[Mind the Gap] Care to become a Filipino-American-Spanish?

Americans are restless nowadays: “If things get worse, I want somewhere safe and stable to go,” a familiar phrase that keeps surfacing in the news, on social media and in countless conversations across the country.

It’s not an exodus yet. But there is a movement of Americans self-deporting themselves to countries where you can retire and live comfortably away from the high cost of living in the US, with the added anxiety over the current political, economic and social turbulence.

For some, leaving isn’t an escape, it’s self-preservation. You’ll never know when you can get targeted for deportation even if you are a US citizen or a legal resident for criticizing Trump and his shenanigans, like Bruce Springsteen. 

Worse, you could be sent to foreign prisons without due process or detained after voicing out anti-MAGA rants in a rally.

The country built on “The American Dream” by the welcoming ideals of Lady Liberty: “Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free” is turning into a nightmare, a land in a cathartic transformation for the bad. A Banana Republic in the making.

Buying an escape plan is not only for the rich. Thousands of ordinary Americans are now applying to visa programs abroad, especially in Europe — usually in Portugal, in Latin America and the Caribbean, where island nations offer citizenship outright, with the purchase of property or local investments.

Rise of ‘passport bros’

With the Philippines being a popular destination for Americans and Russians seeking retirement, work, or lifestyle changes, we have a sizable and growing expatriate population, with Metro Manila being a popular hub.

The rise of “passport bros” in the Philippines — typically old American men marrying young Filipinas, establishing domicile in their American-style-built homes while living a lifestyle in luxury they cannot afford in America on their pensions and fixed Social Security income  — showcases how poverty drives these women to enter into a transactional matrimony cloaked in the language of romance. 

Many Filipinos, especially from modest backgrounds, see relationships with foreigners as both romantic and practical. These relationships can offer financial stability, travel opportunities, and the chance to build a better future.

No place like home

There has been a long-standing trend of some older FilAms choosing to retire in the Philippines for economic reasons: low cost of living, reconnection with family and friends, and healthcare affordability.

After working two, sometimes three jobs, some FilAms are on a reckoning if it’s time to live their “American Dream” in the Philippines instead, where their hard-earned dollars can sustain them a middle class standard of living, at a minimum: “Ibalik nyo ako sa Pilipinas!”

As FilAms face rising anti-Asian sentiment, political polarization, and a fraying social safety net, the romantic notion of sharing ice-cold bottles of SanMig Light beer with families and friends, this time for good, starts to sound less like nostalgia and more like a viable plan.

Filipino-American-Spanish passport

But for those in the hunt for a second or third passport, Spain offers preferential immigration treatments to Filipinos.

For dual Filipino-American citizens who want to gain a foothold in a European Union country, using your Philippine passport is a better and faster path to obtaining Spanish citizenship after just two years of legal residency in Spain.

The Philippines being a former colony of Spain, Filipinos get a reduced residency period — two years instead of 10 years if you apply as a US citizen — to apply for a Spanish citizenship to a Filipino wanting a second, or in the case of a Filipino-American, a third passport.

For €30,000 a year, retirees, workers from home and individuals with passive income can obtain a “Non-Lucrative Visa” where you can stay in Spain as long as you can prove through bank statements, investments, or pension proving passive income that you can sustain your lifestyle while in Spain without seeking work.

Unless you’re Bea Alonzo, who bought herself a Spanish residency via the Golden Visa program by investing in a Madrid property worth over €500,000, retirees on pensions or those with a tight budget can settle for renting an apartment to establish a domicile.

For two years, Spain only requires six months a year of continued stay, after which you can travel to any EU countries on a Spanish Residency Card without the stigma of using a US or Philippine passport, or go back home – until your return for another six-month mandatory stay in Spain.

After two years of residency, you can apply for citizenship that will allow you to work, and send remittances to your loved ones in the Philippines.

For many Filipinos, Spain holds deep historical and cultural ties. It’s The Motherland that molded the Philippines to what it has become now: a devout Catholic nation wallowing in corruption and poverty; enough reasons for you to become a Filipino-Spanish.

If only for reliving the legacy of the “Noli Me Tangere” and “El Filibusterismo” to reconnect with our colonial roots, language and culture – staying in Spain is not just moving, it’s coming home in a way.

This isn’t some fringe migration trend. It’s becoming a cultural undercurrent — Americans reconsidering the promises of their country and asking: “What if life is really better elsewhere?” – Rappler.com

Oscar Quiambao is a former business reporter for the Philippine Daily Inquirer who now lives in the San Francisco Bay Area.