Recently, the Chinese community in the Philippines was rocked by a sudden immigration policy: even if you have a legal work visa and a valid residence card, you must leave the country if you have been working there continuously for more than 5 years, otherwise you will face forced deportation or even be blacklisted.
According to the latest implementation regulations of the Philippine Bureau of Immigration, all work visa (9G visa) holders can only legally stay in the country continuously for a maximum of 5 years. Once the five years are up, regardless of whether the visa is still valid, one must leave the country and reapply, otherwise the system will automatically mark it as "overdue". Once discovered, you may be denied renewal, be given a deadline to leave the country, or even be prohibited from re-entering.
More severely, this policy is not just on paper. According to feedback from several agents and corporate HRs, immigration offices nationwide have started unified data verification, and even visa holders who are currently working have begun to receive "deadline to leave" notices. For example, a Chinese employee of a company in Cebu just completed his renewal, but received a notice from the immigration office a few days later, requiring him to leave the country immediately.
Those listed as key objects for inspection include:
Those who entered the country on a tourist visa before June 2019 and later switched to a work visa;
Those who have held a 9G work visa for 5 years but have never left the country to downgrade their visa;
Family members attached to the main applicant, who must also leave the country after the main visa has been valid for 5 years.
Many people feel angry and helpless: "My work visa has always been legal, why do I have to be deported?" But in the Philippines, "system data" is the ultimate legal definition, even if the procedure is compliant, any slight discrepancy may become "illegal residence".
Of course, the Philippines never lacks "countermeasures". As the locals joke: "Policies are rigid, solutions are bought with money." Chinese agents and legal advisors are busy finding "response channels" for their clients, including early departure to downgrade visas, expedited reapplication, special applications, etc., but at a certain cost.
For Chinese in the Philippines, it is now imperative to check your own visa status:
Check the initial approval time of your work visa;
Calculate whether you have continuously resided for 5 years without downgrading;
If the term is about to expire, be sure to contact agents or lawyers early to assess response plans.
This seemingly technical visa enforcement storm actually affects the fate of tens of thousands of Chinese. Don't wait until someone knocks on your door to realize that your "legal status" has actually been overdue. In the Philippines, the real legality is not what you say, but what the system says you can do.
