Philippines Immigration Services

Newland Chase offers full support with all aspects of corporate immigration to Philippines. Please find an overview of the typical corporate immigration processes below. Every situation is unique, so please do get in touch, either through your usual Newland Chase contact or using the details on the right hand side of the page. Our immigration experts will be glad to discuss your needs in greater detail.

Immigration Summary

The 9(g) pre-arranged employment visa (commercial) is the work visa applicable to companies which are not registered with the BOI or PEZA to hire foreign nationals locally for executive, technical, managerial or highly confidential positions for at least one year. The 9(g) Visa may be issued for more than one year up to three years at a time. After arrival in the Philippines, an application for an alien employment permit is made. Once this is issued, a 9(g) visa application can be submitted.

The Special Non-Immigrant 47(a)(2) visa is the most common category for corporate transfers in executive supervisory, technical or advisory positions for Philippines Economic Zone (PEZA) and Board of Investments (BOI) registered companies, or government projects. The employer must apply to the relevant government agency for authority to employ the foreign nationals. The employer must be compliant with PEZA rules and regulations, including submission of its monthly corporate reports to PEZA.

Applicants who need to start work before the issuance of the work visa must obtain a Special Work Permit (SWP) or Provisional Work Permit (PWP) from the Bureau of Immigration. The Applicant can start work upon approval.

Certain positions where the applicant remains on home contract are exempted from the requirement to obtain an alien employment permit, i.e. company presidents and treasurers who are part-owners, and non-executive board members; consultants who are not employed in the Philippines; and intra-company transferees and contractual service providers who are executives, managers or specialists and who have been employed by the foreign service supplier for at least one year. To minimise denial of the work visa application, the Philippines-based host company may submit an application for a Certificate of Exclusion or Exemption from the AEP requirement.

The Multiple-Entry Special Visa (MESV) may be granted to applicants employed in executive positions by regional or area headquarters or regional operating headquarters of multinational companies and offshore banks duly licensed by the Central Bank of the Philippines. Applicants should be on local payroll and contract to qualify.

The Special Work Permit (SWP) category is for applicants locally employed for less than six months in the Philippines. It is issued by the Bureau of Immigration for an initial three months and may be extended once for another three months. Note that the visitor visa must be extended throughout the validity of the permit.

Restricted nationals require a 9(a) visitor visa for entry.