🇵🇭 Philippines

PhilHealth is open to foreign nationals, which surprises people. Retirees registered with the Philippine Retirement Authority, former Filipinos, and any foreign citizen living or working here with a valid ACR I-Card can register at a Local Health Insurance Office under the Informal Economy category. Members and qualified dependants get inpatient and outpatient benefits at accredited institutions. Excluded: the Z Benefit packages, any treatment abroad, and the women-about-to-give-birth benefit.

Typical cost: Annual premium is a flat figure, not income-based: ₱15,000 a year for PRA-registered foreign retirees and ₱17,000 for other foreign citizens. Most expats carry private cover alongside it — PhilHealth offsets a bill rather than clearing it.

Tip: pair with travel-medical + medical-evacuation cover.

Not taxed. Foreigners pay only on Philippine-source income.

The Tax Code taxes citizens living in the Philippines on worldwide income, but foreigners, resident or not, only on income from Philippine sources. A non-resident foreigner staying more than 180 days in a calendar year is taxed like a resident on that local income. The 2025 Digital Nomad Visa order (EO 86) sets no tax rule of its own. Source is the Tax Code as enacted; confirm current rates with the BIR.

Not tax advice — confirm with a local professional.

English is an official language alongside Filipino and is the main medium of instruction, business, government and signage, so it is widely understood in cities.