The 9G Principal Has Died in the Philippines: What Happens to the Spouse's and Children's Dependent Visas, How Long They Can Stay, and What to Move To

Three things in the first week: the death certificate, everyone's expiry dates, and the employer

Only three status-related tasks belong in the first week: obtain the death certificate, write every family member's expiry dates on one sheet, and notify the deceased's employer and ask for their cooperation. Everything else can wait.

The death certificate. It is the starting point for everything: immigration needs it to cancel the deceased's visa, the family needs it to change status, and insurers and banks need it too. It comes in several versions and different counters want different ones; which version goes where is explained in arrangements after a death in the Philippines. Get whichever version is available first, and request several copies.

The expiry sheet. List the spouse's and each child's dependent visa expiry, ACR card expiry and passport expiry. Dependent visas normally run in step with the principal's, so the dates will probably match, but check each one. This sheet tells you how much time you have and fixes the order of every later step. It takes ten minutes and prevents the worst outcome: the funeral done, and the family's own status in trouble.

The employer. The deceased's 9G was the employer's petition, and the dependent visas sit under it. The employer will cancel the deceased's visa and close the AEP, and at that cancellation the dependants' handling will come up. So speak to HR early: whether the family intends to stay or leave, what documents the company needs to provide, and a request that the family be told before the cancellation is filed. The employer's side of the process is in how an employer helps the family after a foreign employee's death.

No trip to immigration for the dependants' own paperwork is needed this week, and no status decision should be made in the first days of grief. Finish these three, then follow the order below.

How long the dependants can stay: not hearsay, but two dates and immigration's current practice

How long the family can lawfully remain depends on the dependent visa's expiry, when the deceased's visa is cancelled, and how immigration handles this situation under its current practice. There is no fixed number of days to apply, and anyone who tells you "you can stay for X" is to be checked against the immigration counter's own answer.

The structure is this. The dependent visa rests on being the principal's spouse or child. With the principal gone, the basis is gone. But the record does not change until someone files the cancellation, and the deceased's visa is usually cancelled by the employer once the death certificate is available. After that, how the dependent visas are treated and by when the family must change status or depart is set by immigration's practice at the time, which has not been uniform.

Three consequences:

• Do not assume you are fine until the dependent visa's printed expiry. With the basis gone, you may be asked to deal with it at the same time the deceased's visa is cancelled, however distant the expiry.
• Do not assume you must leave the moment it is cancelled. In practice immigration generally allows dependants a reasonable period to convert or downgrade, but what counts as reasonable is for the counter to say.
• Ask. Before or alongside the employer's cancellation, the family or its representative should ask immigration how the dependants in this case will be handled, obtain a written or at least explicit answer, and plan from that.

Overstay consequences are not waived for hard circumstances, so this period must be watched; see how overstay penalties work. If the dependent visa's own expiry is already close or past, the handling is in a lapsed dependent visa, but tell the counter that the principal has died.

A practical point: do not wait for the employer to finish the cancellation before asking. The cancellation and the dependants' status change are best coordinated by one person, the family's representative or a licensed agent, in the same period, so the company's side does not close before the family's side is ready.

Staying: the routes open to the spouse and to the children

For a family that intends to stay, the spouse's usual routes are employment and their own 9G, or a student or other independent status; the children's route follows the spouse's, re-attached to the spouse or placed on a student status of their own. The choice turns on circumstances, not on the deceased's visa category.

Spouse: own 9G. If the spouse has an employment opportunity, the new employer files the AEP and the 9G, the spouse becomes the new principal, and the children are re-attached. This is the most complete solution: the family's status again has an independent root. The handover from dependant to worker, including whether to downgrade first and whether work may start while the petition is pending, is covered in converting a dependent visa to a 9G after finding work.

Spouse: another independent status. Enrolment in a course, for example. Whether the change can be made without leaving depends on the combination of current and target status; see do you have to leave the Philippines to change visa.

Spouse: downgrade first, decide later. If the decision to stay or go cannot be made yet, downgrade to visitor status, extend as needed, and settle the funeral, insurance and estate matters before deciding. A voluntary downgrade closes the dependent visa cleanly, which is better than a cancellation imposed later. The process is in downgrading before departure.

Children. The children follow the spouse. If the spouse converts to a 9G, the children are re-attached as the spouse's dependants; the method is in switching a child's dependent status to the other parent. If the spouse downgrades, the children downgrade with them. A child of suitable age in school may instead take a student status of their own, with the school assisting; see the 9F student visa and the SSP. A child approaching adulthood faces the dependent visa's age ceiling; see when a child turns 18 on a dependent visa.

Other special visa categories are outside this guide; whether they apply is a separate consultation.

Leaving: downgrade, exit clearance, the children's school records, in that order

For a family that intends to leave, the order is: downgrade first, then exit clearance, and before departure settle the children's school documents and surrender or update everyone's cards. Do not go to the airport on a dependent visa whose basis is gone.

Downgrade. Apply to immigration to downgrade the dependent visas to visitor status, submitting the death certificate, proof of relationship and the dependants' documents. Then extend as visitors until departure. Many families assume that with the principal gone the visas no longer matter, but leaving without dealing with them means the departure counter sees a dependent visa with no basis and an unclear state. At best it means a filing on the spot; at worst, a record that affects future entry.

Exit clearance. Foreign nationals who have held long-term visas generally need an exit clearance before leaving, dependants included, with documents prepared against the downgraded status; see the ECC exit clearance. The clearance checks for open items, so the downgrade and any annual-report matters must be in order first.

ACR I-Cards. Before departure the dependants' cards are dealt with as the rules require, whether surrender or cancellation, per immigration's current practice. Do not simply take them along.

School records. Ask the school for transcripts, enrolment certificates and transfer documents, needed to re-enter schooling at home. Some of these require authentication before use in China; see using Philippine documents in China. Schools are slower than immigration, so request early.

Parallel matters. The deceased's bank accounts, insurance, final pay and benefits from the employer, and the lease are outside this guide but must move alongside the status work; they are far harder to resolve from abroad. See accessing a deceased relative's bank account.

Before leaving, copy every family member's documents, the deceased's included. Inheritance, insurance and account closures at home may all require them.

Children in school: enrolment and status are separate tracks, and neither should sink the other

The school governs enrolment; immigration governs status. A break in status does not void enrolment by itself, but schools verify status documents at registration, examinations and promotion, so the children's status must be settled before the school's next check.

Tell the school first. Most schools allow some flexibility after a family loss and will accept status documents within a period, provided you have told them. Say that the family's status is being arranged, when new documents are expected, and whether the child will continue attending in the meantime. The school will usually want a short written note from the parent for its file.

If the spouse stays and converts to a 9G, the child is re-attached and the school only updates the sponsor and guardian details; enrolment is untouched. If the child takes a student status of their own, the school participates in the application, and its international student office will know the steps. If the family leaves, request the full transfer package early.

The child's mood and schoolwork will both be affected in this period. Make the status track as smooth as it can be so the child has one less thing to explain. Schools may have counselling resources; ask.

Do not forget the child's ACR I-Card: a change of principal means a new card, a downgrade means the card is dealt with, and the annual report obligation does not pause for a family loss. The complete rules for children's cards are in ACR I-Cards for children and dependants.

Finally, if the child's other parent is outside the Philippines, or the parents disagree about the child's status, guardianship and travel arrangements may require legal process. Consult a licensed lawyer early rather than relying on the immigration counter alone.

What to ask of the employer, three common mistakes, and what Yixing can do

The employer's part is to close the deceased's visa and AEP promptly but tell the family before filing, to issue the documents the family needs, and to pay the deceased's final wages and benefits to whoever is entitled under the rules. Those are the three things the family can reasonably ask for.

Three common mistakes:

1. The family does nothing until the employer has cancelled, then finds its status in limbo. Avoid it by notifying the employer in the first week, asking for notice before cancellation, and asking immigration directly how the dependants will be handled.
2. Going to the airport on the dependent visa. A visa with no basis and an unclear state will be questioned at departure. Do not gamble; downgrade, then clear.
3. Leaving status until last. Funeral, insurance and estate matters all matter, but they can proceed slowly under a lawful status. Once status breaks, everything else stalls too.

When the principal loses the 9G through resignation or company closure, the dependants' logic is the same but without the death certificate and estate strands; see when the principal loses the 9G. The divorce case is in dependent visa after divorce from a 9G holder.

What Yixing can do. Yixing is a privately owned consultancy registered in the Philippines (SEC Registration No. CS202009551), accredited by the Bureau of Immigration (BI Accreditation No. CA-202624381-1, valid to 2027-06-30), by the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) and by the Philippine Retirement Authority (PRA). We are not part of any government agency and cannot promise any outcome. At a time like this we can prepare the family's expiry sheet, ask immigration how the dependants in this case will be handled, assist with the downgrade or conversion, coordinate the timing and documents with the employer, put the children's re-attachment and card updates on one timetable, and provide Chinese-speaking accompaniment so the family does not have to attend every counter alone. Reach us through Visa & HR services.

Requirements follow immigration's current practice; this article is a process summary, not legal advice. Guardianship, estate and inheritance questions should go to a licensed lawyer.