The op order.Seven steps to resident
Plan on 30 to 45 working days in-country from complete documents. Here is the whole sequence.
The short answer
How long does the SRRV take?
PRA’s own service charter commits to about 10 working days at its Head Office, and it says plainly that figure excludes Bureau of Immigration time. Counting BI, document prep, and the in-person oath, plan on 30 to 45 working days end to end, with you in the Philippines for the in-country steps. The seven phases below show where the time actually goes.
The seven phases
Screen
The $99 strategy session: route, deposit level, document gaps, written recap.
Prepare stateside
Pension proof, police clearance, apostilles, photos, PRA forms.
Set the money
PRA Letter of Introduction, accredited bank selection, inward remittance with the correct purpose line.
Fly in
Enter on a standard tourist entry with at least a month of validity runway.
Clear in-country
PRA medical certificate, BICC, and NBI clearance if you have been in-country 90 or more days.
File and wait smart
PRA filing coordinated with our accredited marketer partner; BI endorsement; 30 to 45 working days from complete documents, physically present. We track status; you scout neighborhoods.
ID and after
PRA ID issuance (your ACR exemption card), annual-fee calendar, and arrival support if you have the concierge add-on.
When you are ready, turn this sequence into bookable dates with the trip planner.
PRA figures verified June 18, 2026Sources
Delay points, plainly
Expiring tourist visas.
Name mismatches across documents.
Stale clearances.
The 90-day NBI trigger.
Remitting to a non-accredited bank or with a wrong purpose line.
Each one is preventable, which is the point of step 2.
A note on faster numbers
You will see 5-to-10-day claims online. They track PRA’s own Head-Office turn-around of about 10 working days, but they drop PRA’s own footnote: that figure excludes Bureau of Immigration time. Counted end to end, with BI, document prep, and the oath, the honest planning number is 30 to 45 working days. That is our estimate, not a PRA-published figure. The field note on why the five-day SRRV does not exist traces those claims to their source.
PRA figures verified June 18, 2026Sources
The op order.Step one is easy
One structured session: your route, your document gaps, your timeline, in writing.
SRRV Courtesy qualification is determined by the Philippine Retirement Authority on the documents. Many US military retirees may qualify; others fit SRRV Classic. We screen both routes before you commit, and we will tell you plainly if the SRRV is not your best option.