Moving to Philippines 🇵🇭

Introduction

Do you plan to move from Thailand or elsewhere to the Philippines? Siam Relocation will be your best relocation comrade. Our expert teams have decades of experience in this domain and are here to handle all your logistic and relocation needs. This article presents relevant information about how to take care of your move and especially about customs, different freight modes and your future life in the Philippines

1.1 Customs process

Customs procedures in the Philippines are quite simple in the case of a relocation.

Here are the documents required for shipments of household goods and personal effects to the Philippines:

• Original Passport with a stamped visa (9g 9d 47a2 13G or 13A)
• Bill of lading or airway bill
• Packing list
• Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN) (for returning residents)
• Contract and certificate of employment

The Philippines Customs system is based on the SITC (Standard International Trade Classification) of the UN. All duties are calculated ad valorem. You can find it all in the Philippines Customs Code.

You will have to fill an entry form at the Customs Office in the 30 days following your belongings’ unloading. If you don’t, your goods can be confiscated from you.

1.2 Taxes exemption

As is mentioned above, all household goods and personal effects are duty/tax-free at importation for non-residents.

For returning Overseas Filipino Workers (OFW), there are some conditions to respect so that no taxes nor duties are applied to the shipment:

• First, the personal effects must not arrive more than 60 days after the OFW.
• If you have stayed abroad between five and ten years, the maximum allowed amount covered is PHP 250,000.000
• OFW are allowed to bring in, tax and duty-free, home appliances and other durables limited to one of a kind.
• If there is an excess in the amount, taxes and duties will be applied
• Duty and Tax-Free Exemption Indorsement must be filed at the Revenue Office of the Department of Finance.

1.3 Vehicle importation

Bringing a car into the Philippines is an extremely inconvenient process.

First, in order to do so, you have either to be a former/returning Filipino citizen who was abroad for more than one year, or an immigrant, owner of a 13G visa.

Of course, if you try to send your car in spare parts, you will be taxed as much as for the whole car. The Philippines government just wants you to buy a new local car.

More, the administrative procedure is kind of a burden too. For instance, the owner of the car has to be present during the arrival of the vehicle, you need to furnish proofs that you will stay for over one year in the country, that you obtained the car legally, …

1.4 What duties and taxes will I pay for my personal effects?

Sample of a declaration for personal effect importation (this one is for Singapore but could work for Philippines as well)

Customs process

Drug Contreband

Explosives

Biohazard

Chemicals

Corrosive

Counterfeit

Ivory

Batteries

Flammable

Firearms

Drugs

Counterfeit notes

Poison

Pornography

Knife

Tobacco

Gambling

Hazardous

The Philippines are an archipelago located between the Philippines Sea and South China Sea. Consequently, there are no other options than air or sea freight to reach the country.

Storage fees at Philippines port

Storage shall be charged on cargoes that remain in any government-owned port beyond the “free- storage period“. The said period is defined for all types of cargoes as follows:

Why choose us?

Relocations are our expertise domain. The experience of our moving consultants gives us credit for taking care of your moving projects. We always try to do our best for you and provide you with a suitable solution.

Air freight rates

Like sea freight rates, air freight rates are linked to many factors that influence them: terminals, volume, weight, kerosene prices, …

Yet, one advantage with the Philippines is that you should not pay import duties or taxes for your goods so that’s one non-variable factor.

Why choose us?

The experience of our teams in air freight has placed us as a leader of the freight forwarding sector. We have agents in every country to coordinate your shipment proceedings. Please feel free to contact them for any request.

Let’s see together how air freight are calculated. The most important aspect that you have to understand is the difference between actual weight and volumetric weight. Once you get it, you can understand your air freight quotations.

*If the volumetric weight is higher than the actual weight of your box, the carrier will quote based on this weight. You can use online chargeable weight calculators to make it easier, now that you understand how it works.

Since we deal with relocations, we always have placed the client first when it comes to our services definition. We try to understand your needs as much as possible in order to provide you with the offer that best fits them.

3.1 Moving insurance

*No transportation mode comes without a risk, nor do air and sea freights.

There will always be a risk of big delay, damage, loss or theft of your goods during the transit.

To prevent such a disaster to be a complete disaster, insurances exist. A freight insurance/marine insurance/cargo insurance permits to insure your shipment against common risks like those related to weather, bad storage or fumigation services. But some also propose more complete service like covering piracy acts for instance.

You can go and see your bank, your general insurance company, a specialist insurance broker or us, SIAM Relocation, to subscribe to an insurance.

3.2 Moving with your pet to the Philippines

Before leaving Thailand, all animals have to go through a government’s vet check. Exactly three days before your departure, you must go to Bangkok Suvarnabhumi Airport, at the Custom and Animal Quarantine Office and ask for this inspection. During it, the vet will check if your pet is up to date about its vaccinations and you will need some documents:

• A rabies certificate, with the vet contact details in English. The pet must also have undergone a blood serology test to check for rabies antibody levels at least 30 days after the rabies vaccination. The test result must be at least 0.5 IU/mL.
• A copy of your own passport
• Your flight details
• Your pet’s microchip number.

Then, you will fill in an export request form. And the vet will hand you the documents needed for traveling and charge you 50 Baht per animal. Do not forget to have it all when you travel three days later: the original pet health certificate, the one made by the airport vet, and the export permit.

*Now, let’s see how the procedure will happen regarding the Philippines.

This request must contain the following information about your pet or pets:

• Species and breed of the animal
• Sex of the animal
• Age of the animal
• Country of origin
• Expected date of arrival
• Address, phone number, email address and other contact details (of the owner, of course)

After examining your file, the BAI will transmit you a Veterinary Quarantine Clearance and some instructions for the rest of the procedure.

The Philippines requires that a ticks and tapeworm treatment is performed within 48 hours of departure.

Your animal’s last rabies vaccination must have taken place at least 30 days before departure.

3.3 Packing service

A good packing of your goods will condition the safety of the transportation. The whole logistic process can be perfectly planned, but if you did not pack your goods or did it wrong, the result can be disastrous.

The cardboard packing boxes are the most used materials. And this is legitimate as they are quite resistant when made of good quality cardboard. More, they are foldable and easy to use and fill.

Bubble wrap will be used to take care of fragile items like glasses or any belonging that you want to treat with care and avoid all damages.

Wooden boxes are the most resistant packing materials. They can be moved with a high strength and will resist it. More, they can be used for a longer time than simple cardboard boxes, for instance fighting humidity in a warehouse.

3.4 Warehousing service

When you face a setback, an emergency or whatever mishap that could disturb your relocation scheduling, a warehousing service can save you. Example: you can stock your goods in our warehouses in Thailand, fly to the Philippines, stay there and then ship your goods once you are ready to receive them in the Philippines.

3.5 Office moves

Remember that we also have a department dedicated to office moves.

Thanks to our close experience with our customers through the years, we decided to create packaged offers to better fit your needs.

Despite that the archipelago is in Asia, the country can be very different from Southern Asia countries on some points.

5.1 Visa & Business

Visa

There are four working visas under which a foreigner can settle down in the Philippines:

• The 9(g) visa also called Pre-Arranged Employee Visa Commercial is the most common. It is quite ordinary among foreigners living in the Philippines. It permits multiple entries.
• The 9(d) visa is destined to foreign investor and traders.
• The 13(g) visa is for returning former natural-born Filipino citizen.
• The 13(A) visa is for any foreigner married to a Filipino citizen.

Business

Nowadays, the Philippines have a 6% GDP growth which is huge, even in Asia. Actually, in the long term, only China does better in Asia. Experts say the country will be the 5^th biggest economy in Asia by 2050.

The country’s economy is based mainly on agriculture, but some sectors are currently rising and full of hope for the future.

The online (mobile, online freelance services) and electronic sectors are currently booming with the progressive industrialization of the country.

5.2 Living in the Philippines

Overview

The country is an archipelago of 11 big islands and a total of 7641 islands. It is a highly catholic (around 80%) country of 100 million of inhabitants. The two official languages are Filipino and English.

Cost of life

Globally, consumer prices are 28% lower in Manila than in Bangkok. But the average purchasing power also is lower (by 11%).

Job

For Filipinos, it is quite complicated to have a job when you’re not qualified. But for expats, there is no problem. Head hunters look for skills especially among foreigners.

Engineers are particularly valued in the job market.

5.3 Local contacts