Visa Info
9G Work Visa
The 9G is for foreign nationals who will work lawfully in the Philippines for a Philippine employer. It is not a general digital-nomad visa and not permission to work locally while staying as a tourist.
Passport note: The examples are written from a Germany/Austria/Switzerland perspective. Other passports need separate checks.
Fits
Employment with a Philippine petitioner, contract, employer documents and formal BI filing.
Validity
Commercial 9G is commonly tied to one, two or three years depending on application, contract and employer setup.
Duties
ACR I-Card, Annual Report, exit clearance and labor-side documents must be planned together.
Concrete requirements
- Philippine employer: A local company or organization must employ you and act as petitioner.
- Real job: 9G is for lawful employment in the Philippines for wages, salary or other compensation.
- Labor side: AEP/DOLE, company documents and the employment contract must match the BI filing.
- During processing: If work must start before 9G approval, the employer must check PWP or SWP requirements.
- Remote work: Working online for foreign clients from Cebu is not automatically a 9G case.
What 9G is good for
9G is the right BI status when a Philippine employer genuinely hires you and carries the process. Without a Philippine petitioner, it is normally not your route.
For expats the key distinction is simple: foreign-client online work does not automatically create a 9G case, while local employment does not become legal just because you entered as a tourist.
PWP, SWP and 9G are different
The 9G is the main status for pre-arranged employment. A Provisional Work Permit is a bridge when a 9G case is being processed and work must start. A Special Work Permit covers short gainful employment, typically three to six months. None of these is a casual workaround for tourist work.
What employer and applicant must provide
The employer must provide more than a job offer: company records, petition, employment proof, employee-count certification, labor documents and internal handling. The applicant needs passport, current status, qualification records, photos, BI forms, family documents for dependents and time for hearing, biometrics and passport implementation.
Process and costs
The BI process follows the known pattern: forms, pre-screening, payment, receipt, hearing, biometrics, ACR I-Card, approval check, passport implementation and card release. The current BI fee table separates top-1,000 corporations and non-top-1,000 corporations and lists one-, two- and three-year options plus ACR I-Card fees. Employer costs, labor-side fees, documents and professional handling are separate.
Annual Report and travel
As a 9G holder, you are a registered foreigner. Annual Report, ACR I-Card validity, dependent status and ECC-B or re-entry handling before travel should be planned before tickets are booked.
Bottom line
9G is good when there is a real Philippine employer. Without a petitioner it is usually the wrong idea. For foreign online income, the better discussion is immigration status, tax, business structure and whether any local activity exists.
Visa consultation for 99 EUR
The consultation helps decide whether 9G really fits or whether the case is closer to 9A, 13A, SRRV, investor status or remote-work planning.