if you slow things down that is where you value life most because the Philippines is way way different from the West bring your patience here thank you so much Jr for joining us today I wanted to sit down
with you and ask some questions can you please introduce yourself hi um Lex thank you so much for this opportunity to be with you and to really like uh spread the information about the Philippines so our company started
way back 8 years ago 2017 we we do have we we started our registration with the government offices here so we have our um business licenses to start with and that will actually give you an assurance that we
are a legit company we are not a fly by night company and right now we are um venturing for the Visa and immigration um services in which the main advocacy is really to guide our foreign friends once they
go to the Philippines and on the side we do some Consulting for for the real estate side because by profession I'm also a licensed real estate broker here in the Philippines and other matters maybe not all but basically
what you primarily need to kick off your um decent proper and legal living here in the Philippines in which it will actually give you a peace of mind being in a different country because the Philippines is way way
different from the West the first question I have for you today is what do you love about your country that's a good question actually and um it's basically the culture that we have the culture which is embedded with
different uh fusions of um countries before like we have been uh we have an influence from the American side from the Spanish side and it actually Blends well right now it has a pros and cons nothing is perfect
so um that in a way when I ask my foreign clients when why why do you come to the Philippines aside from the cost of living because Philippines might be expensive up to some extent so it would really
depend on your lifestyle but the culture the people those are the primary things that will prevail on top with the answers to the question because probably when you actually walk and try to be in the Philippines you can
see them smiling you just don't know what have they been through on their personal lives but when you walk they're just going to um they're going to treat you with a warm smile no intentions they just wanted to
reach out to you the second question I have for you today is how did you learn about the need for foreigners to be supported with long-term visas um I got few friends before when I'm because my Prof um
when uh few years back I played badminton so I have some friends who are actually foreigners and when I hear them like oh I I've been scammed I trusted this people like uh you give them the money to
do the extension for you to do the pro process of the Visa and then eventually it didn't work out also on the real estate side I put in some down payment and there you go after a few months
they're gone they're going to be like it hurts me and up to some extent it embarrassed me as a Filipino because they are coming here they are actually trusting us the culture in itself but that Minority does not
represent the majority either so when you come to the Philippines I myself wanted also to Benchmark our country with other countries countries I just have a recent trip with Thailand admittedly pros and cons between two countries similarly tropical
Vibes culture-wise different infrastructure is also different Thailand is much more Progressive than the Philippines but the Philippines also has something to offer which Thailand does not have so those are the things that we really wanted you to invite
to come to the Philippines and see it for yourself I'm not saying that you stay here test the waters be here 6 to 12 months and say it for yourself if it works well for you then good if
it's not look for your options at the end of the day you decide which best fit for you the third question I have for you today is what are the Visa options for younger guys apart from the spousal
visa and the retirement Visa there are still a lot of Visa options that the Bureau of Immigration Office can uh can provide because right now most of the people come to the Philippines like under uh 50 and above
they wanted to retire here something new new culture they fell in love they have a successful marriages well it's good up to some point now on the other side also for those who will not be hooked up on
that aspect they're also on the retirement Visa now there are a still a lot if I'm going to mention it here we will actually take a lot of time for us to discuss it here but you can actually
start off to have the the tourist visa extension because the tourist visa extension will give you a good leeway for you to stay here in the Philippines and test the waters if it works for you like if you're
from the US you're non Visa required you come here just your flight you're given 30 days you can extend that up to 36 months that's 3 years and I think 6 to 12 months will be enough for you
like okay I wanted to set up a business here once I set up the Philippine company and then you can actually apply for the n9g working Visa that's one so that's one of your options that you can take
and I think most of of you on on our age range now um there are actually things that are circulating right now like a nomad Visa now I just have a brief look about the Visa however that Visa
is still being uh processed to be approved and to be available more likely when I see the requirements of the um Nomad Visa if I'm a US citizen like yours I would test the waters I would just come
here it's much more simplier for me like doing the extension is not that hassle because the Nomad Visa will uh require you to submit a set of requirements employment contracts and also tax returns from the country from the
company that uh from the country where your company is um located so just make it simple 6 to 12 months test the voters then go here the fourth question I have for you today is what is the most
common reason someone reaches out to jrc they wanted to have the convenience um sometimes they have they hear horror stories that it's difficult and that so we help them navigate through the process and structure-- wise I wanted to
be honest with you like one good example uh when I sorry to compare but it's just just the reality yeah like from the city proper of SIU one of the cities in the Philippines going to the airport 7
kilm will take you at least an hour okay so that that's on the infrastructure side but I know the Philippine government is really working hard on it to really improve from time to time and Thailand wise 28 kilm
that's that's super helpful um the sixth question is what are your suggestions to help foreigners to slow down you know what it comes with perspective I've been talking also with other clients of ours like Jr you do need
to really like adopt the western side because the Philippines has its own unique way of doing things because being slower Pace than the West is also a gift why if you slow things down that is where you value
life most it's not about all the material things that you have at the end of the day it's your perspective on how you live life and I think that is one of the most common reason why people from
the West come to the Philippines or any Southeast Asian nation and okay I would like to add on that bring your patience here okay uh it will not work if you will be um reasoning out the way how
a western would think I'm not saying that you change we just meet halfway because you might be perceived that you are too aggressive to have things done so sometimes like typical example um you're coming from probably more than
10 hours flight you come to the Philippines you've been grumpy and you have a back pain you have all the pains that you have you're not feeling well out of the that flight come to the immigration officer you
just need to fill out the thing and you become to reason out and what would happen you become unruly you become TG at disrespectful to an to an authority an immigration officer so that will not put you in
a good place because you might be barred from entering the country course you will be included in the regulatory record such as Black List watch list or whatever is applicable for you that's simple thing so when you come
here to the Philippines do some cultural research first cultural not places because places are like easy they're all beautiful yeah they're all beautiful and when you see the picture see it personally because there would be reality versus expectations
the seventh question is is there any way for a foreigner to come back from being blacklisted it vary by a situation because it depends on what are your Val violation as that point now it has all it can
be lifted in a way it's not the end of the line what I wanted to stress out right now is or what what I wanted to point out is you coming here it does not mean that the entire
culture of the Philippine will will adjust to your culture we meet halfway like on our form so how do we meet halfway we let them understand the process here's how it's going to work here's the procedure bear with
us because we want also you we need not one we need your cooperation also to have things done because if you don't we will have a problem and at the end of the day we're all we're always helping
you how to navigate things here just have your peace of mind don't be in a situation wherein it's undesirable for you you come here for a reason go back always to that in what ways can a foreigner help
you to help them um number one we need their full cooperation that's that's very important because without their cooperation um we will have difficulties along the way number two and understanding understanding about the process here is different it
will not be like the same with the West like okay hey I want my title to be done in days here it won't work we we're we're talking about months but we will be actually navigating or going through
you the process of okay this is the first step these are the Second Step third step and the final step to be it done I think those two for now uh will be one of of will be the
the two points that will be uh I'll be sharing because those are very important understanding and your cooperation it will not be uh a dance alone but when we Tango you dance we dance can you speak on student
visas are you affiliated with any Universities locally that can help with those okay um student visas have a different d uh procedures so once you will be in a student visa the immigration office are accrediting that school and
that school has the specific liason officer so that actually is a separate Department from the Bureau of immigration wherein it's only um it focused more on those foreign students who wanted to learn in the Philippines or to study
here in the Philippines now after that that is where our scope of um jurisdiction will come into play so we don't have basically jurisdiction with the student visas of the time being but for you to be guided initially
if you want to be enrolled in a school first thing that you're going to ask if that school is accredited with the Bure of immigration and then if they say yes you coordinate with the liason officer because they're
the one being authorized as a representative of the school to transact your student visa in the Bureau of immigration are there any good reasons for a foreigner to obtain a work permit which is not registered in the Philippines
or other countries that actually will comply to the country the taxation will actually comply with the country where the business is operating and where the business is registered so I think that's the first thing distinction that we would
like to take as of this point because okay if I'm also the Foreigner wanting to go to the states I would like I would like to make sure that everything is legal I don't want to be in a
situation hey I'm in a foreign land I've been stuck I have problem it will actually like mess up everything I don't want that I think that's that's the norm right now of foreigners coming here but you need to
understand if you're dig Nomad and your company you're working for is from the US then your taxation will be on the US but you're working here remotely however if your us company has a registered branch in the Philippines
and that's another story that will be a coin clip on the other side um I'll be honest with you I have not actually dwelt on that in detail however when I actually go through it it actually depends on
the plan of that Foreigner moving to another country because if I see it that way this is just my opinion Nomad Visa more likely will be more focused on the Philippine consulate outside the Philippines why they are requiring
foreign documents business establish uh business documents of the company that you work for your employment contracts with them and your tax returns which is one of the requirements there are I able to go to that quickly and if
that would be the case right now if speaking of a nomad Visa it would actually come to a remote work setup if it's a remote work setup it's not here in the Philippines so more likely the application of
that Nomad Visa will be more on focus on the consulate offices outside the Philippines like for example consulate Philippine consulate in the US so before you come here you can be issued with the The Nomad Visa that is
just my opinion as of the time being but the regulation are still being um checked and there will be a final regulation soon however brief comparison between Nomad visa and tourist visa Nomad Visa 2 years renewable I think
every year if I'm not mistaken tourist visa 3 years so which would you prefer because things right now like those documents I don't know how how challenging is it to provide especially if you're going to be submitting it
to the Philippine consulate it would be a foreign document because that Philippine consulate is an extension of the jur um uh what do you call that uh territory of the Philippines in a foreign land and that those documents
that are listed might be considered as a foreign document before they accept that you need to you need to authenticate it then you need to apostate now my question is do you have time if you're if you're just
talking earlier that in the US it's just like bum bum bum bum okay I don't know because once you bum Bumm slow you lose money I think that's how you think there um for the work permit side we
can actually do that that's forming part of our services so however we just need to establish right now that that Philippine document is registered here that's the first thing otherwise we cannot process anything here if it's be if
it's beyond the jurisdiction or territorial jurisdiction of the Philippines that's out of our reach already so uh however on the on the example earlier that if you're working for a US company who has a physical Branch or registered
here in the Philippines to have those uh remote set up and that's another story we can actually help them that where are your offices located our offices is located in the heart of the Philippines the main branch is
in CBU um that's the second city after our capital city it's a little bit slower and then in the slower than Manila faster than dag let's put it that way and the second one is we we also have
an office in dag and the third one we do have an office in Manila how can people hire you and your company jrc we we basically start when you have a need or when when you need something to
okay you can hire us when you have a need on a Visa and uh immigration and on the side the real estate if you need one here basically we just need to be your guide here in the Philippines
not your tour guide I just wanted to be clear on that but we will be your information reference your guide here in the Philippines how to maneuver things because it will be new to you like for example when
we go to a trip on other countries our first trip we always have a tour guide because that is where okay they navigate there they know how to uh they know how to navigate us from point A to
point B as fast as you can and probably in probably in Pro okay probably in the next 6 to 12 months you already learn to adapt with a culture you can start to do it by yourself but if
you don't okay because if you because you have a lot of things that can be done to you then you can actually retain us then we we don't have the retainers but when you need of a specific service
then we will talk to you thank you so much for your time today Jr I want to give you the final word okay um one thing that I would like one thing that I have learned along the way
for the past eight years doing this business is you just need to go to the right firm for you to navigate it properly because take this as for example you don't go to a bake shop when you wanted
to have a medicine so if you want if you need like the Visa and Immigration Services go to the Visa firms I'm not saying it's only us there's still a lot of people out there however you go there
because that actually will fit and that will actually guide you on what do you need you you don't go to a Visa firm when you have the real estate need you you need to go to someone who knows
that like you don't go to a doctor when you're looking for a house so the main point is value your time because you you come here for a reason so don't save Penny when you where in fact you're
spending dollars so go to the person that you perceive that will be trustworthy and can help you navigate things for you so that they can actually give you the best result that you wanted to have [Music]
