Balikbayan

Recent figures from the department of tourism (dot) in the philippines show that, of the more than 3 million tourists who visit the country each year, roughly 22 percent are filipinos living and working abroad. these filipinos are generally referred to as balikbayans. The official definition of balikbayans, set forth by the DOT, are “Philippine nationals who are permanently residing abroad … (it) also refers to those of Filipino descent who acquired foreign citizenship and permanent status abroad.” Furthermore, the Bureau of Customs in the Philippines delineates balikbayans into three separate classifications. The three classifications include (1) returning resident, a Filipino citizen who has gone abroad for at least six months and is now returning; (2) overseas Filipino worker (OFW), a Filipino citizen who has worked in a foreign country under an employment contract issued in the Philippines for more than six months and is now returning; (3) former Filipino, a former or current Filipino citizen who has acquired foreign citizenship abroad and resided in that country for more than six months and is now returning to resettle.

These legal classifications contrast the local usage of the term, where balikbayans more commonly refers more specifically to Filipinos who have settled in countries throughout the global north including Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, and most especially the United States.

Balikbayans are unique because of the manner in which they link the Philippine nation-state to flows of global capital and economic development. This is due to the fact that Filipinos visiting or attempting to resettle back in their homeland, along with their children, are entitled to a set of special benefits and privileges once they arrive in the Philippines. These legal privileges include exceptions from travel taxes, visa-free entry into the Philippines for a period of one year for Filipinos with foreign passports, and tax-free shopping at any duty-free shopping center for a limited amount of goods. These incentives are designed to encourage Filipinos living abroad to visit or return to the Philippines and invest money and capital into the tourism sector as well as local economies.

These legal exceptions serve to reinforce long-held notions that living and working in developed countries like the United States sets Filipinos apart from Filipinos living in the Philippines both economically and socially. By virtue of working and even permanently settling abroad, there is shift in the perception of their status in the country where they were born. Subsequently, balikbayans are neither viewed as compatriots or foreigners in the eyes of local Filipinos living in the Philippines.