Employment Generation · Philippines
Special Visa for Employment Generation (SVEG)
Indefinite residence in the Philippines for the foreign owner of a business that employs at least ten Filipino workers. Emerhub confirms you qualify and handles the application.
Employ 10+ FilipinosIndefinite stayMultiple entryFamily included
Overview
What is the SVEG?
The Special Visa for Employment Generation, the SVEG, is a special non-immigrant visa for a foreigner who starts a business in the Philippines that employs at least ten Filipino workers. Created under Executive Order 758, it is issued by the Bureau of Immigration on the endorsement of the Department of Labor and Employment. It is granted first as a one-year probationary visa, then converted to an indefinite stay, with multiple entry and exit, for as long as those jobs are maintained.
Unlike the work visa, it is built around owning a job-creating business rather than being someone's employee. A separate labor permit (the AEP) is only needed if you are also elected or appointed to a formal position in the company.
What you get
Benefits of the SVEG
Residence, free movement, and the right to run your own business, for as long as the ten jobs hold.
Indefinite residence
A one-year probationary stay first, then an indefinite, conditional extended stay tied to the jobs you maintain.
Multiple entry and exit
Travel in and out freely, with exemption from the exit clearance certificate and the special return certificate.
Run your own business
Manage and operate your enterprise as the owner, without the work permit an employee would need.
Family included
Your spouse and unmarried children under 18 can be added under the same visa.
Who qualifies
Who can get the SVEG?
The SVEG is open to all nationalities. You qualify as the owner or manager of a business that creates real jobs for Filipinos.
- Own, manage, or operate a registered Philippine business
- Employ at least ten full-time Filipino workers
- Have authority to hire, promote, and dismiss staff
- A genuine intention to reside in the Philippines
- A business compliant with labor and tax law
- No criminal record or security concern
The core condition
The 10-employee rule
The ten workers must be full-time Filipinos, counted one visa per ten, and the figure is checked by a DOLE inspection.
10
Filipino employees
Full-time or regular workers in any role, skilled or unskilled, but not household or domestic staff, all paid at or above the minimum wage.
1 per 10
One visa per ten
A business employing twenty regular Filipinos can sponsor two SVEG holders, and so on up the scale.
Every year
Maintained, not one-off
The headcount has to hold year after year, verified on review, or the visa can be canceled.
The ten workers must be full-time and regular, employed in line with Philippine labor law, with social security and benefits paid and none below the minimum wage. The Department of Labor inspects the business to certify the headcount before the visa is granted. There is also a rehabilitation route: if your investment saved a struggling business and kept at least ten Filipinos in work who would otherwise have lost their jobs, that counts too. You convert the one-year probationary visa to indefinite status by applying at least 30 days before it expires, and holders then file an annual report with immigration in the first sixty days of each year.
The ten jobs have to stay in place. The SVEG is indefinite only while the jobs exist. If the workforce drops below ten, the visa can be canceled or refused on renewal, so keeping clean payroll and employment records matters as much as the original application.
What to prepare
Documents required
- A letter request to the Commissioner, undertaking to employ at least ten full-time Filipino workers on a regular basis.
- The CGAF application form, BI Form CGAF-002.
- A copy of the passport and the latest admission details.
- For a corporation or partnership, the SEC Certificate of Registration, Articles of Incorporation, and the current General Information Sheet. For a sole proprietorship, the DTI certificate of business name.
- A certified copy of an Alien Employment Permit from DOLE, if you are elected or appointed to a position in the company.
- A DOLE certification that the business employs at least ten Filipinos on a regular basis.
- A certification that no employee is paid below the minimum wage.
- A valid medical certificate from the Bureau of Quarantine.
- An NBI clearance, where the application is filed six months or more after first arrival.
Documents issued abroad usually need to be authenticated or apostilled. We confirm the full set for your business structure before filing.
How Emerhub helps
How to apply
From confirming the headcount to the DOLE inspection and the immigration hearing, we manage the application end to end.
1
Confirm the headcount
We check that the business has ten regular Filipino employees on the books, with payroll and social-security records that stand up to inspection.
2
File at the Bureau of Immigration
We prepare the CGAF, the letter request, and the corporate documents, submit them for pre-screening, and pay the fees.
3
DOLE inspection and hearing
The labor department verifies the ten employees, and the applicant attends the immigration hearing for fingerprints and a photo.
4
Approval and ACR I-Card
The Commissioner resolves the application, and the visa, ACR I-Card, and identification certificate are issued.
Building a business that employs Filipinos?
Tell us about the business and its headcount, and we will confirm whether the SVEG fits and run the application end to end.
Common questions
SVEG FAQs
The questions business owners ask most about the SVEG.
What is the SVEG?
It is the Special Visa for Employment Generation, a non-immigrant visa for a foreigner whose Philippine business employs at least ten Filipino workers. It grants indefinite residence and multiple entry, on the condition that those jobs are maintained.
How many Filipinos do I need to employ?
At least ten, full-time and regular, paid at or above the minimum wage. The count is one SVEG holder for every ten regular Filipino employees, so a larger workforce can support more than one foreign holder.
Is the SVEG permanent?
It starts as a one-year probationary visa, which you convert to indefinite status by applying at least 30 days before it expires. After that there is no fixed end date, but your stay continues only while the business keeps its ten Filipino employees. If the workforce falls below ten, the visa can be canceled or refused on renewal.
Do I need a work permit like the 9G?
It depends on your role. The SVEG is based on owning a job-creating business, not on employment, so a labor permit is not automatic. But if you are elected or appointed to a formal position in the company, immigration requires a certified copy of an Alien Employment Permit from DOLE as well. That is separate from the DOLE certification confirming your ten Filipino employees, which every SVEG application needs.
Can my family join me?
Yes. Your spouse and unmarried children under 18 can be included under the same visa. Note the age limit is 18 here, lower than the 21 used by some other Philippine visas.
How is the SVEG different from the 9G and SIRV?
The 9G is for an employee, and needs a labor permit. The SIRV is for passive capital placed in shares, at least USD 75,000. The SVEG is for the owner of a business that actively employs ten or more Filipinos, with residence tied to those jobs rather than to a salary or a fixed investment.
How long does it take?
The Commissioner is meant to resolve the application within about fifteen days of filing, but the DOLE inspection and the preparation of clean employment records take longer in practice. We get the evidence in order first so the filing itself runs smoothly.
SVEG in the Philippines?
Talk to our Manila team
A free, no-obligation call: thirty minutes with our Manila team to confirm whether your business qualifies, walk through the DOLE inspection, and lay out the documents and timeline.
Phone+63 928 516 2791
OfficeUnit 710, High Street South Corporate Plaza Tower
2 26th St, Taguig
1634 Metro Manila, Philippines
2 26th St, Taguig
1634 Metro Manila, Philippines