Philippines 9G Visa Explained: What It Is, Who Files, and Which Case You Are In

What the 9G visa actually is

The 9G is a non-immigrant, pre-arranged employment visa issued by BI. Its legal source is Section 9(g) of the 1940 Philippine Immigration Act (Commonwealth Act No. 613). In plain terms, you have a definite job and a sponsoring employer first, and the residence status follows from that job.

The key difference from a visitor status is that 9G status follows the employer. The company applies as sponsor, and your lawful stay is tied to that employment relationship. Changing jobs, leaving a job, or a problem at the company therefore affects the visa directly.

This page covers the commercial category, meaning a foreign employee hired by a business operating in the Philippines. Religious and missionary pre-arranged employment is a separate item in the BI Citizen's Charter and is outside this page.

The BI 2026 Citizen's Charter places commercial 9G with the Visa Processing Center and grades it Highly Technical, a higher grade than downgrading of visas, which the same charter grades Complex. That is why nobody should plan around same-day results.

Two permits, two agencies

Two documents are involved and they are not interchangeable. The Alien Employment Permit (AEP) is issued by DOLE, based on Section 40 of the Labor Code (Presidential Decree No. 442). The 9G visa is issued by BI. Neither can stand in for the other.

A simple way to remember it: the AEP answers “may this employer hire you?”, while the 9G answers “may you live here long term to do this job?” DOLE first asks whether the position should go to a foreigner at all, and BI then asks whether this person should receive resident status. If the first question has no answer, the second never arises, which is why the order is AEP first, then 9G. The order comes from the division of work between the two agencies, not from industry habit. See which comes first, AEP or 9G and our AEP guide.

Both permits are tied to employer and position. An AEP is issued for one person doing one job at one company, so a change in any of the three is a reason to stop and check. The validity of the AEP also effectively decides how long the 9G can be approved for, which many people only notice at renewal.

Who files: the employer is the petitioner

In BI's case file the employer is the petitioner and the foreign employee is only the beneficiary. Most of the paperwork therefore sits with the company: registration and tax documents, a job description, an employment contract and a certified headcount of foreign and local staff. These are the base documents both agencies read, and the employee can usually supply only a small part of them.

By issuer, the documents fall into four groups: those from the applicant personally, those from the employer, the AEP from DOLE, and the BI application forms. The itemised list is in our 9G documents checklist.

The overall route is: the employer sorts out its company documents, obtains the AEP, then files the 9G with BI, which involves pre-screening at the central receiving unit, payment, a hearing, and capture of photo and fingerprints. Once approved, the visa is implemented in the passport and an ACR I-Card is issued, with an annual report every year after that. Extensions, re-stamping after a passport change and downgrading on leaving the job sit on the same line. Every step is covered in the full 9G process guide.

Which case are you in?

The same phrase, “applying for 9G”, covers different starting points. Find yours first.

• You are in the Philippines on a visitor status and the company has decided to hire you: this is a first conversion, listed under BI Form V-NI-007 Rev 1. The AEP is new, and your authorized stay must still have enough margin when fees are assessed.
• You already hold a 9G that is about to expire: this is an extension, listed under BI Form V-NI-008 Rev 1. Company documents are reissued for the current year and the AEP is renewed alongside. See validity and renewal.
• You are moving to another employer: the 9G and AEP are tied to the employer, there is no transfer, and the new company is a new petitioner who prepares it as a first conversion. See whether you can apply yourself or change employer.
• Same employer, different role: how much changed decides how it is handled. See role changes and the AEP.
• Directors and seconded staff: an AEP may not be needed, but you need proof of exclusion or exemption, so “exempt” does not mean “no paper”.
• You want to start work before the 9G arrives: an AEP alone does not make you legal to work, and the proper bridging route is applied for separately. See legal ways to work in the Philippines.
• Spouse and minor children: each dependant needs a separate set of documents.

Things often confused with 9G

• ACR I-Card: the registration card issued after 9G approval, collected after biometrics are taken at the Alien Registration Division (ARD). The AEP is a physical card with a photo, while the 9G is a visa page in the passport. They are three separate items.
• SWP and PWP: both are short-term work permits from BI. They are not visas and cannot replace an AEP; they only let you start work lawfully in specific situations.
• Downgrading: the 9G is tied to one employer, so when you resign, are dismissed or the employment ends, it does not simply disappear. A formal procedure returns you to visitor status 9a, usually started with the former employer's cooperation. See our downgrading guide.
• Replacement and departure: lost or damaged cards, temporary trips out and leaving for good each have their own procedures, covered in 9G replacement and 9G departure.

The Philippines 9G visa process: from AEP to visa implementation

The Philippines 9G visa process is a relay between three parties: the company gets its paperwork in order, DOLE reviews the position and issues the AEP, and BI reviews the residence status and implements the visa. Each leg has a different owner, so when something stalls, chase the party responsible for that leg.

1. Employer prepares documents (HR or admin leads): current-year company registration and tax documents, the employment contract, the job description and the notarized headcount. No agency is involved yet, but this step decides whether the next two get bounced.
2. AEP at DOLE (the employer is the legal applicant): DOLE wants to know why the role needs a foreign national, so the job description, qualifications and newspaper publication must support each other. BI will not accept a 9G filing before the AEP is issued.
3. Filing and pre-assessment at BI (employer as petitioner, employee as beneficiary): obtain the CGAF, complete it and submit it with the full set to the Central Receiving Unit for pre-assessment. A missing item means the file is returned on the spot, with no case number.
4. Payment and hearing: fees are paid only after pre-assessment, then a copy of the official receipt is submitted and the hearing follows. The Visa Processing Center acts as the hearing body of the Board of Commissioners, and after the counter steps the file still goes onto an agenda, possibly with further evaluation.
5. Photo and fingerprints (the employee in person): taken at the alien registration counter, and you must be inside the Philippines.
6. Status check (company or employee): BI does not publish names online; match the application number on the official receipt against the agenda lists on its website, or use Visa Approval Verification in eServices.
7. Visa implementation and ACR I-Card: once approved, hand in the passport for implementation and collect the alien registration card. An annual report follows every year after that.

BI's website lists the same sequence of steps for a first conversion and an extension; the difference is mostly in the documents. For each step and common reasons for returned files, see the complete 9G work visa process; for why the AEP must come first, see AEP or 9G: which comes first.

Philippines 9G visa requirements, sorted by who issues them

The Philippines 9G visa requirements look long until you sort them by issuer. BI's checklist forms and its Citizen's Charter are not worded identically, so the safe approach is to prepare for both and follow whatever the pre-assessment counter currently asks.

• Company side: a joint letter request addressed to the Commissioner; SEC registration, articles and the current-year GIS stamped received by SEC (a DTI business name registration for sole proprietors); the current-year Mayor's Permit; the latest income tax return with proof of payment; a notarized count of foreign and Filipino employees; and, where the signatory is not on the GIS, a board resolution, secretary's certificate or special power of attorney.
• Employee side: passport bio page and latest arrival record; two original CGAFs, one of them for the ACR I-Card application; education and qualification documents. The employment contract is signed in original by the employee and the employer's authorized representative, with pay, term and duties stated specifically.
• DOLE side: a copy of the AEP, or for directors, secondees and similar cases, a valid Certificate of Exclusion or Exemption. Regulated professions also need a special temporary permit from the PRC.
• Other agencies: the BI Clearance Certificate; a quarantine certificate for certain nationalities; documents issued abroad must be authenticated by the consulate or apostilled, with an English translation if not in English.

First filing versus renewal: a first conversion uses BI Form V-NI-007 Rev 1 and adds one item an extension does not have, the actual AEP publication or the publisher's certificate of publication. An extension uses BI Form V-NI-008 Rev 1 with broadly the same items, but every company document must be the current-year version and the AEP must be renewed first. For an item-by-item check, see the 9G work visa documents checklist.

How long the Philippines 9G visa takes, and how long it is valid

There is no number of days you can rely on for how long the Philippines 9G visa takes. The total is three legs added together: notarization, authentication and translation on the company side; publication and AEP review at DOLE; and pre-assessment, hearing, agenda and implementation at BI. A follow-up request in any leg pushes everything after it, and the counter times in the Citizen's Charter only run until the file reaches the agenda, not to the end.

Rather than looking for an average, work backwards from when your current stay expires: when fees are assessed you need at least 30 days of authorized stay left, so extend first if you are short, and start foreign document authentication first because it takes longest. For a stage-by-stage breakdown, see the 9G processing timeline.

• Validity options: BI's website lists 1, 2 or 3 years, and BI decides what is actually granted.
• Link to the AEP: the AEP is generally issued for the term of the employment contract, and the time left on it effectively caps how long the 9G can run. The visa, the I-Card and the AEP each start their own clock and do not line up by themselves.
• Annual report: as long as you hold a 9G, you report to BI within the first 60 days of each calendar year, whether or not you renew that year.
• Renewal lead time: the employer initiates the renewal, and how early to start should be worked out from the company's internal approvals, document updates and signatories' availability, not from a fixed number of days before expiry. Renew the AEP before the 9G. See 9G validity and renewal.

What the Philippines 9G visa cost is made of

The Philippines 9G visa cost is not a single price but several payments to different parties. This page gives no amounts; it only lists the components so you can check a quote for missing or double-counted items.

• BI government fees: BI's website splits 9G fees into two schedules, one for “Top 1,000 Corporations” and one for other companies, each priced by validity option; visa implementation and the ACR I-Card may carry their own charges.
• DOLE side: the AEP application fee, plus the newspaper publication cost for a first filing.
• Document handling: notarization, consular authentication or apostille, and translation, costs that depend on how many documents there are and where they were issued.
• Accompanying dependents: each dependent needs a separate set of documents, with authentication and translation prepared for each.
• Agency service fee: only if you engage a professional firm, agreed between the parties and separate from government fees.

Government fees follow the current schedules published by BI and DOLE. Before comparing quotes, ask which parts are government fees and which are service fees; see what makes up the 9G cost.

The downsides you should know about

• You cannot do it alone: the petitioner is the employer, so without a sponsoring employer there is no 9G, and much of the pace is in the company's hands.
• It is slow and has no fixed number of days: the AEP and 9G together usually run in months, and the publication period, company follow-ups and agency queues all stretch it. Actual timing depends on the agency's current processing.
• Filing in the wrong order wastes a trip: without an issued AEP the counter rejects the filing on the spot, with no receipt. Your passport also needs at least 30 days of authorized stay when fees are assessed, or the stay must be extended first. A branch office that can “accept” a filing may not be able to “finish” it, so ask before you go.
• A valid 9G does not mean you may work: when an AEP lapses the 9G does not fall away automatically, but continuing to work is a violation, and DOLE and BI exchange data. For an individual case, consult a practising lawyer; this page is not legal advice.
• Finding a number is not approval: BI's agenda lists contain both approvals and denials, so read the whole row. Approval rests with the authorities, and nobody can promise you an outcome.
• Not a good fit yet: if the company is still being set up or its compliance documents are chronically incomplete, fix compliance first; see our company setup service.

Official sources

BI handles the 9G and DOLE handles the AEP. The BI site Bureau of Immigration has a 9G page and the agenda lists; the Department of Labor and Employment and its Bureau of Local Employment (ble.dole.gov.ph) host the AEP pages. Government sites end in gov.ph. Any site claiming to check a work visa from a name or passport number is not an official channel. If you want someone to run both tracks together, see our visa and HR service. Forms and processing times are subject to the current official announcements.

About this guide and Yixing

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Yixing is a private consulting company registered in the Philippines (SEC Reg. No. CS202009551; BI Accreditation No. CA-202624381-1). This guide does not name or rate other providers and does not promise any outcome; approval rests with the competent authority, and the rules in force are those it currently publishes. For legal disputes or case-specific judgments, consult a practising lawyer — this is not legal advice.