Considering going to live in the Phil for a few months..

[symonh2000]

I am considering going to live with my Fiancee in Manila for a few months until she can get her Visa sorted out, I know things might be difficult but how would I go about doing this. I would also like to work while I am there if possible as financially it would be difficult otherwise..
Is this practical? I can probably leave my job here and return when I get home.
Thanks,
Simon.

[symonh2000]

I just want to add that I have been to Manila to visit my girl so I know that I could live there, and I know what the city is like.

[KeithD]

Don't forget to pack the gas mask then

[symonh2000]

Her wind is not that bad.

[KeithD]

[symonh2000]

Seriously though I am considering it with a lot of thought. How do I go about doing it? Do I need to get a job there, then a Work permit/Visa or do I need to get sponsored etc....

[Eljohno]

Seriously though I am considering it with a lot of thought. How do I go about doing it? Do I need to get a job there, then a Work permit/Visa or do I need to get sponsored etc....

To be honest i think it would be nearly impossible to get a job out in the Philippines with enough money for you to live on, if you consider where my wife used to live if you work in McDonald's you get 25 pesos an hour

[walesrob]

Seriously though I am considering it with a lot of thought. How do I go about doing it? Do I need to get a job there, then a Work permit/Visa or do I need to get sponsored etc....

You are allowed 21 days visa-free stay, beyond that you either need to extend it by up to 2 months (for a fee) at a local immigration office or re-enter the country every 21 days.

Work permits I am guessing are very hard to come by, due to high unemployment, etc. Even if you do find a job, the wages will very low compared to UK (Elsa tells me the average wage in Tacloban is £7 weekly, although Metro Manila would attract a premium)

[ginapeterb]

symonh2000

You should listen to Rob, he is giving you very good advice, the chances of you making a living are about zero, you could go for 59 days, by getting a visa from the Philippine Embassy in London, it costs about £45.00 or thereabouts for this visa, you can then pay a fine each time you want to extend your stay, but be careful, if you overstay without letting the Immigration know about it, you can end up on the black list, I would suggest, you check with the Philippine Embassy in London, about the length of stay you can have, for you to get a work permit, would draw some pretty funny looks at the Embassy, since so many want to get out, due to lack of work, why is it you are going in ? they will laugh at you.

as Rob has quite rightly pointed out, you can go for 21 days, go to Hong Kong for a day, and then come back next day for another 21 days.

Other than that, I cannot see how you would end up taking work there, its a dead duck Im afraid.

[symonh2000]

Well I suppose it would be difficult.. I just hope her Visa application goes ok. I still want to move out of the UK eventually though as I feel this country is fast going downhill.

[russ01539]

Unless you can work in a bank (ie HSBC) you will be paid peanuts, literally. As Rob and Pete said.

Try moving to Australia. I hear if you have the right skills they will drag you there kicking and screaming with your wife on your arm to keep the grin on your face. I looked into the same thing you were thinking and unless your lucky your not gonna be able to have the standard of living you were used to here. Apparently though Howard Marx made a go of it in Philippines for a good 6 months - but the pay off there was being b*m raped in some American jail.

Good luck.

[symonh2000]

I might try to apply to move to Australia. I ahve quite a lot of engineering qualifications so I might be able to suceed. I don't want to stay in the Uk forever, at the moment I cannot afford a house, have to pay a fortune for the dentist etc, get taxed too much, especially on fuel and have to spend lots of money in relation to my salary on rent. I cannot even afford a pension so will have to work till I drop.
I suppose if I was an illegal immigrant it would all be paid for by other tax payers or maybe if I was to commit a crime I would be taken care of by the government when released from jail..
Rant over.

[KeithD]

Do what our niece & UK hubby have done....bought a plantation, coconuts I think, as you get 3 lots a year for income. They just bought a house to go with it for 1Mill Pesos, not bad. Think the plantation cost about £10,000 but it's also a very good investment, and you pay others to do the work.

[jcjimc43]

Symon,
You will be able to get a visa for 28 days but you will have to continue to extend it.
As regards to work forget it as there are no jobs for expartiates unless you are sponsored.
Good luck on your G/F getting her visa.
You will have to prove that you can support her in the UK and that will require a bank statement as evidence.
Regards.
Jim.

[scotsfiancee]

You are allowed 21 days visa-free stay, beyond that you either need to extend it by up to 2 months (for a fee) at a local immigration office or re-enter the country every 21 days.

Work permits I am guessing are very hard to come by, due to high unemployment, etc. Even if you do find a job, the wages will very low compared to UK (Elsa tells me the average wage in Tacloban is £7 weekly, although Metro Manila would attract a premium)

Rob is right Its very hard to find job and when it comes to our wages here its just only a cents for you when your in UK!!

[tetla]

Manila is the worst place to live in the Philippines....Horrendous traffic, very polluted air........gets flooded during typhoon..and overly crowded.......

[Pauldo]

Manila is the worst place to live in the Philippines....Horrendous traffic, very polluted air........gets flooded during typhoon..and overly crowded.......

As mentioned already, there is nothing you can offer an employer there that a Filipino can't do for about 250 pesos a day. So guess who will get the job.

I've known people working there as managers in bars, or hotels, unofficial, and for not a lot of money, but you get the job by word of mouth and reputation, and you basically have to live there and frequent the bars for quite a while before you get to know anybody well enough to get such a job. (When I say 'manager' I mean a guy to hang around and basically be nice to expat customers)

Manila is probably the worst place to stay, and the worst place to try and find work. Far better to stay in the UK in gainful employ, while you try to sort the girls visa out, as you will be needing to provide documents and finance for her application as and when required.

Another tip; don't move to another country just to get away from the UK. Move there because you want to move there. The UK is not as bad as people think, and there are many, many far worse places to go. I know guys in Oz who hate the place, even though most Brits think it is gods gift. Same with the USA. I've worked with yanks who hate it and won't live there, for the exact same reasons you want to leave the UK.

[KeithD]

Gambling dens in the Phil work well.....but you do have to the local Mr Major to get around the law

[fred]

Gambling dens in the Phil work well.....but you do have to the local Mr Major to get around the law

I prefer your coconut plan.

[KeithD]

I prefer your coconut plan.

Would you like so see my coconuts?

[fred]

Would you like so see my coconuts?

I`d Love too..
What do you do with your nuts after you have cut them off? Do you split them open with a bolo and scrape out the insides or just send em off as they are?

[KeithD]

The wife likes to suck out the creamy white fluid

[scotsfiancee]

The wife likes to suck out the creamy white fluid

how does it taste then?

[fred]

how does it taste then?

Unbelievable!!You have never tasted buko juice?

[KeithD]

Women

[scotsfiancee]

Women

Hahahahhahah that buko juice is more sweeter