Before you start

A job offer from a Philippine-registered employer willing to sponsor, for the employment route
Evidence that the role requires skills not readily available locally, which DOLE assesses
A passport valid well beyond the intended stay
Employer documentation including business registration and financial statements

Step-by-step

1
Confirm which route you are actually on
Employment with a Philippine company means the AEP and 9(g) sequence, no exceptions. Remote work paid entirely from abroad points to the Digital Nomad Visa, issued by the Department of Foreign Affairs rather than the Bureau of Immigration, valid a year and renewable once — and explicitly not a licence to work for any Philippine employer or client. Retirement points to the SRRV through the Philippine Retirement Authority. Picking wrong wastes months, because the routes do not convert into one another cleanly.
OnlineWho: YouSettle before anything elseFree to establish
2
Your employer files for the Alien Employment Permit
DOLE assesses whether a Filipino could fill the role and publishes the application to allow objections. Cebu-based employers file through the DOLE regional office rather than Manila. Nothing at the Bureau of Immigration can proceed until the AEP is issued — this is the constraint that determines your whole timeline, and employers new to hiring foreigners frequently start at the wrong end and lose weeks.
Via employerWho: Your employerCommonly several weeksEmployer-borne in most sponsored hires — confirm in writing
3
Convert to the 9(g) visa through the Bureau of Immigration
With the AEP in hand, your employer petitions the Bureau of Immigration to convert your status to pre-arranged employment. This is the visa that actually authorises the work. Much of this can be transacted at the Bureau's Cebu district office rather than in Manila, but confirm the current office location and what it handles on immigration.gov.ph before travelling — services and addresses have moved.
Via employerWho: Your employerCommonly several weeksBureau of Immigration fees, usually employer-borne
4
Get the ACR I-Card within thirty days of visa approval
The Alien Certificate of Registration Identity Card must be applied for within thirty days of the 9(g) being approved — the clock runs from approval, not from your arrival. It is your residence identity document and it is checked when you leave the country, so a missed deadline surfaces at the airport rather than at a counter. Nearly everything else, including opening a bank account, waits behind it.
In personWho: YouWithin 30 days of visa approvalBureau of Immigration fee
5
Do the Annual Report and start renewals early
Registered foreign nationals holding an ACR I-Card must make an Annual Report to the Bureau of Immigration in the first months of each calendar year. Separately, your 9(g) and AEP both run on annual cycles and extensions must be filed ahead of expiry with a renewed AEP already in hand. Because two agencies are involved, a late start on the AEP cascades into an immigration overstay. Begin renewals two to three months out.
In personWho: You, with your employer for the AEPAnnual Report early in the calendar year; renewals from two to three months before expiryModest annual fees

Documents you’ll need

Passport with adequate validity
Alien Employment Permit from DOLE
Employment contract and employer's registration and financial documents
Medical clearance and NBI or police clearance, depending on route
ACR I-Card once issued, carried and kept current
Passport photographs, and photocopies of everything, more than once

Things most newcomers don’t know

Cebu has its own Bureau of Immigration district office and DOLE regional office, so most of this does not require Manila — but confirm the address before you travel.

One of the concrete advantages of Cebu over a smaller Philippine city is that the immigration and labour infrastructure is here, and a great deal that people assume requires a flight to Manila can be done locally. The caveat is real though: the Bureau's Cebu office has moved and its service list changes, and immigration.gov.ph is the only source worth trusting on where it currently is and what it handles. A wasted trip across the metro is a whole day.

Source: Bureau of Immigration district office structure; DOLE Region VII

The Digital Nomad Visa exists and is genuinely useful, but it does not let you work for anyone here.

Executive Order No. 86, effective 5 May 2025, created a Digital Nomad Visa issued by the Department of Foreign Affairs — one year, renewable once — for people paid by foreign employers or clients. It is not issued by the Bureau of Immigration and it does not substitute for the AEP and 9(g) if you take on a Philippine employer or a Philippine client. It also turns on reciprocity, and the qualifying-country list has been slow to firm up, so confirm your nationality qualifies with a Philippine embassy or consulate before planning around it.

Source: Executive Order No. 86 (2025); Department of Foreign Affairs

The thirty-day ACR I-Card window runs from visa approval, and Cebu newcomers miss it because they treat the 9(g) as the finish line.

The 9(g) approval feels like the end of the process, and the card behind it is easy to defer while you are settling in. But the ACR I-Card is checked when you leave the country, so the failure surfaces at Mactan-Cebu airport rather than at a desk where it could be fixed. It is also the practical gate to opening a Philippine bank account, which means a slipped deadline stalls the rest of your setup by weeks.

Source: Bureau of Immigration ACR I-Card requirements

If you are over 35 with retirement income, the SRRV avoids the annual treadmill entirely.

The Special Resident Retiree's Visa grants indefinite multiple-entry residence against a bank deposit with the Philippine Retirement Authority, without employer sponsorship or annual employment permits. For anyone with passive income it is dramatically simpler than renewing an AEP and a 9(g) every year, and it is rarely mentioned to people who arrive assuming they need a work visa. The Authority maintains presence outside Manila — check the current arrangement for Cebu directly with them.

Source: Philippine Retirement Authority — SRRV

Common mistakes to avoid

Assuming a job offer permits work — the AEP and the 9(g) are separate, sequential and cannot be reordered
Missing the thirty-day ACR I-Card window, which runs from visa approval and is discovered at the airport
Treating the Digital Nomad Visa as authorisation to take on a Philippine employer or client, which it explicitly is not
Travelling to a Bureau of Immigration office address you found on a blog rather than on immigration.gov.ph
Starting an annual renewal too late and drifting into overstay because the AEP is the slower of the two agencies
Overlooking the SRRV when you would qualify for it and avoid the entire annual cycle

Some of this may be out of date. Spotted something inaccurate? Help us keep it right for the next newcomer.