The Dream of Living in the Philippines
Many guys have the dream of living in the Philippines but are not ready to retire. They biggest factor stopping us from moving to the Philippines immediately is money because most of us that don’t have a huge investment portfolio they live off need to make a living while living in the Philippines.
One of the first things that occurs to many is can I get employment in the Philippines in my current vocation, or if not what type of work could I find in the Philippines. Most realize that they will needs a special sort of Visa in order to work in the Philippines and anyone that takes a little further will find out that obtaining such a visa is not easy.
Working Visa
There is a special retirement visa for the Philippines that requires a large cash deposit in a Philippine bank. There is also a special permanent residence visa for a spouse of a Filipino citizen that entitles you to work. So in order to find work on your own you must either being will to make a big deposit or be married to a Filipino citizen.
Prohibited Professions
What many do not realize is that even with a visa there is still a huge list of prohibited professions for non-Filipinos. The idea behind this list is to protect the locals in a country where unemployment is already extremely high. The full list can be found on the Governments official web site or in the StreetWise Philippines ebook - Making A Living In The Philippines by Perry Gamsby where it is included as an appendix.
Company Sponsored Employment
This is ideal situation because the company you work for will normally take care of everything and pay you special allowance to compensate you for being posted to the Philippines. This is because for many corporate professionals the Philippines is usually not their dream location. So if you can swing one of these jobs you’re a laughing all the way to the bank.
To find these types of roles you normally have to be very highly skilled in some specialized area, or experienced in management. These opportunities are also usually sourced outside of the Philippines so the place to look is where you are now. Another consideration is that these roles are often sourced from within a company meaning that you would need to be working for a large international company and wait for a suitable opportunity to arise for a posting to the Philippines.
Local Employment Opportunities
If you cannot find that company sponsored job in the Philippines then finding work will be up to you – assuming you have acquired the required visa. Really the list of prohibited occupations is not a big issue because most of them are very lowly paid anyway. Find work in a Filipino company will be more challenging than finding work in a company managed by expats. I say managed as opposed to owned because the Philippine government place restrictions on foreign ownership of business and properties in the Philippines.
Philippine Salary
You salary will have a lot to do with the type of work you get and your skill base but there is one thing you can be assured of. Its going to be a hell of a lot less than you get back home (unless you have that Company Sponsored Employment). If you find a job paying between $1000 and $2000 per month you are still miles ahead of most locals, as many don’t even make that much per anum.
Employment Conditions
Unless you have that Company Sponsored Employment then employment conditions will usually be sub-standard to what you would expect back home. There are no labor laws to protect your rights because you basically will not have any.
Finding employment is difficult but not impossible
Finding work in the Philippines is not easy but it is far from being impossible as Perry Gamsby in his book explains. He has lived in the Philippines for a number of years and found a number of different jobs. If you are seriously interested in finding work in the Philippines in order to live their then reading his book is a must.
Make your own job – An alternative to Employment
Making your own job is an alternative to finding employment. When I say making your own job I am refereeing to starting some sort of small business. There are still restrictions on what you can do there but there are many ways in which to do most things and still operate within the law. Starting a small business in a foreign country requires a lot of research and understanding of local conditions. Most business ventures will also require some capital but there are many that can be started with a very small amount of money. Perry has also successfully operated a number of small business and his experience and advise is invaluable to anyone contemplating doing the same. He has also had some failures and learning about these is just as helpful.
Sell up everything and invest the money
Another alternative to finding employment is investing your money. As you have read this far I suspect that like most of us you do not have a huge some to invest and live off. Despite this there are many who sell up all their worldly possessions and head to the Philippines to invest in the family fish farm or piggery. In most cases all the money is gone in a year or so and they are left dead broke. The family fish farm or piggery may be a viable business but knowing how to manage your investment and protect you capital is vital. In his book Perry talks about investment opportunities in the Philippines and highlights many of the dangers. He also talks about whether selling up everything is a good idea in the first place.
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Making A Living
in the Philippines
Making A Living In The Philippines will be of interest to many that need to make money in order to live in the Philippines by working, starting a business or investment.
How to find work in the Philippines or how to make your own job by starting a small business or investment
Philippine
Dreams
Philippines Dreams includes information specifically on moving to the Philippines and will give you a better idea what its like to live day-to-day in the Philippines and list some of the disadvantages also.
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Learn to Speak Filipino
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