Philippines Work Visa (9G)
Philippines
Residency
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- Type
- Work residence
- Job fit
- People with a qualifying job or employer in the Philippines
- Core requirements
- Job offer, employer documents, and work authorization rules
- Renewal / path
- Renewal depends on continued employment and may count toward long-term residence.
Summary
The 9(g) Pre-arranged Employment Visa is the Philippines' standard long-term work visa. It's for foreign nationals with a signed offer from a Philippine employer — the visa attaches to that employer and that job, and runs for as long as the employment contract does (typically one to three years, renewable).
The 9(g) is the most common work visa in the country and is issued by the Bureau of Immigration. It's always paired with an Alien Employment Permit (AEP) from the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), which the employer must secure first. DOLE published new AEP rules effective February 10, 2025, tightening the labor-market test — the employer has to show that no qualified Filipino is available to fill the role.
Eligibility
You qualify when all of the following are true:
- You have a signed employment contract with a Philippine employer.
- The employer holds (or can obtain) an Alien Employment Permit for your position.
- You have the qualifications, skills, or experience the role requires — typically documented with a degree, professional license, or work history.
- You pass medical screening (no contagious diseases) and have no disqualifying criminal record.
- The role genuinely cannot be filled by a qualified, available Filipino — the employer documents this through the labor-market test.
The Alien Employment Permit (AEP) step
Before you can apply for the 9(g), your employer has to:
- Advertise the job in a newspaper of general circulation, on PhilJobNet, and with the local Public Employment Service Office (PESO) for 15 days.
- Wait at least 15 days after publication, then file the AEP application with the DOLE regional office covering the workplace.
- Pay AEP fees (around PHP 9,000 for a one-year permit).
The AEP is typically valid for 1 to 3 years and is renewable. It's not a visa — it's the labor-market clearance that makes the 9(g) possible.
Duration and family
- The 9(g) matches the length of your employment contract — usually 1, 2, or 3 years.
- It's renewable as long as the job continues.
- Your spouse and unmarried children under 21 can come along on dependent 9(g) visas, which don't carry work rights on their own.
Changing employers
The 9(g) is tied to your specific employer. If you change jobs, the new employer has to secure a new AEP and file a new 9(g) petition — you don't simply transfer the visa.
Path forward
The 9(g) is a temporary residency visa. It does not, on its own, lead to permanent residency or citizenship — long stays on 9(g) don't automatically convert to immigrant status. Naturalization through the 9(g) is possible but slow: Commonwealth Act 473 requires 10 years of continuous residence (5 years in some cases, like marriage to a Filipino citizen), Filipino language proficiency, and a discretionary judicial process.
What This Route Allows
If approved, this route gives you work residence in the Philippines. Renewal or longer-term path: Requires continued qualifying employment; any later long-term residence filing is separate and should be supported with continuous lawful stay, payroll, tax, address, and permit-history records.
What This Route Is Not
This is not a guarantee of approval. Immigration authorities can still review documents, admissibility, background, funds, and whether the facts match the pathway rules.
Next Steps
- Secure the job offer. You need a signed contract from a Philippine employer before anything else happens.
- Coordinate the AEP filing with your employer. They complete the required job posting, then file with DOLE.
- Gather your supporting documents. Passport, birth certificate, degree/transcripts, CV, police clearance from the U.S. (and any country where you've lived recently), medical certificate.
- File the 9(g) petition with the Bureau of Immigration. Your employer files jointly with you, either at BI headquarters or through a Philippine consulate before entry.
- Receive the visa and ACR I-Card. On approval you're issued the 9(g) and an Alien Certificate of Registration I-Card — the photo ID foreign residents carry.
- Renew with the employment contract. When your contract renews, the AEP and 9(g) renew in sequence.
Sources
- Bureau of Immigration — 9(g) Pre-arranged Employment Visa — official visa issuance.
- Department of Labor and Employment — Alien Employment Permit — AEP rules and regional filing.
- Department of Foreign Affairs — Philippine Visa Information — consular visa services.