By Donnabelle
L. Gatdula (The Philippine Star) | Updated August 21, 2013 - 12:00am
MANILA,
Philippines - Foreign retirees have welcomed the government’s move to extend
the visa validity of visiting retirees for up to six months.
The
Retirement and Healthcare Coalition (RHC), composed of representatives from the
American, European, Japanese and Korean chambers, lauded the Bureau of
Immigration’s (BI) issuance of new Long Stay Visitors Visa Extension (LSVVE).
“We worked
with the Department of Tourism, the Department of Foreign Affairs and the
Bureau of Immigration for quite some time on the issuance of this new visa,
which is the ideal vehicle to market the country as long stay destination
including overwintering and second home destination,” RHC executive director
Marc Daubenbuchel said.
“The LSVVE
will ideally help in making the long stay guest of today the retiree of
tomorrow,” the RHC official said.
He said
retirees choosing the Philippines as their permanent destination can avail of
the Special Resident Retiree’s Visa, a lifetime visa that allows the holder to
permanently reside, gain employment or study in the Philippines.
“With the new
visa, the Philippines now has a complete visa-portfolio which will allow it to
compete with Thailand and other potential retirement destinations in attracting
foreign retirees,” Daubenbuchel said.
The new LSVVE
allows foreign travelers to extend their stay to six months from the previous
two months.
The visa can
be obtained in succession, thereby allowing a foreigner to stay in the country
up to 36 months with approval from the BI.
The RHC
currently promotes Metro Manila, Cebu, Dumaguete, Clark and Subic, and the
Calabarzon area as retirement destinations.
RHC is also
now studying seven new destinations including Bacolod, Bohol, Davao, Iloilo, La
Union, Puerto Princesa, and Puerto Galera as new ideal destinations for foreign
retirees.
“These places
all have foreign communities, mature enough, and offer a wide range of
healthcare and lifestyle products,” he said.
RHC sees the
Philippines as an ideal long stay and retirement destination and provider of
world-class medical care and wellness while having an excellent
price-performance ratio and an adequate infrastructure for travel.
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