Government offers indefinite visa for qualified investors

Posted November 18, 2008

AS part of its job-generation strategy, the government will now grant indefinite visas to qualified foreign investors employing at least 10 Filipinos.

The privilege will be extended to qualified foreign businessmen through Executive Order (EO) 758, which prescribes guidelines for the issuance of a special visa to nonimmigrants for employment generation, subject to certain conditions.

In issuing EO 758, President Arroyo, who signed the issuance on Monday, noted that “there are foreigners who want to maintain a lawful presence in the Philippines by actually, directly or exclusively engaging in lawful, viable and sustainable trade, business, industry or activity offering local employment.”

The President cited the results of a survey conducted by the National Statistics Office in April this year, which showed that 2.9 million Filipinos are currently unemployed.

“Public interest, particularly on an aspect of employment generation for Filipinos, warrants the admission of these foreigners as special nonimmigrants,” she said.

Immigration Commissioner Marcelino Libanan said based on a government study, EO 758 is expected to generate “a minimum” of 100,000 jobs on its first year of implementation.

Libanan said the target implementation date is anytime from end-December 2008 to early January 2009.

The President said Commonwealth Act 613, otherwise known as the Philippine Immigration Act of 1940, as amended, “authorizes the President, when public interest so warrants, to admit as nonimmigrants, foreigners not otherwise provided for by the Act, who are coming for a temporary period only.”

The Special Visa for Employment Generation (SVEG) is a special visa issued to a qualified nonimmigrant foreigner, who shall employ at least 10 Filipinos in a lawful and sustainable enterprise, trade or industry.

Qualified foreigners, who are granted the SVEG, shall be considered special nonimmigrants with multiple entry privileges and conditional extended stay, without need of prior departure from the Philippines.

The privileges of the EO may extend to the qualified foreigner’s spouse and dependent unmarried  children below 18 years of age whether legitimate, illegitimate or adopted.

Nonimmigrant foreigners who wish to avail themselves of the SVEG should comply with four conditions, among them, that the applicant is engaged in a “viable and sustainable commercial investment/enterprise in the Philippines, exercises/performs management acts or has the authority to hire, promote and dismiss employees.”

The applicant must also manifest a “genuine intention to indefinitely remain in the Philippines”; show that he is not a national security risk; and his commercial investment must employ at least 10 Filipinos under Philippine labor laws.

The SVEG holder must “continually” meet all requirements to enjoy an indefinite visa, which will be monitored by the Immigration Commissioner.

Grounds for SVEG revocation include the holder’s failure to comply with any of the requirements; if the SVEG was obtained through fraud or willfull misrepresentation of material facts; criminal conviction; and findings by a “competent authority” that the holder poses a risk to national security.

Under EO 758, foreigners with revoked SVEGs due to reasons other than criminal conviction, will be deported through summary proceedings; those with criminal convictions will be deported after they have served their sentence.

The immigration commissioner will implement the implementing rules within 30 days from the signing of EO 758, which will provide for the establishment of a one-stop SVEG facility within the Bureau of Immigration with the participation of concerned departments and agencies.

He will do so in coordination with representatives from the Departments of Justice, Finance, Trade, Foreign Affairs and Labor; the National Intelligence Coordination Agency; and other concerned government agencies, local or foreign chambers of commerce, and stakeholders as determined by the Commissioner of Immigration.

Trade Secretary Peter Favila told reporters after the signing ceremony at the Palace Rizal Hall that EO 758 is “one way of incentivizing investments and legitimate investors to come on board.”

This, he added, “has been (the subject of) long discussions we had with the various foreign chambers on how we could further enhance investments, and what kind of nonfiscal incentives we can come up with.”

John Forbes, chairman of the American Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines (AmCham) Legislative Committee, said that EO 758 would be “very positive for the Philippines,” as “it will bring in new technology and new capital.”

Forbes noted the country’s “high unemployment rate so I’m delighted to see this happening. I have to see what the IRR actually prescribes.” AmCham would also keep tabs on how EO 758 would be consistent with earlier related issuances.

Source: Businessmirror.com.ph, November 18, 2008
by Mia M. Gonzalez