila costs you. Everyday spending is nearly the same in both cities.
Healthcare in the Philippines
Medicare won’t follow you. In its 2026 booklet for people living abroad, Medicare says it generally doesn’t cover care outside the US.
PhilHealth will take you. Its 2026 Citizen’s Charter lists two annual premiums for foreigners:
- 15,000 pesos ($239) if you hold an SRRV or a PRA ID
- 17,000 pesos ($270) for other foreigners with an ACR I-Card
That’s cheap. It’s also partial. When PhilHealth opened membership to foreigners in 2017, it excluded them from the Z Benefits, its packages for catastrophic illness, and from reimbursement for care abroad.
So most retirees will want private cover on top. Get quotes at your age, with your history, before you wire the deposit.
Taxes for Americans in the Philippines
This is the strongest part of the case.
Section 23 of the Philippine Tax Code says a foreigner, whether resident or not, is taxable only on income from sources within the Philippines. Your Social Security, your IRA withdrawals and your US dividends come from the US. Under that rule, the Philippines doesn’t tax them.
The treaty backs this up for Social Security. Article 19 of the US–Philippines treaty says US social security paid to a resident of the Philippines is taxable only in the United States.
Earn money inside the Philippines, though, and it’s taxed. Rates run from 0% on the first 250,000 pesos ($3,975) of taxable income up to 35% above 8 million pesos, per PwC’s July 2026 summary.
The IRS still wants a return from you. Every year.
Is the Philippines safe for Americans?
The State Department rates the Philippines Level 2, exercise increased caution, citing crime, terrorism, civil unrest and kidnapping. The map inside that rating matters more than the number:
- Level 4, do not travel: the Sulu Archipelago, including the southern Sulu Sea, and Marawi City in Mindanao
- Level 3, reconsider travel: the rest of Mindanao, except Davao City, Davao del Norte, Siargao Island and the Dinagat Islands
Davao City sits outside the Level 3 zone. The island around it doesn’t.
Social Security can be paid straight into a Philippine bank: the Philippines is on the SSA’s international direct deposit list.
The catch
The deposit doesn’t move. $15,000 at the least, $30,000 without a pension, sitting in a PRA-accredited bank for as long as you hold the visa, unless you move it into one of the investments the program allows.
You apply in person. The PRA requires you to be in the country for the whole process, with clearances that expire after six months.
PhilHealth isn’t full cover. At 15,000 pesos a year it’s a bargain. It still leaves foreigners out of the Z Benefits for catastrophic illness.
Half of Mindanao is Level 3. If Davao appeals to you, read the advisory for the province, not the city.
The rules changed in 2025. Age limits, options and deposits all moved. Anything written before the August 2025 overhaul may be wrong.
Who the Philippines works for
- Retirees 50 and older with an $800 pension and $15,000 they can leave alone.
- People living on US income only. Social Security, IRAs and US dividends stay outside the Philippine tax net.
- Former Filipino citizens, who get the $1,500 Courtesy route.
Who it doesn’t
- Anyone who’d need the $15,000 to live on. It stays in the bank, or in a PRA-approved investment, while you hold the visa.
- Retirees counting on PhilHealth alone for a serious condition.
- People drawn to Mindanao outside Davao who’d rather not live under a Level 3 advisory.
Before you decide
- Price the deposit and the first year together: $15,000 or $30,000, plus $1,500 and $360 in PRA fees.
- Get a private insurance quote at your age before you wire anything.
- Ask PRA whether your Social Security award letter counts as a lifetime pension.
- Read the State Department advisory for the province, not just the country.
For a comparison of where $2,000 a month works across 14 countries, see How to Retire Abroad on $2,000 a Month.
