subject: Doing Business In The Philippines: Different Kinds Of Visas [print this page] The quantity of foreigners doing business in the Philippines has risen substantially in the past several years. Whilst most expatriates invest in business process outsourcing (BPO) firms such as call centers, many have reached success as a result of small enterprises such as restaurants and bars.
People from other countries believe the Philippines is a nice area to do business for several reasons. The first is the lower rates. It is possible to reduce your business costs up to 50% dependent upon the kind of business you have. One other reason will be the number of skilled people you can find in the Philippine workforce.
Getting a college degree is a goal for Filipinos, and more than 350,000 students graduate every single year. This allows you access to a huge share of potential staff members and partners. English is taught in every school countrywide, so you won't have many problems associated with language and communication.
The Philippine government totally backs up foreigners doing business in the Philippines by means of various campaigns and legislation. The Foreign Investments Act of 1991 (or Republic Act 7042) causes it to be much easier for foreigners to form investments within the nation.
Your enterprise may benefit with different benefits and incentives inside the Philippines if you keep in mind government ordinances and you've got the best working visa. The Philippines has several types of visas to suit overseas investors' demands. Examples include:
- Temporary or Tourist Visa - Visitors with a tourist visa could engage in isolated transactions, but could not start continuing or doing normal business. Getting a tourist visa is often a short procedure, and could be completed in one day.
- Employment Visa or the 9(g) Visa - You are able to submit an application for this visa if you are holding a technical, executive, or managerial position in the Philippines for at least a year. The application for this specific process ranges from one to two weeks, but this can be reduced to five days if all prerequisites are accomplished.
- Treaty Trader Visa or the 9(d) Visa - When a foreign investor is from a nation the Philippines has an active trade and commerce deal with, he's permitted to a treaty trader visa. The Philippines now has this sort of agreement together with Germany, Japan, and also the U . S .. The application for this kind of visa could also take as much as two weeks.
- Special Investor's Resident Visa - This specific visa helps you be in the Philippines indefinitely, as long as you made a financial commitment worth $75,000 in the nation. Processing this kind of visa often requires between 10-15 days.
- Special Non-Immigrant Visa - The Philippines' Secretary of Justice issues this kind of visa to overseas traders that are involved in public interest or public policy industries, such as power generation and commercial infrastructure. Registration for this visa can be carried out in just a week.
This list only offers an summary of each type of visa. Prior to starting doing business in the Philippines, don't forget to fully familiarize yourself with the precise demands of the visa you're getting. Although making an investment or starting a business in the Philippines is easy, not having the appropriate visa will result in heavy penalties.
