Philippines Long Term Visa Options: Work, Marriage, Retirement, Investment and Study Visas, and How to Convert from a Tourist Visa

What counts as a Philippines long term visa: six purpose-based groups

A long term stay in the Philippines rests on a purpose: employment, marriage to a Filipino, retirement, investment, study, or a special visa tied to certain companies. Extending a tourist visa is not one of them.

The Bureau of Immigration (BI) visa index sorts visas into immigrant visas, non-immigrant visas and special visas. That is how the law is organised, but it is not the most useful way to choose. The practical question is: on what basis are you allowed to stay?

• Employment. The employer first obtains an Alien Employment Permit (AEP) from the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), then the worker applies to the BI for a 9(g) pre-arranged employment visa. The BI 9G page describes applicants as foreign nationals coming to engage in any lawful occupation for wages, salary or other compensation.
• Marriage and family. A foreign national validly married to a Philippine citizen may apply for a 13(a) non-quota immigrant visa. Nationals of countries without an immigration reciprocity arrangement with the Philippines use the Temporary Resident Visa (TRV) instead. Mainland Chinese passport holders married to Filipinos go through the TRV route, commonly called MCL in the trade, not the 13A.
• Retirement. The Special Resident Retiree's Visa (SRRV), issued by the BI under the retirement programme of the Philippine Retirement Authority (PRA).
• Investment and business. The Special Investor's Resident Visa (SIRV), administered with the Board of Investments (BOI); the 9(d) treaty trader or treaty investor visa for US, Japanese and German nationals and certain enterprise managers; and the Special Visa for Employment Generation (SVEG) for foreigners who actually employ at least 10 Filipinos.
• Study. The 9(f) student visa for foreign nationals at least 18 years old taking a course higher than high school at a university, seminary or college. Those who do not qualify may look at the Special Study Permit (SSP).
• Company-linked special visas. Foreign personnel of regional or area headquarters and regional operating headquarters use the special non-immigrant visa under Executive Order 226 as amended by Republic Act 8756. There is also a special working visa under Section 47(a)(2); see our 47(a)(2) visa guide.

The 9(a) temporary visitor visa can be extended several times, but it remains visitor status. Every long term category above is anchored to a condition: an employer, a marriage, a deposit, an investment or an enrolment. When the condition ends, the status has to be dealt with; it does not quietly continue.

This guide only routes you to the right category. For the full list of visa codes and agencies, see Philippine visa types explained. For the difference between long stay and permanent residence, and how costs compare, see how to immigrate to the Philippines.

Match the visa to your situation

Two questions settle most cases: what is your reason for staying, and who files for you? The answers point to the visa, the filing agency and the main risk.

Four places where people misjudge the table:

• Parents rarely qualify as dependants. The dependants named on the BI and BOI pages are a spouse and unmarried children under 21. Bringing parents over needs its own route; see long stay visas for parents.
• A working person in their forties may not be a good fit for a retiree visa. The PRA has changed its age thresholds and deposit tiers before, so rely only on what its website currently says. Business owners are often better served by the SIRV or by a company plus a 9G; see retiring in the Philippines under 50.
• An investor visa is not a property visa. The BOI SIRV questions and answers limit eligible investments to shares in listed companies, companies in the investment priorities plan, manufacturing and service companies, and government securities. Wholesale trading shares and condominium units are excluded. For how the SIRV compares with the SRRV, see SIRV vs SRRV.
• If you marry a Filipino, your passport decides the visa. How to read the reciprocity list, and why Chinese spouses use the TRV, is covered in 13A or TRV.

If two rows seem to fit, choose the one whose condition you can keep meeting for years, not the one that is quickest to file. A status that depends on an employer you might leave next year is weaker than one tied to a marriage or a deposit you control.

Not sure which row you belong in? Ask Yixing for a visa pathway review based on your nationality, age and purpose →

Work and investment routes: status tied to an employer or to capital

Employment runs through DOLE before the BI; investment runs through the BOI before the BI. On both routes, a change in the employer or the investment means the visa has to be dealt with too.

Employment (AEP + 9G). The DOLE Bureau of Local Employment alien employment regulation page lists Department Order 248, series of 2025, as the new rules on employing foreign nationals. Once the AEP is issued, the worker applies to the BI for a 9(g). The BI 9G page sets out the steps: complete the form, submit for pre-screening, pay, attend a hearing, have your photo and fingerprints captured for the ACR I-Card, then submit the passport for visa implementation once approved. The page lists one-, two- and three-year validity options. If work must start while the 9G is pending, the BI issues a Provisional Work Permit (PWP). Short assignments of three to six months fall under the Special Work Permit (SWP), which is not a long term visa. For the order of the AEP and 9G, see AEP or 9G first and the full 9G guide.

Investment (SIRV). The BOI SIRV questions and answers require an applicant to be at least 21, free of convictions for crimes involving moral turpitude, free of the listed disease and mental-health grounds, and holding a 9(a) visa with at least one month of validity. The applicant remits the required capital to an accredited depository bank and places it in eligible investments. Applications go to the BOI Incentives Administration Service. The BOI SIRV downloads page separates a probationary SIRV from an indefinite SIRV and includes an SIRV annual report form. We do not quote the investment threshold here; check the BOI's current figure.

Other business routes. The BI 9(d) page covers US, Japanese and German nationals entering solely to carry on trade under a treaty of commerce and navigation, or a foreigner admitted to develop and direct the operations of an enterprise; see the 9D treaty trader visa. The SVEG page covers a non-immigrant foreigner who actually employs at least 10 Filipinos in a lawful and sustainable enterprise. Personnel of regional headquarters use the EO 226 special visa.

The downside. A work visa depends on the employer. A job change, a closure or a problem at the sponsoring company all reach your visa; see 9G sponsorship risk. SIRV capital is restricted: the BOI says the bank issues cheques only to the investee company or stockbroker, not to the visa holder. Both routes carry renewal and reporting duties that are easy to miss.

Hiring foreign staff, or weighing an investor visa? Let Yixing check the employer file and the AEP-to-9G sequence → · SIRV review

Family, retirement and study routes: where each threshold sits

For marriage, start with your passport; for retirement, start with the PRA's current rules; for study, start with your age and the level of the course. All three can be applied for inside the Philippines, on different conditions.

Marriage to a Filipino. The BI 13A page describes the applicant as a foreign national applying on the basis of a valid marriage to a Philippine citizen, and the first grant is probationary. The Permanent Resident Visa page then covers holders of a probationary non-quota immigrant status valid for one year who apply to amend it to permanent. Nationals of countries without a reciprocity agreement apply under the TRV page, which states that the passport is surrendered to the BI while the application is pending and returned by courier; asking to pull it out is treated as abandoning the application. For mainland Chinese passport holders the spouse visa is the TRV, commonly called MCL, not the 13A; the exact category and conditions follow current BI rules. See 13A or TRV and, for the 13A checklist, the 13A visa guide.

Retirement. The PRA SRRV page describes the SRRV as a special non-immigrant visa issued by the BI under the PRA retirement programme, open to foreign nationals and former Filipino citizens. While the application is processed, the principal's tourist visa must have at least one month of validity and must be extended if it would lapse. The PRA has revised its age threshold, deposit tiers and annual fee before, so we do not state them here; follow the PRA's current publication.

Study. The BI 9F page covers foreign nationals at least 18 years old taking a course higher than high school at a university, seminary or college. The SSP page says those who do not qualify for a student visa may still apply for a Special Study Permit. See 9F vs SSP.

Dependants. The BI 13A page includes an inclusion service for the spouse and unmarried children under 21 of immigrant visa or TRV holders, and the 9D page and the BOI SIRV answers set the same limit. Once a child turns 21, they need a status of their own.

Permanent residence. Converting a 13A to permanent is only one route; former Filipinos and quota immigrants have others, covered in permanent resident visas in the Philippines. Retiree and investor visas carry different rights, so do not treat them as the same thing.

Married to a Filipino and planning to stay? Let Yixing confirm whether your passport points to the 13A or the TRV → · SRRV · 9F student visa

Converting after arriving as a visitor: most categories convert in-country

Most long term visas do not require you to go home: the first service listed on the BI pages for the 9G, 13A, TRV, 9F and 9D is a conversion, provided your visitor status stays valid throughout.

The BI calls a change from visitor status to another visa inside the country a conversion, and the pages for the 9G, 13A, TRV, 9F, 9D and the EO 226 special visa all open with "Conversion to…". Four rules keep a conversion on track:

1. Keep your visitor status alive. The BOI requires SIRV applicants to hold a 9(a) visa with at least one month of validity, and the PRA requires SRRV applicants' tourist visas to stay valid for at least a month during processing. The same care applies to every other category; for extensions, see renewing a 9A tourist visa.
2. Past 59 days you need an ACR I-Card. The BI ACR I-Card issuance page requires tourist visa holders who have stayed more than 59 days to apply, together with their visa application.
3. Allow time for the hearing and biometrics. Most conversions involve a hearing, photo and fingerprint capture and, after approval, passport implementation. TRV applicants surrender their passport while the case is pending, so plan any travel around it. If a third party needs proof that your application is in process, the BI offers a Pending Visa Application Certification.
4. A tourist visa is not a long term plan. The BI FAQ page says tourist visa extensions have a cumulative ceiling that differs for visa-exempt and visa-required nationals and counts from your latest arrival. Border runs to reset your stay carry real risk; see the truth about visa runs.

Whether you can convert in-country also depends on how clean your current status is. An expired visa, unpaid overstay charges or a derogatory record must be resolved first. For a category-by-category answer on what converts in place and what requires leaving or downgrading first, see do I need to leave to change visa type. For tourist-to-work cases, see converting a tourist visa to a work visa.

In practice the order is: extend your stay far enough to cover processing, file the conversion, then submit your passport for implementation and collect the ACR I-Card once approved. Processing times depend on the BI's current workload, so check progress before booking flights.

Already in the Philippines on a tourist visa and ready to convert? Let Yixing check your authorised stay and sequence the extension and conversion →

After approval: ACR I-Card, the Annual Report and travel formalities

Approval is not the finish line. Long term visa holders report to the BI early each year, clear their departure before travelling, renew on time and downgrade when the basis for the visa ends.

• ACR I-Card. The BI FAQ page says holders of immigrant and non-immigrant visas, including temporary visitors, who have stayed more than 59 days must have an ACR I-Card. At renewal, applicants aged 10 and under are re-photographed and re-fingerprinted every time, and those aged 11 and over every five years, according to the 9G and 9F pages. See the ACR I-Card guide.
• Annual Report. The BI Annual Report page applies to all registered aliens and ACR I-Card holders except tourist visa holders. A January 2026 BI advisory cites Section 10 of the Alien Registration Act of 1950 and requires reporting within the first 60 days of the year, 1 January to 1 March in 2026. It also says departing registered foreigners must settle their Annual Report before an ECC-B is issued. See the Annual Report guide.
• Short trips versus leaving for good. Holders of a valid visa and ACR I-Card who are leaving temporarily get an ECC-B, which doubles as a re-entry permit or special return certificate. Expired or downgraded visa holders, and those leaving for good, need an ECC-A. See our companion guide Philippines departure requirements for foreigners and re-entry permits and SRCs.
• Renewal pending, visa expired, travel needed. The BI Interim Extension (Grace Period) page covers TRV, 9D, 9G and 47(a)(2) holders whose renewal is still in process past the visa's validity, and probationary 13A holders whose amendment to permanent is pending, so they may depart and return without affecting their status. Student visa holders who need a short stay beyond validity are covered too.
• Downgrade when the basis ends. When employment ends, for example, the BI downgrading service reverts the visa to temporary visitor status so you can stay lawfully. See downgrading before you leave.

There are exceptions. The PRA SRRV page lists exemptions for SRRV holders from the BI Annual Report, the ACR I-Card and exit/re-entry permits; follow the PRA and BI rules in force. The BOI also publishes its own SIRV annual report form, so investor visa holders have a reporting duty beyond the BI.

Keep your visa expiry, ACR I-Card expiry, the Annual Report window and planned travel dates on one page, and review it each January.

Lost track of your visa, I-Card and reporting dates? Send your documents to Yixing for a compliance check and a list of this year's deadlines → · Yixing visa and HR services