nozzzaa

Hi,
I’m looking to move to manila soon and thought this would be a good place to get some info.

My back ground and reasons are this

I was sent to manila a couple of years ago for a few months with work ,returning to refresh my visa every 30 days; I was out there assisting with a call centre set up for the UK Company I was working for. There was going to be quite a few visits upcoming in the months/yrs to follow however the recession hit the company and I was made redundant (Gutted)

Since then I have just recently split up with my girlfriend here in the UK and it has opened the doors to me to want to do something like this, I love the Philippines, the people and the culture however I realise it isn’t as easy as packing my suitcase and heading for the nearest airport.

I met a lot of friends whist there and have been in touch with a few since my idea came about, one in particular has offered to help me source a job there which I’m hoping will get me a visa into the country, they worked for the call centre company and are quite high up so I’m hoping can pull a few strings.

I do have a couple of other routes to follow work wise too.

I was just wondering if anyone else has done the same or is thinking about it, any problems they had or advice they could give me would be great, as you can see I’m sat at stage one, so got a long road ahead

I’m a 28 yr old male ,no ties here at all, very little debt which I can rid easily and if I sold my possessions I think I could have £6,000 as a back up to help me, also got an inheritance coming soon of about £10,000 to boost me, so I’m thinking even if I accept an average job out there(I know the wages aren’t great) then once I’m there I could use my money to keep me going and worry about career progression when I’m there. Some people think I’m crazy some say go for it, I’m definitely going to give it my best shot as I love it there.

As I said any advice greatly appreciated

Matt

Catchafire

Hi Matt and welcome to the forum.

I have no idea how easy/hard it is to get a work visa for the Philippines. But a couple of things pop into mind. If you get employment, you are likely gonna get paid the local rate. Which could be much less than your expectations. Also your money will soon be eaten up, if you are not careful.

The Philippines is an fantastic country and well worth the effort of getting settled there for a while. But as a UK citizen, you have some other options available to yourself.

Have you considered a Working Holiday Visa? These are available for Singapore and Japan, as well as Australia, New Zealand, Canada etc.

Good luck and let us know how you get on.

nozzzaa

Hi Catchafire,

thanks for the warm welcome,

i definetley want to just go to the philipines as i feel that i kinda have been there so know what to expect and also have friends to help me along the way,

what is working holiday visa and can i get one in ph??

Catchafire

Google is your friend, but none available for the Philippines.

www.cebuarea.com

Manila is not the place anymore. It is mostly submerged by frequent flooding and a dis-functional drainage. Cebu is a much better place.

piero

Matt you need your friends to come through for you or forget it . i pay skilled man 500 peso a day can you live on that..i cant

mikemike

Matt, I have been here 12 years now and can safely say make the move IF you can afford it.

The amount you have is no where near enough to cover basic contingency such as hospitalization for any number of illnesses you may have never heard of!!

Accommodation even at its most basic level will probably work out at about 12,000 pesos a month, you will need a fixed address.

The tourist visa is now 30 days with first extension of 30 days followed by 59 days it is however unlawful to work on such a visa.

Getting a working visa is best achieved by getting an employer to sponsor the correct visa.

Suggest that if you are serious that you use the tourism visa as an opportunity to get job interviews and you will get paid a higher rate in some places if your skills are in demand. Being a native English speaker is NOT one of those skills, it may help.

Suggest that you have minimum of 5000 pounds emergency money that you will not touch. This amount is on top of that which you budget for; round fare trips, accommodation plus expenses.

nozzzaa

thanks for all the replies, just so you know, im not trying to go there and live like a king, im a happy to get by type of guy, i also have a GF there who luckily for me is quite well off, so i know she wouldnt see me struggle, not that im some kinda freeloader, but i rekon all the toughtpoints get pointed out but hey you been there 12 yrs and are still there so it can and has been done so im going for it, as long as i got enough to keep me going and get me a flight back home if need be then ill be alright

nozzzaa

what do you do there mike by the way, what made you go there????

mikemike

I came here for my wife and now we have two children we are looking to leave.

Single guys with adequate financial support will be fine. Many expats are here for the right reasons many more are here because they are economic refugees and still find it very tough.

I deal on line for investments

Joey Jakarta

What are you good at? What did you study, what is your profession?

bakedbean

Hi Joey and welcome to the forum . So....what are you good at then? Have you any interest in the Philippines? Do you live here?

enojuis

Hi, Im in the same situation sort of.

Im already married to a Filipina for a while and shes already a British citizen. Im sick of my desk job. So we're up rooting to Philippines some time next year. Having experienced the Philippines. I see lots of poverty, the national average wage is 500 peso a day around £7 so getting a local job there is a no go. Unless your at the top like specialist managers, senior roles. I even looked at the jobs on the British embassy in Manila but even then the pay is reflected locally under £12k which is probably quite alot for Philippines anyway. But would you be happy with £12k? I wouldn't.

The best way is for you to find a British company hiring for certain positions, they can sort out the visa and will have pulling power. Whilst if you tried your self it will takes ages with no guarantees.

For me I'm in the process of selling my house and car and stuff. So I'll have some cash to last a year I hope. During which Im going to start up a business, not sure what yet. Maybe a few water refill stations, teaching my profession, or tourism, some Canadian guy is doing quite well in Boracay guiding tourists to and from locations in western comfort ie a few mpv's that looks nice and doesn't break down, or doesn't need to stop for water and oil every 2 mins!

Your rent in Manila will likely be around £150 - £300+ food around £200 a month, util bills roughly £80 this is with the aircon off and travelling is really cheap. The idea is to live like a local and you'll save bucket loads.

Good luck pm me if you like

piero

this is about a good answer as you will get.
Me i live here on my private pension, i,m still waiting for my UK pension. but i get by almost so i do have a top up, if i need it how about you.....best wishes to you and your dream,,,, but i do have a friend that spent 200k most in the first year as a high flyer,,,its easy to spend...again good luck just don't be sucked in,,,,i don't know live like a King , yes American i think