Philippines entrepreneur visa (SVEG)

The SVEG is open to a qualified non-immigrant foreigner who shall actually employ at least ten Filipinos in a lawful and sustainable enterprise, trade or industry. The BI checklist, effective 17 November 2025, describes the undertaking as either employing at least ten full-time Filipino workers on a regular basis, or investing to rehabilitate a business so that at least ten Filipino employees are retained. The applicant must also undertake to pay PhilHealth and SSS contributions and to pay no employee below the minimum wage.

The file contains a request letter to the Commissioner stating the employment undertaking, the SVEG application form, a copy of the passport bio page and latest admission with valid authorised stay, certified copies of the SEC registration for corporations or partnerships, and the DOLE Alien Employment Permit if you hold a position in the company. Add the sworn undertaking on PhilHealth, SSS and minimum wage, a Bureau of Quarantine stamp or a government health certificate of physical and mental fitness, an NBI clearance if filing six months or more after first arrival, and a BI clearance certificate. Foreign documents must be authenticated and translated into English.

The SVEG is a conversion filed at the BI Main Office. You obtain the application form, submit the documents for pre-screening at the Central Receiving Unit, get the order of payment and pay, attend the hearing scheduled on the official receipt, give biometrics at the Alien Registration Division for the ACR I-Card, check online whether the visa is approved, then submit the passport for visa implementation and collect the card.

A spouse and unmarried children under 21 can join the application. Each dependant files the SVEG form, a passport copy with valid stay, proof of filiation and a BI clearance certificate, and pays the same PHP 29,330 fee as the principal under the 2014 table.