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Section 40 of Presidential Decree No. 442, otherwise known as the Labor Code of the Philippines,
provides that foreign nationals seeking employment in the Philippines shall obtain an employment
permit from the Department of Labor and Employment (“DOLE”):
The permit being secured by foreign nationals from the DOLE is referred to as an Alien Employment
Permit (“AEP”). All applications for AEP shall be filed and processed at the DOLE Regional Office having
jurisdiction over the intended place of work.
The AEP shall be valid only for the position and the company for which it was issued, and for a period
of one (1) year unless the employment contract provides otherwise, which shall not however exceed
three (3) years (DOLE Department Order No. 186 series of 2017). Thus, a change of position or
employer shall require an application for a new AEP.
The application for AEP shall thereafter be published in a newspaper of general circulation and posted
in the DOLE website for a period of thirty (30) days for purposes of soliciting information from the
general public whether there are grounds to deny the issuance of an AEP.
In the event that a foreign national is employed without having secured an AEP, both the foreign
national and employer shall be liable for a fine of Ten Thousand Pesos (P10,000.00) each.
Commonwealth Act 136, otherwise known as “The Philippine Immigration Act of 1940”, provides that
Any foreign national who will be employed in the Philippines and occupying a technical, executive,
managerial or highly confidential position in a company shall secure a visa from the Bureau of
Immigration:
It is to be noted however that, as provided by Section 20 of the Philippine Immigration Act, that the
petition for a working visa shall be filed by the prospective employer of the foreign national:
9(g) Visas or the Pre-Arranged Employee Visas are valid only for the duration of the AEP or the current
employment contract (whichever is shorter). Thus, in the event that the foreign national will change
his/her employer, which will render the AEP invalid (as discussed above), the 9(g) visa will likewise be
rendered invalid. The sponsoring employer will thus be required to petition the downgrading of the
9(g) visa of the foreign national into a tourist visa; while the new employer must petition for the
issuance of a new 9(g) visa for the foreign national.
Under the Philippine Immigration Act, owners of companies who employ aliens without the required
visa may be meted fines and/or imprisonment. On the other hand, the foreign national who unlawfully
enters the Philippines without the appropriate visa shall be the subject of imprisonment and/or
deportation. (Section 46, Philippine Immigration Act)