Adopted: 17 September 2014
Date Filed: 22 September 2014

WHEREAS, Section 37(a)(7), C.A. No. 613, as amended directs the arrest and deportation of a foreign national who remains in the Philippines in violation of any limitation or condition under which he was admitted as a non-immigrant;

WHEREAS, DOLE Department Order No. 97-09 requires, among others, foreign nationals who hold: (1) a Special Investor ™s Resident Visa (SIRV); (2) a Special Resident Retiree ™s Visa (SRRV); (3) a Treaty Trader ™s Visa (Sec. 9(d)); or (4) a Special Non-Immigrant Visa (Sec. 47(a)(2)) to secure an Alien Employment Permit for as long as they occupy any executive, advisory, supervisory or technical position in any establishment;^[1]

WHEREAS, on 24 July 2014, the Board of Commissioners unanimously affirmed the non-immigrant status of SRRV holders pursuant to Sec. 47(a)(2), C.A. No. 613, as amended;

WHEREAS, this policy requires inter-agency coordination to implement the 24 July 2014 BOC resolution affirming the non-immigrant status of SRRV holders;

NOW THEREFORE, pursuant to the provisions of Section 3, C.A. No. 613, as amended, and Sections 29 and 36, Chapter 6, Book IV, Title III, E.O. No. 292 or the Revised Administrative Code of 1987, the following are hereby ordered:

1. Effective 01 September 2014, a foreign national who holds an SRRV must secure a DOLE-issued AEP prior to any gainful employment;
2. An SRRV holder who fails to secure a DOLE-issued AEP prior to any gainful employment shall be deemed in violation of Sec.37(a)(7), C.A. No. 613, as amended and charged accordingly;
3. In meritorious cases, the Board of Commissioners may impose a fine^[2] in the amount of Fifty Thousand Pesos (PhP50,000.00) in lieu of actual deportation of an SRRV holder who fails to secure a DOLE-issued AEP prior to any gainful employment in violation of Sec. 37(a)(7), C.A. No. 613, as amended; and
4. The Legal Division shall immediately coordinate with the Philippine Retirement Authority, Department of Labor and Employment and stakeholders to implement this Immigration Operations Order on or before 31 August 2014.

Let the copies of this Immigration Operations Order be filed with the Office of the National Administrative Registrar (ONAR), U.P. Law Center, University of the Philippine Complex, Diliman, Quezon City.

SO ORDERED.

17 September 2014

(SGD) SIEGFRED B. MISON
Commissioner