(Eagle News) — Foreigners who were hired to work here by employers based in the Philippines may now be given work visas, the Bureau of Immigration announced.
According to the bureau, this was after Immigration Commissioner Jaime Morente issued an operations order allowing companies that wish to engage such services to apply for a 9(g) working visa on behalf of those foreigners outside the Philippines.
Upon approval by the bureau, the order granting the visa will be forwarded to the office of consular affairs of the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) which will then transmit it to the foreign service post (FSP) abroad where the applicant is situated.
The FSP will then issue the visa to the applicant who must travel to the Philippines within 90 days.
Upon arriving here he shall proceed to the bureau main office to have his visa implemented and registered with the bureau.
The bureau order was issued pursuant to a resolution of the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF) which authorizes the issuance of working visas to foreigners who intend to come to the Philippines for long-term employment with a Philippine-based employer.
The IATF said the visa may also be issued to foreign workers whose expertise will be tapped for foreign-funded government projects.
According to the bureau, at present, only foreigners who are already in the country and whose services are engaged by companies here are issued 9(g) visas by the bureau upon the filing of a petition for issuance of such a visa by those employers.
“With the promulgation of this new policy, would-be expatriates bound for the Philippines will be able to apply for their working visas, which they would present when they enter the country,” Morente said.
He, however, reminded companies to still apply for an alien employment permit (AEP) on their behalf with the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE).
“Those who fail to secure their AEP will not qualify for the issuance of a 9(g) visa and the petition for visa issuance by their employers will be denied by the bureau outright,” he said.