SIRV Processing Time and Cost: How Long the BOI and BI Stages Take, What the Official Fees Are, and Whether to Register the Company First (2026)

How Long Does an SIRV Take and How Much Does It Cost? The Whole Bill First

Line up the figures the two agencies publish and you have the real cost structure. For a single applicant investing in a new corporation:

• Investment threshold: at least USD 75,000 remitted into the Philippines and invested in an economic activity eligible under Book V of the Omnibus Investments Code (BOI SIRV Q&A, Q1; CC2026 p.3262). This is capital, not a fee.
• BOI probationary endorsement: application fee of USD 300 in peso equivalent (BOI Citizen's Charter, "Probationary SIRV"; Q&A Q12); BOI's own total is 6 working days 7 hours, the Q&A says 7 working days.
• BI probationary visa: PHP 10,610 for an adult, PHP 9,860 for a minor (CC2026 p.3264); the Makati Extension Office commits to 4 working days 4 hours 34 minutes (CC2026 p.3263), while BOI's Q&A says "BI minimum of 10 working days".
• Invest within 180 days: the probationary visa is valid 6 months, i.e. 180 days, and the time deposit must be converted into an eligible investment inside that window (Q&A Q13).
• Conversion to indefinite: BOI filing fee PHP 2,000 per person and a BI fee of PHP 1,010 per person (BOI Citizen's Charter, "Indefinite SIRV", requirements 4 and 6); BI's Makati block separately lists "Probationary to Indefinite PHP 1,510" (CC2026 p.3264). BOI's total is 6.5 working days 7 hours; the Q&A says BOI 7 working days plus BI at least 10.
• SIRV ID card: PHP 2,000 per person, valid 1 year and renewed yearly (Q&A Q19, Q23).

Total: about USD 300 + PHP 10,610 + 2,000 + 1,010 (or 1,510) + 2,000, i.e. USD 300 plus PHP 16,000 to 20,000 in official fees. On time, expect 3 to 5 weeks from BOI filing to a probationary visa in the passport, then up to 180 days to invest, then a second round of 3 to 4 weeks, which puts the indefinite visa at 4 to 8 months overall. All figures are subject to each agency's current assessment. One BI trap in particular: the "Total PHP 23,440" printed on the Makati block is the system adding all four fee lines together, not what one person pays.

How the SIRV compares with the SRRV and who each suits is not covered here; see SIRV investor visa versus SRRV retirement visa.

Where the USD 75,000 Must Go: The Boundaries of an Eligible Investment

The money must come in first and land second. BOI's Q&A spells out the route: the applicant writes to BOI's Incentives Administration Service (IAS) stating the intention to apply, BOI issues an endorsement letter to the accredited depository bank, and the applicant remits the USD 75,000 to that bank and opens a peso time deposit (Q&A Q3). BOI's charter names the accredited banks as the Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP), Landbank, Security Bank and EastWest (BOI Citizen's Charter, "Probationary SIRV", requirement 7). The deposit runs 30 to 180 days and earns interest at the bank's approved rate, net of tax (Q&A Q14).

During the probationary period the deposit may only be converted into the following (Q&A Q6):

• shares in publicly listed companies;
• companies in areas listed in the Investment Priorities Plan (IPP/SIPP);
• manufacturing and services companies, with services defined by the UN product classification to include business services such as BPO and consultancy, communications, construction and engineering, distribution, education, environmental, financial, health, tourism, recreation and sports, and transport;
• government securities.

Expressly not eligible: shares in wholesale trading companies, condominium units (allowed under old rules, no longer), and restaurants, which BOI classifies as retail, outside the eligible list and subject to the Retail Trade Law (Q&A Q6, Q7). Nor can you withdraw the deposit and invest it yourself: the bank issues a cheque payable only to the target corporation or the stockbroker (Q&A Q8). That single rule is what creates the "register the company first?" question, dealt with below. How much a foreigner may own is in industries fully open to foreign ownership.

The BOI Stage: Documents, Fees and 7 Working Days

BOI's "Issuance of Endorsement for Probationary SIRV" is classified as a Complex transaction handled by the Non-fiscal Incentives Division of the Incentives Administration Service; the applicant must be at least 21 (BOI Citizen's Charter, "Probationary SIRV"). Three sets are filed (1 original, 2 photocopies):

• Form F-IS-NFID-008 for the principal, F-IS-NFID-009 for each dependent;
• a signed, notarized Deed of Undertaking (principal only);
• for the principal and dependents aged 14 and above: a Personal History Statement (NICA format), and a police clearance issued abroad, translated into English and authenticated by the Philippine embassy or consulate, or a clearance from the NBI's International Operations Division, valid 6 months;
• a medical certificate authenticated by the Bureau of Quarantine of the Department of Health, valid 6 months;
• birth certificate or family/household registry, and marriage contract if applicable, authenticated by the Philippine embassy or consulate;
• proof of inward remittance from an accredited bank;
• passport with updated stay (BOI Citizen's Charter, "Probationary SIRV", requirements 1-8).

Steps and time (same block): completeness check on filing, 15 minutes; payment of the USD 300 equivalent and Records Section logging, 1 working day; technical evaluation, 3.5 working days; Director's and Executive Director's review and signature, 1 working day each; release of the endorsement copy; total 6 working days 7 hours. BOI's liaison officer then transmits the endorsement and supporting documents to BI (BOI Citizen's Charter, step 5).

The stage stalls most often on the three "foreign" documents: police clearance, medical and family records all need authentication and all carry a 6-month validity. Choosing between apostille and consular authentication is covered in apostille versus consular authentication; applicants already in the Philippines who plan to use an NBI clearance instead should read how to get an NBI clearance.

The BI Stage: Makati Extension Office, PHP 10,610 and 4 Working Days

BI receives SIRV files at the Makati Immigration Extension Office; BI's Directory of Transactions marks it "receiving and processing, with endorsement from the Board of Investments", and it is the only SIRV block in the whole 2026 charter (CC2026 p.3262). Only three items are required: the original BOI endorsement letter, a valid passport, and the National ID number under Memorandum No. 2025-122 (CC2026 p.3262).

The fee schedule (CC2026 p.3264):

• Probationary visa: adult PHP 10,610, minor PHP 9,860;
• Extension of probationary SIRV: PHP 1,460;
• Probationary to Indefinite: PHP 1,510.

The steps (CC2026 p.3262-3263): derogatory record check and a "No Derogatory Record Found" stamp on the endorsement; order of payment and payment; the BOI liaison transmits the endorsement and documents; Makati drafts the order and the Acting Alien Control Officer reviews it; the order travels to and from the Office of the Deputy Commissioner at Main Office, 4 working days; the BOI liaison collects the approved order and submits the passport; the visa is implemented; the passport is released; total 4 working days 4 hours 34 minutes. Note that steps 6 and 7 are marked "to be done by the BOI liaison": you do not have to go to Makati yourself, but your passport does leave your hands for the sticker.

Keep the two figures apart in your planning. The charter's 4 working days is the office's ARTA service commitment; BOI's "minimum of 10 working days" is expectation management for applicants. Plan around 10; anything faster is a bonus.

The USD 75,000 is in, the time deposit is earning, and only then does it turn out the medical certificate was never authenticated by the Bureau of Quarantine. Every day of that rework is a day out of the 180-day investment window. Let us check the whole BOI document set before you remit →

Register the Company First or Apply for the SIRV First? Two Sequences, Two Timelines

Because the deposit can only leave the bank as a cheque to the target company or broker (Q&A Q8), there has to be a payee before the investment can land. That is what creates the sequencing question:

Sequence A: apply for the SIRV first, then register and invest during the probationary period. Remit USD 75,000, obtain BOI's endorsement, obtain BI's probationary visa (about 3-5 weeks), then within 180 days complete SEC registration, inject the deposit into the company by cheque, and apply for conversion on the strength of the company's papers. This suits investors starting from nothing. The risk is the 180 days: SEC registration runs in weeks (details in how to register a company in the Philippines), foreign-owned companies go through manual review, and then come the mayor's permit, BIR registration and the authority to print receipts, which is exactly what BOI asks for at conversion (BOI Citizen's Charter, "Indefinite SIRV", section B: SEC certificate and articles, corporate secretary's sworn statement on start of operations, treasurer's affidavit on the investment, a business permit valid 1 year, BIR certificate of registration, authority to print, and a lease or title for the premises). Investing after day 180 attracts a late-investment penalty of PHP 1,000 plus PHP 100 per day under clause 12(e) of the Deed of Undertaking (Q&A Q13); BOI suggests investing at least 30 days before expiry to leave time for the conversion papers.

Sequence B: register and actually invest first, then apply directly for an Indefinite SIRV. Q&A Q4 is explicit: a foreign investor who has already made an actual investment in an eligible activity may be considered, provided bank certifications show at least USD 75,000 remitted within the 12 months before filing; a shortfall can be topped up, and reinvested income or dividends that could otherwise have been remitted home count if reinvested within those 12 months. Subject to Board approval, such an applicant may be issued an Indefinite SIRV right away instead of a probationary one. This suits people who already run a Philippine company funded from abroad. It skips one BI probationary fee and the 180-day race, but only if the original remittance went through a traceable bank channel and the activity was eligible to begin with.

Both sequences share one precondition: clean remittance records. BOI wants "proof of inward remittance from an accredited bank"; cash brought in, third-party remitters or a wrong purpose code can all make the USD 75,000 invisible to BOI.

Going Indefinite: The Proof-of-Investment List, PHP 2,000 + 1,010, and a Second 7 Working Days

The probationary visa is not the finish line; it starts a 180-day countdown. Conversion means a second BOI endorsement and a second BI implementation, with documents grouped by investment type (BOI Citizen's Charter, "Indefinite SIRV"):

On documents, each investment type has its hard items: a new corporation needs the SEC certificate and articles showing the full USD 75,000 paid in, the corporate secretary's sworn statement on the start of operations and the treasurer's affidavit on the amount; an existing corporation needs the latest GIS showing you as a shareholder with the full amount invested, plus a deed of assignment if shares were bought from existing holders; a listed company needs the broker-certified buy invoices, the broker's certification that you are a shareholder of record, and a stock certificate annotated "shall not be sold, transferred, conveyed and/or encumbered without prior written consent of the Board of Investments" (BOI Citizen's Charter, "Indefinite SIRV", sections B, C, D). Every applicant also files an NBI clearance valid for at least 6 months and a copy of BI's probationary order (section A).

Adding a Spouse and Children: From USD 300 Each, and 21 Is the Line

Qualified dependents are the spouse and unmarried children under 21 (Q&A Q5). Fees stack per head:

• BOI probationary application fee: another USD 300 equivalent per dependent (Q&A Q12; BOI Citizen's Charter, "Probationary SIRV");
• BI probationary visa: minor PHP 9,860, adult PHP 10,610 (CC2026 p.3264);
• Conversion: BOI PHP 2,000 per person, BI PHP 1,010 per person (BOI Citizen's Charter, "Indefinite SIRV", section A, items 4 and 6);
• SIRV ID card: PHP 2,000 per person (Q&A Q23).

For a family of 3, the official fees are roughly one principal's set times 3, while the investment stays the same: the USD 75,000 is counted for the principal and dependents add no capital. Dependents aged 14 and above file a Personal History Statement and a police clearance; every dependent needs an authenticated birth certificate or marriage contract (BOI Citizen's Charter, "Probationary SIRV", requirements 3, 5, 6).

Age 21 is a hard line. A child who turns 21 is no longer a dependent and the child's SIRV is no longer honoured; BOI recommends requesting cancellation (if the child is abroad) or downgrading (if in the country) at least 1 month before the 21st birthday, after which the child needs an independent visa: a student visa, a work visa or an SIRV of their own (Q&A Q28).

USD 900 in BOI fees for a family of 3, three BI probationary visas, three SIRV cards. All of it is under 2% of the investment, yet the family documents are where the authentication chain most often breaks, back in the home country. Let us sequence the authentication for every family member's papers →

How Agency Fees Are Built: Structure Only, No Numbers

SIRV service fees vary widely because the work they cover varies widely. To judge a quote, look at which blocks it includes:

• Upfront planning: whether the intended activity is eligible, sequence A or B, who counts as a dependent; this block sets the direction for every document that follows;
• Coordination of foreign documents: translation and authentication of police clearances, medicals and family records; the applicant does the cross-border running, the agent keeps formats and validity aligned;
• BOI filing and follow-up: one round each for the probationary and indefinite endorsements;
• The BI leg: derogatory check, payment and passport implementation; the charter assigns the hand-carrying to BOI's liaison, so the agent's role is follow-up rather than filing;
• Company registration and investment landing: SEC, business permit, BIR, stock certificate annotation; usually a separate engagement;
• Annual compliance: the yearly report to BOI with audited financial statements, ITR and GIS; late filing is a statutory ground for cancellation and for inclusion in BI's watchlist (Q&A Q24, Q25).

Where each official fee is paid, and to whom, is itemised above with sources. If a quote is an all-in lump sum that does not separate official fees, check the official part against this page first. Any promise of "approval in days" does not match either agency's current documents.

After the Indefinite SIRV: No Residency Requirement, but an Annual Report

The Indefinite SIRV carries no minimum days of physical presence (Q&A Q26), but two continuing obligations: the investment must never fall below the USD 75,000 equivalent (Q&A Q25, item b), and an annual report must be filed with BOI. Corporate investments report audited financial statements, the ITR, the GIS, the current business permit and the lease or title; listed-share investments report the stock certificates and a certification from the stock transfer office (Q&A Q24). The report can be filed personally or through an authorized representative (Q&A Q26).

The SIRV ID card stands in for the ACR I-Card at the border and is the basis for exemption from the SRC and ECC at BI (Q&A Q22); it must be shown on every exit and entry. Getting profits from the investment back home involves BIR and bank procedures of their own, covered in repatriating dividends from the Philippines.

A last line BOI writes in its own Q&A: do not leave the country before the visa is implemented in the passport, or the visa may need revalidation (Q&A Q18). Across the 4 to 8 months from remittance to indefinite visa, the most expensive mistake is rarely an extra fee; it is a trip abroad taken at the wrong moment.