Working in the Philippines: AEP, 9(g) visa and the alternatives

Estimated budget

AEP application fee reported at ₱6,000 under DO 248 (2025), down from ₱10,000; confirm the current fees, including additional years, with the BLE. Bureau of Immigration 9(g) fees: confirm with the BI (no current official schedule found online).

Processing time

Publication at least 15 days before filing; AEP and 9(g) together usually take several months; a Provisional Work Permit can cover the waiting period

• You may not start working before the AEP is issued; the employment contract only takes effect once it is.
• The employer must first publish the vacancy and your name in a newspaper of general circulation, on PhilJobNet and with the local PESO, then file not earlier than 15 days after publication and within 15 days of signing the contract.
• The AEP and the 9(g) are tied to one employer and one position: they are not a general right to work.

Myth: The 9(g) is my work permit, the AEP is just paperwork. Reality: They are two permits from two agencies: DOLE authorizes the job (AEP), the BI authorizes the stay (9(g)).

Myth: The AEP is valid for five years. Reality: DOLE issues it for one year or the contract length, up to three years per issuance, then it must be renewed.

Estimated budget

BI fee for the Special Work Permit: confirm with the BI (no current official schedule found online).

Processing time

Usually issued for up to 3 months, renewable once, for a maximum of 6 months (published guides; confirm with the BI)

• The Special Work Permit lets a temporary visitor perform short-term work; it is filed with the BI by a sponsoring company, before work starts.
• If the work goes beyond 6 months or becomes regular employment, an AEP and a 9(g) are needed.
• Regulated professions still need the matching professional permit (for example a PRC Special Temporary Permit).

Myth: Short jobs need no permit at all. Reality: Any work in the Philippines needs an authorization; for short assignments it is usually the Special Work Permit.

Estimated budget

Certificate of Exclusion: ₱2,000 per issuance under the 2021 DOLE schedule; confirm the current fee with the BLE. Visa fees: confirm with the BI.

Processing time

DOLE 2021 standard: 3 working days after a complete file; check current BLE processing times

• Excluded categories include voting board members who do not manage day-to-day operations, part-owner officers such as the president and treasurer, and intra-corporate transferees with at least one year with the group.
• The certificate must be obtained before you start; being excluded is not the same as needing nothing.
• The exclusion covers DOLE only: you still need a visa that allows the activity, usually a 9(g).

Myth: As the owner I can work in my company on a tourist visa. Reality: The exclusion removes the AEP, not the visa: you still need an immigration status that allows the work.

Estimated budget

No single figure: PRC, DOJ, DOLE and BI fees add up. Confirm with each agency.

Processing time

Add the PRC or DOJ step before the AEP; allow extra weeks

• A regulated profession (engineering, medicine, nursing, architecture, accountancy, teaching and others) requires a PRC Special Temporary Permit before the AEP.
• In nationalized activities (for example mass media or retail below the legal capital threshold), foreigners may only hold technical positions with a DOJ authority, and some jobs are closed to them.
• Working in such a field without the specific permit exposes the employer to the Anti-Dummy Law and you to visa cancellation.

Myth: My foreign license lets me practise in the Philippines. Reality: Only with a PRC Special Temporary Permit, and only for the purpose and period it covers.

Estimated budget

AEP renewal: ₱5,000 under the 2021 DOLE schedule; confirm the current fee with the BLE. 9(g) extension and ACR I-Card: confirm with the BI.

Processing time

AEP renewal can be filed up to 60 days before expiry (2021 DOLE rule); file the 9(g) extension before the visa expires

• Working even one day after the AEP expires counts as unauthorized work.
• The 9(g) extension needs the renewed AEP, so a late AEP delays everything.
• Renewals usually require proof that the understudy or skills development program was carried out, when the employer is subject to it.

Myth: The 9(g) is still valid, so I can work while the AEP is renewed. Reality: Both must be valid; the AEP is the authorization to work.

Estimated budget

New AEP or amended AEP: confirm with the BLE. 9(g) extension and new ACR I-Card: confirm with the BI.

Processing time

Notice of Promotion before the new role starts; 9(g) extension within 30 days of the BI receiving it

• A promoted 9(g) holder in the same company no longer has to downgrade to a tourist visa and reconvert.
• The company must file a Notice of Promotion with the BI before you take up the new position, then the 9(g) extension within 30 days.
• Failure leads to denial of the extension, cancellation of the 9(g) and an Order to Leave.

Myth: A promotion inside the same company changes nothing for my visa. Reality: It must be reported to the BI before you start, then the 9(g) extended.

Estimated budget

New AEP and new 9(g): same fees as a first application; confirm with the BLE and the BI.

Processing time

A new full process; you may not work for the new employer until it is complete

• Your AEP and 9(g) belong to your current employer and position; they do not follow you to a new company.
• The old AEP should be cancelled with the employer's clearance; if the employer refuses, DOLE accepts a notarized affidavit and a request for clearance.
• Working for the new employer before its AEP is issued is unauthorized work for both of you.

Myth: My 9(g) is valid for two more years, so I can work anywhere. Reality: It is valid only for the employer and position it was issued for.

Estimated budget

Downgrading and ECC: confirm with the BI. Staying without valid status leads to overstay fines.

Processing time

Act as soon as the end date is known; do not wait for the visa expiry date

• The 9(g) rests on the job: once it ends, the visa no longer has a basis even if the card shows a later date.
• To stay, you must change to another status (usually a tourist visa by downgrading); to leave for good, a holder of a work visa usually needs an Emigration Clearance Certificate (ECC).
• Remaining or working after the job ends without changing status can lead to fines, deportation and blacklisting.

Myth: My visa is valid until the date on my ACR I-Card. Reality: The 9(g) depends on the job; when the job ends, you must change status or leave.

Estimated budget

No permit fee for this situation as such; tourist visa extension fees apply.

Processing time

Not applicable

• The digital nomad visa created in 2025 has no published implementing rules and no application channel as of October 2026.
• A tourist visa does not authorize work; remote work for a foreign employer is tolerated in practice but not expressly permitted.
• Working for a Philippine company or Philippine clients on a tourist visa is illegal work.

Myth: The Philippines has a digital nomad visa, I just need to apply. Reality: The executive order exists, but as of October 2026 applications cannot be filed.

Estimated budget

Certificate of Exemption: ₱2,000 per issuance under the 2021 DOLE schedule; confirm the current fee with the BLE.

Processing time

DOLE 2021 standard: 3 working days after a complete file; check current BLE processing times

• Holders of a probationary or permanent 13(a) or another resident visa do not need an AEP.
• Under DO 248 you must still obtain a DOLE Certificate of Exemption before you start working.
• Your right to work follows your resident visa: if the marriage ends and the 13(a) is lost, so is the exemption.

Myth: With a 13(a), I need nothing at all to work. Reality: No AEP, but a Certificate of Exemption from DOLE before starting.

Estimated budget

AEP application fee reported at ₱6,000 under DO 248 (2025); confirm with the BLE. No 9(g) needed: the SRRV stays your visa.

Processing time

Same AEP steps as other foreign workers

• The SRRV is a residence visa for retirees, not a work authorization: employment still needs an AEP from DOLE.
• Your employer follows the same publication and filing rules as for any foreign hire.
• Running your own business is a separate question: check the foreign ownership limits for the activity.

Myth: Retirees are not allowed to work. Reality: SRRV holders may work, provided DOLE issues an AEP.

Estimated budget

DOLE fine reported at ₱10,000 for the foreign national and ₱10,000 for the employer for each year or fraction of unauthorized work, plus BI proceedings and costs.

Processing time

Stop now; regularization takes the full AEP and 9(g) process

• A tourist visa does not allow any employment, paid or unpaid, for a Philippine employer or business.
• The BI regularly arrests foreigners working without permits; the usual outcome is deportation and inclusion in the blacklist.
• DOLE can also bar the worker and the employer from AEP applications for several years.

Myth: If I am paid abroad or in cash, it is not work. Reality: Working for a Philippine business is employment whatever the payment method.