Yesterday, Emelie, Clyde and I took a boat to Sibulan, Negros Island, then a jeepney to Dumaguete City. I needed to get an extension on my visa and Dumaguete has the closest Immigration Office. It's a necessary process every two months and costs about 3500 pisos ($80 U.S. currency, at the current exchange rate). While there, I found out that I can avoid the hassle and expense by getting a "balik bayan" visa. If Emelie and I travel out of the country, we can get the balik bayan upon request. That particular visa is free for a year and can be renewed yearly. That is almost unbelievable here, where the foreigner is charged heavily for the privilege of being where the water, weather and women are beautiful beyond compare and the cost of daily living turns a U.S. pauper into a Philippine prince.
Then I asked the lady who works for Immigration - who is so pleasant, accommodating and informative, by the way, that it seems impossible she is a government employee - about a Permanent Residency. She referred me to the head honcho who was sitting in the office behind her. She told me to just walk in, which I did, with a little trepidation - a carry-over from my years of dealing with officious and important-in-their-own-eyes government employees of Uncle Sam.
He was just as pleasant and helpful. The listed rules concerning PR of foreigners state that the person must have the equivalent of $10,000 U.S.D. in the bank in order to be considered for permanent residency. He asked me if I had that much. I said no. He told me that if I had property or a business or regular government checks coming in, those could be used as part of the requirement for proof of financial support. I had all three. I was relieved to know it. After getting a copy of the application for permanent residency, we left and went shopping.
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