The Philippine visa site is really confusing with regards to what visas are required. From my understanding I can travel to the Philippines visa-free for 59 days providing I apply to extend it by 30 days? Basically my workplace are remote and have confirmed they are happy for me to work from the Philippines so I'm looking at going there for a month with 2 weeks not working and the other 2 where I will be expected to 'work'. Work basically involves flicking a laptop on and responding to emails/meetings, it can be done discreetly from a hotel/condo without issue and my work hours mean it would be in the evenings when things and more quiet/comfortable. I'm a bit confused as to the visa that would be required for this, typically tourist visas don't cover this sort of thing but everything I'm finding suggests that foreign nationals working for foreign companies are not of interest to the PH government, they only care about jobs being taken from their own citizens essentially. Also there's a double taxation system in place that means they can't tax me as a UK Resident providing I'm not out of the country for more than 6 months at a time. I have seen there are talks about the digital nomad visa which would give a year of remote working but from what I can see that's not yet a thing. Anyone have any ideas on this?
You're still working in the UK, you will never be questioned about this just work when and where you want, forget about dual taxation agreements forget about special visas just go there and relax, it's only 2 months. If you have not already arranged a visa with the london Philippine embassy then you will need to extend your visa waiver after arrival, you get 30 days which you can then extend to 59 days after you arrive this means visiting the local BI office and paying appropriate fees it's not that expensive at about £50 to £60. While I am no longer working I will next week be doing exactly that, extending my visa waiver on arrival, to stay longer than 59 days you will have to extend again before the 59 days are up and you will have to apply for an ACR i-Card, I am going to try to volunteer for an ACR i-Card because I won't be there for a full 59 days and normally it's only required if your stay is longer but I really want to get one so I can get a bank account and I believe you can volunteer. I've had to provide support back to the UK many many times over the last 19 years sometimes I worked for a couple of weeks straight like when the Iceland volcano stranded me in Metro Manila in 2010, they don't give a crap if you are working abroad, possibly they could say you were on business and not there for leisure but how are they going to know, get a VPN for your laptop if you are really paranoid. There is no double taxation, that only applies to Americans and other countries with crazy tax systems, we the UK have a dual taxation agreement with the Philippines which means we can only be taxed in one of the countries, those guys on here with UK state pensions get that money tax free because the Philippines does not tax pensions and they are non domicile for tax purposes. edit: To be clear if you are being paid in the UK to a UK bank then you are working in the UK and you are paying UK tax, you're not paying Philippine tax. The only reason for the digital nomad visa thing is to provide another way to stay there for longer than 30 days without a lot of hassle. For me next year just before I get my UK state pension I will probably go for an SRRV visa, in theory that should mean that my state pension will be tax free if I spend the vast majority of my time in the Philippines however my UK private pensions will still be taxed in the UK as that is where they are paid.
Hey oss, Thanks for all that advice, it's a big help! Are you not married to a Filipina? My understanding was that after marriage you can apply for the equivalent spouse visa there which would grant you 'residency' and you wouldn't be subject to these rules any more? Not sure If that's correct though.
No I'm not married, she was married to a Korean in 1995 and divorced in 1997 long story but she's never completed all the requirements to allow her to remarry, however after 19 years I would not marry her anyway and she's not even in the Philippines just now, where she should be with our kids, instead she is working in South Korea again, again another long story.
Am I allowed to work in the Philippines on a 13a visa? Yes. A foreign national with an approved 13a marriage visa can work for a company in the Philippines without an Alien Employment Permit. Under Department of Labor and Employment Order No. 186-17 Revised Rules For The Issuance Of Employment Permits To Foreign Nationals Section 2(e).
