Philippines SRRV deposit: it can buy a condo later, but only as the last payment

On the Classic option the deposit can later go into a condominium or a lease of 25 years or more, but only from 30 days after the visa is issued, and for a purchase only as the final payment. A developer or seller who wants the deposit before your visa has the order backwards.

The order of steps decides whether the deposit can also pay for a home. The money is remitted from a bank abroad to a bank the retirement authority accredits, and it stays there until the visa is issued and for 30 days after. Only then may it be converted into a home. For a condominium purchase, the authority's checklist lets the deposit pay only the last instalment: what you still owe must be no more than the deposit, and it is released once, to the developer or, on a resale, to the owner selling the unit. Everything before that last payment is paid from your own funds.

The figure above is the smallest deposit on the Classic option, for an applicant aged 50 or over with a lifetime pension, proven at a monthly minimum that is higher for someone bringing dependants. At 50 or over with no pension, the deposit is twice the figure above. Between 40 and 49, a pensioner places an amount between those two, and someone with no pension more than three times the figure above. Each dependant beyond two adds the same amount as the figure above, except for former Filipinos.

Buying with the deposit

The authority's checklist names the Classic deposit for condominium purchases, and the property must be worth at least a minimum value the authority sets. The title is annotated so that any sale or transfer needs the authority's approval. You undertake to deliver that title within 180 days, jointly with the seller on a resale. Buying from a developer also needs a surety bond for the deposit's value, and if the title does not arrive, the full deposit must go back. A pre-selling unit qualifies only in a project the authority has accredited as a retirement facility.

Leasing with the deposit

A lease must run at least 25 years and be worth at least the authority's minimum. The deposit is paid to the landlord unless you prove the whole lease is already paid. The owner's title must carry the authority's annotation before conversion begins, and an officer inspects the property first.

Separating the authority's charges from the firm's

A marketer accredited by the authority may handle the application, and when the deposit is meant for a home, a developer or seller is a party to the deal as well.

To the retirement authority:

• The processing fee for the main applicant plus the first year's annual fee, shown above as the government fee: the upper end is the Classic option, the lower end the Courtesy option for former Filipinos. On top come an application fee for each joining dependant, the annual fee every year after, and on the Classic option a further annual fee for each dependant beyond two.

To the firm:

• The marketer's service fee, itemised alone, and kept apart from any price for a unit.

Ask the marketer or developer:

1. Which option and which deposit band apply to you, given your age on the day you apply and any pension you can prove?
2. Which accredited bank will receive the remittance, and in whose name?
3. If the deposit is meant for a home, is it booked only for the final payment, after the visa and the 30-day wait?
4. For a unit not yet built, has the authority accredited the project as a retirement facility?
5. Who delivers the annotated title within 180 days, and, on a developer sale, who pays for the surety bond?

Holding a developer's offer or purchase contract that counts the visa deposit towards the price, or a marketer's quote for the visa? Answer yes at the top of the box, and the document is gone through line by line against the authority's published rules and the prices firms on file publish for this visa. Without one, answer no and enter the deposit you expect to remit. The check compares a document or a figure with the published rules, and does not look at your application or advise on it; for advice on your own case, speak to a qualified immigration lawyer.

General information, not legal advice.