Philippines
Digital Nomad Visa · Manila
A brand-new 2025 visa for the English-speaking, island-hopping nomad: tax-free and ultra-affordable — but still rolling out, so confirm it's live and what it requires before you plan around it.
Flexible
15–45 days
1 year
55/100
95 Mbps
Very high
Tropical
UTC+8
Model your move to Philippines
Set who's coming and what you earn. We'll handle eligibility, taxes, contributions, living costs and what you'd have left — and compare it to home.
Staying more than ~183 days?
Affects tax residency for territorial & exempt regimes.
Your monthly life in Philippines
Pre-filled with typical costs in Cebu. Drag or type to match your life.
A nice place in a popular area
Power, water, gas
Home fibre + data
Food at home
Transit, rideshare, fuel
Private cover nomads usually need
Eating out, coffee, going out
Shopping, gym, subscriptions, misc.
You meet the income requirement
Needs $0/mo.
Your qualifying income
$6,000
$6,000
$1,327
$4,673
Tax in Philippines
Effective rate
0.0%
- Income tax / mo
- $0
- Social security / mo
- Not charged
- Total deductions / mo
- $0
- Take-home / mo
- $6,000
Under 183 days you stay outside the local system; your home country keeps covering you.
Private health insurance isn't required for this visa, but most nomads carry it — it's already counted in your living costs above.
The visa explicitly exempts foreign-earned income from Philippine tax.
vs. United States
Tax
22.8% at home → 0.0% here
Same lifestyle costs
$3,586 at home → $1,327 here
Money left over
$1,047 at home → $4,673 here
Estimates for planning only — actual tax depends on treaties, your residency and personal circumstances. Confirm with official sources and a qualified advisor before you move.
What it takes to qualify
Income & savings
- Monthly income (single)
- No fixed minimum
- Basis
- No official minimum published yet
- Combine two incomes?
- Yes
EO 86 only requires 'sufficient income from foreign sources'; no official figure is published yet (third-party estimates cite ~$24,000/yr — treat as unofficial).
The visa
- Program
- Digital Nomad Visa
- Introduced
- 2025
- Duration
- 1 year, renewable
- Max total stay
- 2 years
- Fees
- $150 (approx)
- Who can apply
- Employees, Freelancers, Business owners
- Bring family?
- Yes
Application plus issuance fees. Created by Executive Order 86 (Apr 2025) and rolling out via pilot; final implementing rules weren't confirmed published as of mid-2026. Open to nationals of countries offering reciprocity to Filipinos.
What you'll actually pay
Income tax
- Treatment
- Foreign income not taxed for nomads
- Headline rate
- 35%
- Tax residency at
- 183 days
- Employee social
- Usually home-covered
The visa explicitly exempts foreign-earned income from Philippine tax.
Good news
There's effectively no local income tax to worry about on your foreign earnings here.
Reviewed Source: Philippines Bureau of Immigration
Path to residency & citizenship
This is a lifestyle visa: great for living here now, but time on it doesn't count toward permanent residency or a passport.
Not a residency track on its own.
Reviewed Source: Philippines Bureau of Immigration
Typical costs in Cebu
Rent (1-bed)
$550
Rent (family)
$950
Groceries / person
$230
Utilities
$90
Internet
$35
Transport / person
$30
Health insurance
$50
Dining / person
$200
Cost index 37/100 vs New York · prices are about 38% of US levels (PPP). Monthly figures shown in USD.
Highlights & watch-outs
What makes it great
- English is near-universal — almost no friction.
- Tax-free foreign income and very low costs.
- Thousands of islands and a warm culture.
What to watch
- Implementing rules still pending — confirm with DFA/BI before relying on it.
- No official income threshold published yet.
- Infrastructure and traffic vary widely.
Reviewed Source: Philippines Bureau of Immigration
Compare Philippines
Head-to-head with similar destinations.
Moving to Philippines from…
See the tax & cost picture for your home country.