Visa Processing Services in the Philippines

InCorp Philippines’ assists foreign nationals and enterprises in identifying and obtaining the right type of visa for their legal entry into the Philippines. Our Visa Consultants and Immigration Lawyers work closely with the Bureau of Immigration (BI) and Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) to ensure compliance and timely submission of visa applications. We help foreign entities successfully process their visas and comply with Philippine immigration laws, whether their purpose for travel is for employment, tourism, retirement, investment, or medical services.   

Our Philippine Visa Processing team will determine the appropriate type of visa you will need upon your entry into the country. We will also process all required documents that BI and DOLE will demand from you during the course of your visa application.

Types of Visas in the Philippines for Foreign Nationals

The Philippine Immigration Act prescribes fourteen (14) different types of visa that are grouped into two broad categories:

• Section 9 visas (Non-Immigrant Visas) – for temporary visits such as those for tourism, business, transit, study or employment
  • 9(a) Temporary Visitor’s Visa – For pleasure, business or health
  • 9(b) Transient’s Visa – For transit
  • 9(c) Seaman’s Visa – For a seaman serving on a vessel arriving/docking at a port in the Philippines seeking entry in the Philippines temporarily
  • 9(d) Treaty Trader/Investor Visa – For a foreign businessman carrying trade or commerce between the Philippines and his country
  • 9(e) Diplomatic Visa – For foreign officials recognized by the Philippine government, his family, attendants, servants, and employees
  • 9(f) Student Visa – For foreign students studying in an educational institution recognized by the Philippine government
  • 9(g) Pre-arranged Employment Visa – For foreign nationals who are proceeding to the Philippines to engage in any lawful occupation, whether for wages or other forms of compensation
  • Non-Commercial Missionary 9g Visa – For foreign nationals engaged in missionary, social or rehabilitation, etc. in the Philippines
• Section 13 visas (Immigrant Visas) – for foreign nationals who wish to become permanent residents in the Philippines
  • Quota Immigrant Visa – For citizens of foreign countries which have diplomatic relations with the Philippines and grants Philippine citizens the same immigration privileges. The Bureau of Immigration grants no more than fifty (50) Quota visas for one calendar year for any one nationality or without nationality.  Restricted nationals are not qualified for this type of visa.
  • Non-Quota Immigrant Visas
    • 13(a) Marriage Visa – For the spouse or the unmarried child under twenty-one (21) years of age of a Filipino citizen
    • 13(b) Visa – For a child of foreign parents born during a temporary visit abroad of the mother
    • 13(c) Visa – For a woman who lost her Filipino citizenship due to a marriage with a foreign national or for a woman whose husband lost his Filipino citizenship
    • 13(e) Visa – For individuals, with permanent residency in the Philippines, returning to the country from a temporary visit abroad
    • 13(f) Visa – For the spouse or unmarried child, under the age of twenty-one (21), of a foreign national admitted for permanent residency in the Philippines and is a resident of the country
    • 13(g) Visa – For a natural-born citizen of the Philippines who has been naturalized in a foreign country

There exist other visa types that are not classified by the Philippine Immigration Act to be under Section 9 or 13. These visas are referred to as Special Visas and were either introduced by legislative bodies or presidential proclamations to serve specific purposes for foreign individuals belonging to the demographic groups of retirees, entrepreneurs, investors, and others that may be specified in the future by the Philippine government.

Special Visas

• Special Non-Immigrant Visas
  • 47(a)(2) Special Non-Immigrant Visa (Philippine Economic Zone Authority or PEZA) – For foreign nationals/personnel in the following areas:
    • PEZA Registered Enterprises
    • Board of Investment Registered Enterprises
    • Oil drilling companies
  • ROHQ/RHQ Special Non-Immigrant Visa – For foreign personnel of Regional/Area Headquarters (RHQ) or Regional/Area Operating Headquarters (ROHQ)
  • Special Employment Visa for Offshore Banking Unit (SEVOBU) – For a foreign national who is assigned by any foreign bank to work in its offshore banking unit in the Philippines.
• Special Non-Immigrant Work Visas/Permit
  • Special Temporary Permit – For foreign nationals who wish to practice regulated professions in the Philippines
  • Special Work Permit – For foreign nationals who shall be employed and work in the Philippines for a minimum of three (3) months
  • Provisional Work Permit – For foreign nationals who shall be working for local entities but are waiting for their Alien Employment Permits (AEP) or 9g employment visas
• Special Immigrant Visa
  • Special Investor’s Resident Visa (SIRV) – For qualified foreign nationals who shall invest at least USD 75,000 in existing or new corporations in the Philippines which are in the following categories:
    • Publicly Listed
    • Corporations engaging in industries included in the Investment Priorities Plan (IPP)
    • Corporations in the manufacturing or service sectors
  • Special Visa for Employment Generation (SVEG) – For foreign nationals who shall employ at least ten (10) Filipino citizens in an enterprise, trade or industry
  • Special Resident Retiree’s Visa (SRRV) – For foreign nationals who are thirty-five (35) years of age with a significant amount of deposit in a designated/accredited bank