Expats who wish to retire in the Philippines or simply want to live there full time or part time and being not really retired are wrestled
with the same question and that is; how to get a permanent resident visa? There are a few ways to obtain one and you need have to pay some money for this permanent residency visa. Before we get in to this let me explain some simpler ways of more or less residing in the Philippines permanently. Believe it or not, a simple tourist visa may be the simplest and best approach to this whether you are a retiree or simply want to live in the Philippines most of the time some of the time or all the time. When you arrive in the Philippines at the airport all you need is your passport in hand. You are automatically given a visa stamp and you are good for a 21 day stay. At the end of that stay period you than can extent for another 38 days and that is a total of 59 days. After that you can extent at two month increments for up to two years.
At the end of two years, you are simply required to leave the country for a day and return and start the same 
sequence all over again. You can find cheap flights to Hong Kong, Thailand and Malaysia for example. This is when you do have to leave at the end of the two year period. Again, only for 24 hours if you wish. Some people, many people I am sure stay in the Philippines like this, year after year. You can do this for a life time. Sounds pretty simple huh? The Philippines has a very liberal and accommodating policy with visas for many nationalities, especially Americans so be respectful to the country.
A permanent resident visa issued by the Philippine Dept. Of Immigration is a visa that lasts for ten years if you have a permanent residence in the Philippines, but you must be married to a Filipina. This kind of visa is good for one year when first issued and after the first year you submit another reapplication. It will than last for ten years and at that time you will receive an I-card with your ID picture, finger print and personal information.
The application fee costs about 10,000 Pesos or about $220.00. There is also in addition to this an approval fee of about another 10,000 Pesos. You are also required to have a bank account of at least $10,000.00 and certification from your bank to prove it. Personally, I think for all concerned, simply having a tourist visa is the easiest most hassle free way of residing here. On the tourist visa, you can stay for almost two years and than you are only required to leave for a day and return to start the process all over again for another two years. You can do this in perpetuity.