Philippines Work Permit: AEP, SWP and PWP Explained, with Validity and Order of Steps

How many types of Philippines work permit are there: AEP, SWP and PWP told apart

Three permits are mainly used for foreign workers: AEP, SWP and PWP, each with a different issuing authority and audience. A quick comparison:

• AEP (Alien Employment Permit): issued by DOLE. It answers the question of why the role needs a foreign national rather than a local. The employer applies, and it is tied to the person, the position and the employer. It suits foreign nationals hired by a Philippine company for long-term work.
• SWP (Special Work Permit): issued by BI for foreign nationals who enter on a temporary visitor visa and do a limited stretch of paid work, such as a short project, technical support, a performance or event, filming or training delivery. It does not require completing AEP plus 9G first.
• PWP (Provisional Work Permit): also issued by BI. It is a bridge that lets an employee start work lawfully while an AEP and 9G application that has already been filed is pending. It rests on the receipt for the filed application and cannot replace an AEP.

In one line: short and finite, look at the SWP; long-term employment follows the AEP plus 9G main route; the PWP only comes in when the main route has been filed and you want to start while waiting. More on how the three relate in the SWP and PWP guide.

Work permit vs work visa: the difference between "may work" and "may stay"

A work permit and a work visa are different things handled by different agencies: the permit covers the lawfulness of the work, the visa covers the lawfulness of the stay. To work lawfully for pay in the Philippines, both layers are normally needed.

• The permit layer: the AEP comes from DOLE; the SWP and PWP come from BI. They only settle whether you may work for pay.
• The visa layer: long-term employment corresponds to the 9G work visa, reviewed by BI and sponsored by the employer as petitioner. It settles whether you may reside on work status. The employee then also arranges the ACR I-Card.

Two points are often missed. First, the usual order is AEP first, 9G second, because the 9G file normally includes the DOLE-recognized AEP (or a dated exemption or exclusion certificate). Second, neither the SWP nor the PWP changes your visa status: someone on a tourist visa with an SWP still has to extend the visitor stay, because once the lawful stay lapses the permit has nothing to stand on.

So "I have a visa" is not a reason to start work, and "I have a permit" is not a reason to ignore the stay period. Two documents, two timelines, tracked separately.

How to apply for a Philippines work permit: pick the route first, then see who files

The first step is not gathering documents but deciding which permit you actually need. For all three, the filer is the Philippine-side employer or inviting party; the worker is the beneficiary, not the applicant.

1. Confirm the route: long-term roles go AEP plus 9G; short roles with a clear end point point to the SWP; if AEP and 9G are filed and you must start while waiting, look at the PWP.
2. The new AEP process: from 9 June 2026 DOLE moved the handling of new and renewal AEP applications to its central office, with the Bureau of Local Employment (BLE) reviewing them. From 3 September, new, renewal, exemption and exclusion applications are accepted only through the official online portal; email, paper and walk-in filing are no longer accepted, incomplete files are not processed, and status queries go only through the channel named in the announcement. See the 2026 AEP online filing rules for the steps.
3. Gates before filing: obtain an Establishment Registration Number (ERN); publish the vacancy in a newspaper, since online job ads do not count; and keep the publication, contract and filing dates aligned. Exact time limits follow DOLE's current rules.
4. The 9G goes through BI separately: once the AEP is issued, the company applies for the 9G. That stage runs on BI's pace, outside DOLE's processing period.
5. SWP and PWP are filed with BI: documents, the handling office and processing time differ between offices, so check the current list against the company's registered location and the worksite. Do not start work before the permit is issued; filing is not approval.

With this many documents and stages, employers usually coordinate through HR or a professional adviser. Fees follow the authorities' current notices; none are stated here.

Philippines work permit validity: how each of the three is counted

Validity has to be read separately for the permit and the visa, and the three permits are not counted alike. Only points stated clearly in public official wording are given below; everything else follows DOLE and BI rules at the time.

• AEP: validity is usually tied to the employment contract term and capped by DOLE's maximum; it must be renewed on expiry, and a renewal can be filed as early as 60 days before expiry. The AEP is tied to person, position and employer, so a new employer or a substantive change of position usually means a new application.
• SWP: an initial three months, renewable once for a final three months, no more than six months in total, regardless of whether the position is the same or the sponsoring company changes. Renewal is not automatic and requires a fresh filing. If the same job will run beyond six months, the compliant route is AEP plus 9G.
• PWP: its effect ends when the 9G reaches a decision or the permit's own term runs out, whichever comes first. If the 9G is still pending as the PWP expires, whether it can be extended follows BI's current rules. The riskiest gap is a PWP that has expired, a 9G not yet approved and the person still working; that period counts as unauthorised work.
• 9G: BI's FAQ states that an initial grant can be one, two or three years, and an extension can likewise be one, two or three years following the contract term. AEP and 9G run on separate terms, so list them separately and set separate reminders.

If an SWP is nearing renewal or has expired while the person is still working, handle it under the current rules and check both the permit's validity and the visitor stay first.

Who does not need a Philippines work permit: exemptions are a short, listed set of exceptions

The default rule is that any foreign national doing paid work in the Philippines should have an AEP filed by the employer first; being exempt is limited to the few categories the rules expressly list, and the burden of showing it sits with the applicant. Commonly cited categories, with the exact scope following DOLE's current rules:

• members of foreign diplomatic missions and consular offices, and persons they employ under reciprocal arrangements;
• officers and employees of international organisations that have a formal agreement with the Philippine government; note that not every body with "international" in its name qualifies;
• recognised refugees and stateless persons;
• visiting scholars teaching, lecturing or researching under a formal agreement framework;
• holders of certain long-term residence statuses are covered by specific rules, to be confirmed against the current determination.

A separate concept is "exclusion", which looks at role rather than status. The typical case is a director who only votes and takes no part in management or day-to-day operations. Once the person actually takes part in running the business or holds an executive post, they are back on the AEP track.

Three reminders. First, most categories still require applying to DOLE for an exemption or exclusion certificate, and since 3 September 2026 those applications also go through the online portal only. Second, an exemption only removes the AEP; it does not remove the need for a suitable visa or residence status. Third, a company's incentives do not automatically exempt its individual employees. See who does not need an AEP.

What to do if a Philippines work permit is rejected: first work out which one was refused

After a rejection, do not refile straight away. First get the written basis and work out which permit, which agency and which layer of problem it concerns. Below is the approach for an AEP and for an SWP.

• AEP rejected: the decision usually states its grounds. Copying them out and sorting them is more useful than resubmitting the same file. They broadly fall into documents (missing, expired, not notarised or authenticated, contract inconsistent with the form), role (the labour market test not passed), employer, applicant and procedure (publication not done as required). Document and procedure issues can often be fixed by supplementing and explaining; role and employer issues need a substantively different case, or the employer must first fix its own problem. Which level hears reconsideration or appeal follows DOLE's latest rules.
• SWP rejected: first tell apart whether the permit was refused or the visitor visa underneath has its own problem. In the first case you may still stay lawfully but cannot work; in the second the stay must be rescued first. Then look at the reason: a broken document chain or a timing error can be corrected and refiled; if the role is in substance long-term employment, refiling will not change the result and the route should switch to AEP plus 9G. See what to do when an SWP is rejected.

Either way, between rejection and regaining lawful status, no one should keep working while waiting for the outcome; the risk lands on the individual and the employer alike. Processing times follow the authorities' current practice, and anyone who guarantees a result should not be trusted.

Yixing is a private consultancy; we do not decide for the authorities and do not promise outcomes. Where penalties or disputes are involved, please also consult a practising lawyer.

This article is general information, not legal advice. Eligibility, terms, procedures and exemptions for each permit follow the current rules of DOLE and BI.

Hiring a foreign national and unsure which permit applies? Send us the role, contract term and the employee's current status, and we will map the route and the order first. → Philippine visas and work permits