Philippines Visa Services

As specialists in Philippines visas and immigration services, BIS offers a full range of visas, work permits, and immigration routes for those who wish to visit or immigrate to the Philippines on a permanent basis.

The Philippines remains a hugely popular destination for travelers and settlers alike.

Why move to the Philippines?

Made up of more than 7000 islands, the Philippines offers a spectacular range of scenery with a tropical climate and a stunning array of wildlife.

A former colony of Spain for almost four centuries, the Philippines is now a Republic with a thriving economy and rich natural resources.

Although Filipino with its eight major dialects is the first language of the country, English is also an official language and is widely spoken, is increasingly the language of choice for business and study.

If you would like to find out more about visiting or immigrating to the Philippines contact Global visas or to take the first step in your application today, please contact us.

Simply complete our feedback form, send it and a specialist BIS immigration consultant will respond to your inquiry.

Visiting the Philippines

The Philippines offer short-term visit visas for up to 59 days which may be issued for business activities (excluding employment), medical reasons or for tourists and private visitors.

Short-term tourist visas for the Philippines are issued as a temporary immigration service and do not provide the opportunity to apply for permanent residency.

Studying and working in the Philippines are not permitted under this temporary route and those wishing to engage in either whilst in the Philippines will need to apply for a Philippines study visa or work visa respectively.

Studying in the Philippines

Study visas are issued for the duration of the course in question and applications must progress through a series of steps.

In the first instance, applicants must secure a place from a school, college, university or other place of study.

If successful, candidates will be issued with a Notice of Acceptance (NOA) from their sponsoring educational institution.

This notice must be submitted as part of the study visa application itself along with a range of supporting documentation including:

  • A current and valid passport,
  • Police check,
  • Evidence of the candidate’s education to date and,
  • A demonstration of the client’s ability to fund their entire stay in the Philippines.

Living and working in the Philippines

In the Philippines, work visa applications are based on a candidate obtaining a job offer from a Philippines based firm and will be issued as a Special Work Permit application for those who will only be working in the Philippines for six months or less.

For candidates who wish to work in the Philippines for longer than this period, a standard work permit will be required which may be obtained from outside the country or from within the Philippines.

Applicants will need to provide evidence of their job offer through a letter of request from their sponsoring employer as well as an affidavit of support from the company. Candidates will also need to obtain an Alien Employment Permit (AEP).

It should be noted that work permit holders must also notify the Philippines immigration authorities when they intend to leave the country and that the Alien Employee Permit must be returned.

Immigrating to the Philippines

For those who wish to relocate to the Philippines on a permanent basis, two methods are offered through the quota immigrant visa and the non-quota immigrant visa.

Philippines Quota Visa

This route offers only 50 places per year and in order to qualify an applicant must be from a country which also accepts reciprocal immigration from the Philippines.

Candidates will need to provide a range of supporting documentation including a valid passport and proof of their ability to support him or herself in the Philippines.
This Philippines immigration service will also require candidates to attend a personal interview.

Your BIS immigration consultant will be able to help you to prepare for the requirements of your visa application in your consultations.

Philippines Non-Quota Visa

The non-quota visa applies to the spouse of a Filipino citizen, unmarried children (under the age of 21) of a Filipino citizen and those with Filipino citizenship (in this case natural-born Filipinos) who have acquired a grant of citizenship from another country.

In all cases, a range of supporting documentation will be required; however, the exact criteria will vary depending upon the category of non-quota visa application which is being submitted.

Your BISimmigration specialist will be happy to discuss the requirements of your application with you during your consultation.

Other Philippines Visa Services

In addition to those outlined above, the Philippines also issued a range of visas and immigration services, including the Philippines investor visa, the treaty trader visa, and the increasingly popular Philippines retirement visa.

To find out more about visiting or migrating to the Philippines through family connections or to work or study in the Philippines contact BIS today.