Visa For Employers

For anyone thinking of starting a business and employing at least ten Filipinos on a full time basis (including paying SSS and PhilHealth etc) there is now a new class of Visa available. The Special Visa for Employment Generation or SVEG is a new concept aimed at increasing the job opportunities of Filipinos inside the Philippines.

The visa gives the holder multiple entry and exit privileges similar to the SRRV (Special Retirement Resident Visa) but without the need to deposit large amounts of money with a local bank for six months. The SVEG holder is allowed to live in the Philippines as a permanent resident and can own and operate a business, according to the existing restrictions placed on all foreigners in business.

While this new visa doesn’t allow you to have 100% of a business that previously required 60% local ownership or gives you the ok to practise a profession on the foreign prohibited list, it does open the doors to those who don’t have a Filipina spouse or wish to get married again merely to live here.

Your business must employ the ten locals in non-domestic roles, so you can’t include your Yaya, maid, driver and yardboy on the payroll. If your employee numbers slip below ten you should contact the Bureau of Immigration immediately and discuss the matter. You won’t be deported in the middle of the night but it does pay to work with the BI proactively.