MANILA - Foreigners who are currently outside the Philippines but are set to be employed in the country will be allowed to pre-apply for their work visas soon, the Bureau of Immigration said on Thursday.

In a statement, the bureau said they adopted this measure after the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF) has allowed giving work visas to foreigners who intend to work in the country in the long run under a Philippine employer.

Meanwhile, ​Immigration Commissioner Jaime Morente supposedly issued an operations order noting that companies who wanted to get foreign employees should apply for the 9(g) working visas on behalf of applicants.

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The working visa should be "applied for and processed in the country by the Philippine-based employer," the statement read.

It is unclear, however, when the foreigners abroad will be allowed to pre-apply for such visas.

“With the promulgation of this new policy, would-be expatriates bound for the Philippines will be able to apply for their working visas, which they would present when they enter the country,” Morente was quoted as saying.

• READ: Foreigners now allowed to renew reentry permits at airport: Immigration bureau

Before this, only foreigners currently based in the country were issued 9(g) working visas when they were already in the Philippines, filed by their employers, according to the bureau.

"The IATF said the visa may also be issued to foreign workers whose expertise will be tapped for foreign-funded government projects such as those in transportation and infrastructure," the statement read.

REMINDERS

Morente said that foreigners who failed to secure their working alien employment permit (AEP) through their employers would have their request for a working visa rejected.

This is a prerequisite for a working visa, he added.

“Those who fail to secure their AEP will not qualify for the issuance of a 9(g) visa and the petition for visa issuance by their employers will be denied by the bureau outright,” according to the official.

When the working visa is approved by the bureau, it would be sent to the Department of Foreign Affairs' Office of Consular Affairs.

After that, it will be forwarded to the foreign service post (FSP) where the applicant is located.

The said post would give the working visa to the applicant "who must travel to the Philippines within 90 days."

The applicant should also go to the Bureau of Immigration's main office to be registered, the statement read.

— with reports from Johnson Manabat, ABS-CBN News

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