I'm sharing my personal experience with the SRRV visa…

I'm sharing my personal experience with the SRRV visa process, using Jennifer Terri Visa Consultancy - SRRV as my agent (marketer). I didn't go with Thailand because I'm not old enough for a retirement visa, and the DTV visa isn't what it used to be now that some people are being refused re-entry. I wanted a permanent visa that would let me leave and come back as often as I like without dealing with immigration much. The SRRV is exactly that, and you can get it at 40-49, before 50. Before this I lived in Thailand for a year on an education visa, and about 6-9 months in I wanted more information, so I booked a consultation with Jennifer. She answered all my questions and confirmed I qualified for the courtesy SRRV because I'm a U.S. military veteran. About a month before my lease in Thailand ended, I decided to go with the SRRV and booked another appointment with Jennifer. She asked for various documents, and I think I sent them within an hour or so. For me it was the DD-214, passport, and financial requirement documents. She told me the Thai police clearance would be faster than an FBI background check, which apparently isn't the case anymore, or I just got 'lucky', which I'll explain and warn against later (my recommendation is to go with the FBI or a state police report accepted in the USA). She got back to me that day or the next. She also got the apostilles done. She asked me to make the $3k deposit to the PRA or whichever bank, and I did. She scheduled my photos and, right after, my 30-day tourist visa extension in Makati/Manila, all on one day. All of this was scheduled for the day after I landed in the Philippines. Jennifer is really fast and thorough at what she does. She has an associate named Rona who works on the ground, works very hard, and guides you and goes with you to your appointments.

My only hiccup was the Thai embassy in Manila, and it delayed my SRRV by 3-4 weeks. Apparently they used to just 'okay' and stamp Thai police reports. Now they want an extra step, and they were no help at all. It was like a comedy movie. The staff member said I had to make an appointment and handed me some paperwork. I tried speaking Thai with her, the security guard and others, and they didn't answer in Thai, which is weird, and I'll say more about that later. Then she just walked away. I looked at the paperwork and all the appointments were in Thailand. So, to get it done without going to Thailand and save some money, I called the Bangkok law firm I'd worked with and had them handle it. Three weeks later I got it back and went to the Thai embassy in Makati again. I handed the clearance to the staff member, and she told me there needed to be hard copies, and I swear there was a copier right behind her. Then a man came up and told me there was a DHL 2-3 blocks away. I rushed over, made copies and came back… and 10 minutes later they were on lunch. I waited outside the embassy, went in, and gave the man the certificate and copies. He told me to come back next week 😆. I went back the next week and they finally stamped it.

Then off I went to the PRA with Rona. I did my interview, which wasn't that hard. Then I submitted the rest of my application, paid, and so on. There was some decent flooding around then, which closed the office the following week.

Jennifer and Rona kept in touch with me the whole time. Jennifer let me know when immigration approved the application and it was just waiting for the final okay. All in all, I think it took 4-5 weeks after the interview and application. Then I went to my oath-taking ceremony about 2 weeks later.

Jennifer scheduled everything as fast as possible. I literally had appointments the day after I landed in the Philippines. It's obvious Jennifer wants her clients to get their visa as quickly as possible.

Back to the Thai embassy in Manila: apparently others have complained about them too. One person complained that the staff grilled her in Thai and didn't want to help her because her Thai wasn't good enough. I found that funny, because when I spoke Thai to them they went very quiet and didn't answer in Thai. The staff member I mainly dealt with was no help at all. I knew arguing and yelling wouldn't help, but her lack of customer service skills is insane.

I highly recommend Jennifer Terri. The whole process took 3 months, including the 3-week Thai embassy delay and a week lost to flooding. Without the delays it would have taken about 2 months. I went to the PRA office in Makati, not a satellite office.

Sorry this is long, but I wanted to share my whole experience as fully as I could.