Special Work Permit Rules and Fees

Law Instructions No. 42 governs the issuance of SWPs by adding and clarifying rules previously set under Law Instructions No. 27.
The rules on validity, extensions, and fee assessment are implemented as additional provisions for SWPs.
The instruction establishes special treatment for alien journalists/foreign correspondents and for certain expatriates in hotels/restaurants with pending pre-arranged employment visa applications.

An SWP is valid for a period determined by the CID as necessary for the temporary visitor’s temporary engagement in a non-immigrant business.
The SWP validity period must not exceed the authorized stay of the temporary visitor.
An SWP may be extended if the application is made prior to expiration, and the aggregate continuous period of validity must not exceed 1 year and 59 days, or the temporary visitor’s authorized stay, whichever comes first.
The validity period of an SWP continues to run despite the absence of the temporary visitor from the Philippines.
No expired segment of an SWP is reinstated upon the temporary visitor’s re-entry.

A temporary visitor whose prior SWP has expired may apply for a new SWP if the bases for the grant under Law Instructions No. 27 continue to exist.
A temporary visitor may re-apply for a new SWP only if the visitor is not engaged in employment that requires a pre-arranged employment visa.

An application for an SWP is assessed a fee of PHP 300.00.
An SWP issued with initial validity in excess of 3 months is assessed an additional fee of PHP 100.00 per month.
An SWP extended beyond the initial validity is assessed an additional fee of PHP 100.00 per month.
An overtime fee of PHP 200.00 is assessed for Express Lane Service.
If a single application covers more than one applicant, only a single overtime fee is assessed.
Under Express Lane Service, an application received between 8:00–11:30 a.m. is released the same day, while an application received in the afternoon is released in the morning of the following day.
Under regular processing, an application is acted upon and released within three working days.

An alien journalist or foreign correspondent pursuing professional work in the Philippines is granted an indefinite SWP.
The indefinite SWP remains effective for as long as the journalist or foreign correspondent remains accredited with the International Press Center.

Expatriates in hotels and restaurants with pending applications for pre-arranged employment visas are processed under the Revised Joint Circular among the Department of Tourism (DOT), Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), and the CID.
Pre-arranged employment visa applications for these expatriates are required to be processed by a committee composed of representatives from the DOT, DOLE and the CID.
Due to delay in initial implementation of the joint screening procedure, an applicant who has submitted complete documents supporting the pre-arranged employment visa application—certified by the DOT—may, upon request, be issued an SWP as an exception to SWP issuance conditions.
This exception SWP is valid for a period of 3 months, subject to further extensions as long as the pre-arranged employment visa application remains pending.
The SWP issued under this hotel/restaurant exception requires an application fee of PHP 300.00.
An extension beyond the initial 3 months is assessed an additional fee of PHP 100.00 per month.
The Express Lane Service fee and time frames for SWPs under paragraph 3 apply to the SWP issued under this hotel/restaurant exception.