1 November 2026 · Philippine Retirement Authority and Bureau of Immigration

SRRV or 13A: the deposit is not the difference

The SRRV and the 13A both give a foreigner the right to stay without renewing a visa each year, and they are administered by two different agencies. One is bought with a deposit held in a Philippine bank, the other is granted on proof of marriage to a Filipino citizen and carries no deposit at all.

Two agencies, two legal bases

The Special Resident Retiree's Visa is issued by the Philippine Retirement Authority. On the PRA page as it stands today the SRRV is described as a special non-immigrant visa granting indefinite stay with multiple entry and exit, and the applicant qualifies on age, not on family relationship. The 13A is a non-quota immigrant visa issued by the Bureau of Immigration on the basis of a valid marriage to a Philippine citizen, and the Bureau processes it as a conversion, in two stages: probationary first, then permanent.

A status granted on marriage survives a change of address and a change of employer. A status granted on a deposit survives only as long as the deposit does.

What the Bureau charges for a 13A

The BI page for the 13A lists the fee by applicant: PHP 8,620 for the principal, PHP 8,620 for a dependent spouse, PHP 8,370 for a B16 dependent and PHP 7,870 for a B14 dependent, with an additional US$50 for a one-year ACR I-Card. The Bureau footnotes those amounts as updated 6 March 2014 and warns they may change, so budget the figure on the Order of Payment Slip on the day, not the website.

There is no deposit and no age test. What the file requires is proof: the marriage certificate, civil documents from abroad authenticated or apostilled, and the same name on both the marriage certificate and the proof of the Filipino spouse's citizenship. The procedure runs from pre-screening to an Order of Payment Slip, a hearing, fingerprint capture, then implementation on the passport.

What the PRA asks for an SRRV

The PRA sets out a deposit rather than a fee, held at a PRA accredited bank, and it remains the applicant's own capital. The option set published today reads: Classic at 50 and over with US$10,000 against a documented pension of at least US$800 for a single applicant or US$1,000 for a couple, or US$20,000 without a pension, with property under the option valued at no less than US$50,000. Smile stands at US$20,000. Human Touch requires a pension of at least US$1,500 a month, an accepted health insurance policy and a US$10,000 deposit. Courtesy and Expanded Courtesy are set at US$1,500. An additional dependent adds US$15,000, except for former Filipinos.

Separately from the deposit, the PRA lists a one-time processing fee of US$1,400 for the principal and US$300 for a dependent, and an annual fee of US$360 covering the principal and two dependents. The page states a minimum age of 50 and requires police and medical clearances valid for up to six months from issue, which is why the apostille chain abroad has to be timed backwards from the filing date.

The figure that does not settle

The PRA page has not been updated to match the reform announced in September 2025. Material circulated since then describes a reduced option set, a minimum age of 40, and Classic deposits of US$15,000 and US$30,000 at 50 and over, US$25,000 and US$50,000 at 40 to 49, with the application fee reported at US$1,500 instead of US$1,400. We publish both readings rather than choose one. Nothing should be remitted until the current band is confirmed in writing by PRA, because a deposit sent against the wrong option cannot be corrected at the counter.

The annual report follows the card

Holding an ACR I-Card creates the BI annual report, PHP 310, filed from 1 January to 1 March. A 13A holder keeps that obligation, because the immigrant visa does not remove registration. The PRA lists exemption from that report as an SRRV benefit, so the routes diverge on an annual task as well as on the initial cost.

How to decide

If the marriage exists and the civil documents are in order, the 13A is the cheaper route and the status does not depend on capital. If the route is age and pension, the SRRV buys indefinite stay without the annual report, at the cost of locked capital and a US$360 fee each year. Neither route authorises paid work: employment still needs an Alien Employment Permit from DOLE, and the SRRV is a residence status, not a work permit.