ianinmalaysia

Friends, Can anyone advise me of the correct procedures for gaining an ARC card? I initially thought that i must have a 59day visa first but upon application to my local Philippine embassy here in KL they said i dont need one as i am British.
I tried to explain my reasons for applying for the visa, i.e. obtaining an ARC in order to open a bank account, but im not sure the clerk fully understood what i was trying to do.
Any advice most welcome.

tropicofcancer

Your passport and other ID say driving licence with photo will be ample to open an account here in Philippines. I am sure that ABC and others have offices in Malaysia. You can open an account from outside the country, in one of their branches there.
BDO have branches in SM so basically that gives you seven days banking as opposed to five. HSBC allow withdrawals of P40,000 a day by ATM. They state free transfers between accounts. ABC branches are found all over the Philippines.

The ACR and the ID card are only for stays of fifty-nine days or more. Temporary Resident, Temporary Permanent Resident, or Permanent Resident.

ianinmalaysia

Tropic of Cancer, many thanks for the advice, its much appreciatted.

I will still need to get an ARC or similar as my partner (Filipina) and i will eventually settle there. I will contact HSBC here in KL and discuss opening an account in Davao with them.Thanks again

tropicofcancer

Ianinmalaysia if you enter the Philippines with your spouse, you will be granted a one year visa. During this time you can make the application for Permanent Residency. It will cost approximately P15000 all in with medical and other fees, plus two ACR cards. The first lasts one year, and is a "Temporary Permanent Resident" ACR. The first year is your probationary period if you like. Then you apply for "Permanent Permanent Resident" Status.

I believe that I have explained the procedure on here before. I had it stored in documents, but suffered a HD failure.

I will see if I can locate it elsewhere.

tropicofcancer

Link to a previous thread. I have outlined the procedure on there, as have others:

http://britishexpats.com/forum/showthread.php?t=504489

Hope that helps.

The BI offices really are user friendly. Well the Cebu one definitely is anyway.