Philippines: Downgrading Application Changes May Impact Foreign Nationals’ Departure Plans from the Philippines

The Bureau of Immigration PEZA Extension Office (BI PEZA) implemented key changes to the downgrading application process (‘downgrading’ refers to the in-country work visa cancellation process whereby the work visa is downgraded to a 9(a) temporary visitor visa). First, it now sends an email as formal notice that the downgrading application for a Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) Visa has been approved. Second, if the formal notice indicates an Order to Leave (OTL), the foreign national will have 15 calendar days upon receipt of the email notice to depart the country. Previously, the applicant’s passport would have to be submitted to the BI-PEZA for stamping of the downgraded visa in the passport first, and, thereafter, a physical copy of the Downgrading Order would have been issued. Then, if there was OTL in the Order, it would have commenced on the date when the passport was submitted to the BI-PEZA. Other changes include faster completion of the visa stamping during the downgrading process, which now takes one to two business days (previously, five to seven business days), and a new requirement to file the Exit Clearance Certificate at least three days before the intended departure date (previously, this was not specified). These changes may impact a foreign national’s departure plans as they will have to complete exit requirements and depart the Philippines within the indicated period listed on the OTL, which may be shorter than under the previous rule. Additionally, the BI PEZA also highlighted that the email notice will be sent to the email address provided in the downgrading application form. Therefore, Fragomen highly recommends both employees and employers to monitor their emails for this important notification.