외국생활을 하면서 가장 큰 여러움이라고 한다면 (사람마다 의견의 차이는 있겠지만) 외국인으로써 살아가며 겪게 되는 여러가지 행정상의 절차들이 아닐까 생각을 한다.
그 행정적인, 그리고 무척이나 번거로운. 심지어는 까다롭기 까지 한 절차들 중 으뜸은 뭐니뭐니 해도
물론 자국을 방문하는 외국인을 가장 효과적으로 관리(!) 하는 방법으로 비자 정책은 무척이나 중요하고, 또 꼭 필요한 것이라는 점에서는 이견이 없지만,
여간 번거롭고, 돈도 많이 드는 일이 바로 '비자문제' 를 해결하는 일일 것이다. 뭐~ 십중팔구는 이 생각에 동의하시리라~
는 내용을 담고 있다.
이 제도는 사실 필리핀내의 모든 외국인 고용주에게 해당되는 사항이긴 하지만, 지난 몇년간 한국인에 대한 필리핀내 직접투자규모가 1위라는 점을 고려해 본다면 한인 교민사회에 미칠 영향이 적지 않다고 할 수 있다.
SVEG (Special Visa for Employment Generation) 는 외국인 고용주를 대상으로 하는 특별 비자다. 외국인 고용주들에게는 '특별하게' 여러 혜택과 함께 이 비자를 주고, 필리핀 내부적으로 실업율감소와 경제 활성화가 이 새로운 제도의 '목표'다.
이 비자의 특징이라고 하면, 기존의 투자비자나 상업비자 와는 달리 매 기간마다 갱신을 해야 할 필요가 없는 사실상 '영주'가 가능한 비자라는 점에서 은퇴비자와 비교되기도 한다. (발급조건을 충족시키는 기간동안에 한한다.)
발급 요건은 10명이상의 필리피노 직원을 고용하고 있는 '합법적'인 기업의 외국인 고용주 이어야 하며, 실질적으로 필리핀에 체류하며 장기간 필리핀내에서 비즈니스 활동을 영위하는 자임을 증명할 수 있어야 한다. 물론 테러리스트 등의 '안보'에 문제가 되는 사람은 신청할 수 없다. 두말하면 잔소리!
여러가지 번거로운 절차와 신속한(!) 처리를 위해 전문 브로커에게 의뢰를 하는 것도 그리 나쁜 방법은 아니지만(믿을만한 브로커를 찾기만 한다면...), 그렇다고 하더라도 일반적인 수준에서 비자의 발급 절차 정도는 파악해 두는 것은 필요하겠다.
간단히 살펴본 비자 발급 절차는 아래와 같다. 너무 심플한가?
이것 이상의 내용은 아직 확정이 되지 않은듯 하다. 내부적으로야 모르겠지만, 어쨌든 발표된 사항은 아직 없다. 좀 더 기다려 보자. 흠흠...
EXECUTIVE ORDER NO. 758
PRESCRIBING GUIDELINES FOR THE ISSUANCE OF A SPECIAL VISA TO NON-IMMIGRANT FOR
EMPLOYMENT GENERATION
WHEREAS, 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;
WHEREAS, according to the April 2008 survey of the National Statistics Office (NSO), there are 2.9
million Filipinos who are currently unemployed;
WHEREAS, creation of job opportunities for the Filipino is one of the advocacies of the Arroyo
Administration under its 10-point Agenda;
WHEREAS, Commonwealth Act (CA) No. 613, otherwise known as the Philippine Immigration Act of
1940, as amended, authorizes the President, when public interest so warrants, to admit as non-
immigrants, foreigners not otherwise provided for by the Act, who are coming for a temporary period only, under such conditions as may prescribed;
WHEREAS, public interest, particularly on an aspect of employment generation for Filipinos warrants the admission of these foreigners as special non-immigrants under Section 47 (a)(2) of CA No. 613, as amended;
NOW, THEREFORE, I GLORIA MACAPAGAL – ARROYO, President of the Republic of the Philippines,
by virtue of the powers vested in me by law, do hereby order:
SECTION 1. Special Visa for Employment Generation (SVEG). – The SVEG is a special visa issued to
a qualified non-immigrant foreigner who shall actually employ at least ten (10) Filipinos in a lawful and sustainable enterprise, trade or industry. Qualified foreigners who are granted the SVEG shall be considered special non-immigrants with multiply entry privileges and conditional extended stay, without need of prior departure from the Philippines.
The privileges of this Executive Order may extend to the qualified foreigner’s spouse and dependent unmarried child/children below eighteen (18) years of age whether legitimate, illegitimate or adopted.
SECTION 2. Who may avail. – Non-immigrant foreigners who wish to avail of the SVEG should comply with the following conditions:
a. The foreigner shall actually, directly or exclusively engage 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;
b. He evinces a genuine intention to indefinitely remain in the Philippines;
c. He is not a risk to national security; and
d. The foreigner’s commercial investment/enterprise must provide actual employment to at least ten (10) Filipinos in accordance with Philippine labor laws and other applicable special laws.
The above-mentioned requirements must be continually satisfied by the foreigner for him/her to continue to be a holder of the SVEG.
SECTION 3. Application for SVEG. – (a) Upon payment of regulatory fees, the Commissioner of
Immigration shall receive and resolve SVEG applications within fifteen (15) days from the date of filing. Documentary proofs required by the Commissioner of Immigration shall be evaluated and reviewed without strict observance to the technicalities of evidence and procedure.
(b) Upon favourable review, the Commissioner of Immigration shall issue a Notice of Approval directing the foreigner-applicant to report for registration and documentation at the Bureau of Immigration. An Alien Certificate of Registration (
ACR) I-Card and an Identification Certification (IC) shall be issued upon payment of appropriate fees. The
ACR I-Card and the IC shall indicate among others, the following:
“Status Adjusted without Departure as a Special Non-Immigrant with Multiply Entry Privileges and
Conditional Extended Stay in the Philippines under (this Executive Order)”
(c) Otherwise, the Commission shall issue a Notice of Disapproval informing the foreigner applicant of the denial of his application. Within fifteen (15) days from receipt of such disapproval, the foreigner-applicant may file a motion for Reconsideration (MR) for the review of his application. Only one (1) such Motion shall be entertained.
(d) The Commissioner of Immigration shall monitor the continued compliance by the foreigners of the requirements of the SVEG.
(e) All fees collected by the Bureau of Immigration shall be acknowledged by bonded collecting offices via issuance of official receipts. These collections shall be accounted for as government funds and subject to strict auditing procedures.
SECTION 4. Revocation of the SVEG. – (a) The Commissioner of Immigration shall revoke the SVEG
granted: (i) If the SVEG holder fails to maintain compliance of any of the conditions see forth in Section 2 hereof; (ii) If it was obtained through fraud or willfull misrepresentation of material facts; (iii) Upon conviction of the foreigner by final judgment for a crime or offense in the Philippines; or (iv) A final determination by competent authority that the foreigner poses a risk to national security.
(b) A foreigner whose special non-immigrant status is revoked under Sections 4 (a) (i), 4 (a) (ii) or 4 (a) (iv) hereof shall be deported via summary proceedings. In the case of revocation under Section 4 (a) (iii), the foreigner shall be deported after the service of sentence.
(c) A foreigner deported by the BI Board of Commissioners under this Section shall be transported to the country whence he came, or to the foreign port where he embarked for the Philippines, or the country of his nationality of or of which he is a citizen or subject, or to the country in which he resided prior to his coming to the Philippines.
SECTION 5. Implementing Rules and Regulations and the One-Stop-SVEG Facility. – Within thirty
(30) days from the signing of this Executive Order, the Commissioner of Immigration, together with representatives from the Department of Justice (DOJ), the Department of Finance (DOF), the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), the National Intelligence Coordination Agency (NICA) as well as other concerned government agencies, local or foreign chambers of commerce, and stakeholders as determined by the Commissioner of Immigration, shall promulgate the necessary Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) to ensure the orderly issuance of the SVEG.
Such IRR shall provide for the establishment of a One-Stop-SVEG Facility within the Bureau of Immigration with the participation of the departments and agencies abovementioned, to assist interested foreigners in the processing of documentary requirements to support their SVEG application (i.e. Alien Employment Permit from the DOLE, etc.)
The IRR shall take effect fifteen (15) days after the completion of its publication in at least two (2) newspapers of general circulation. Copies of the IRR shall be sent to the Office of the President, the Secretary of Justice, and the National Administrative Register at the U.P. Law Center.
SECTION 6. Reportorial Requirements. – The Commissioner of Immigration shall submit regular monthly reports on the implementation of this executive order to the Office of the President and the Secretary of Justice.
Certified copies of the SVEG issued by the Commissioner of Immigration pursuant to this Executive Order, including the supporting documents thereon, shall likewise be furnished to the Secretary of Justice for proper departmental recording and review.
SECTION 7. Construction. – Nothing in this Executive Order shall be construed to diminish or otherwise preclude the President as Chief Executive, and the Secretary of Justice as Department Head, from exercising their respective powers and authorities over the Bureau of Immigration, pursuant to the provisions of the Revised Administrative Code and other existing laws, executive issuances, rules, and regulations.
SECTION 8. Separability Clause. – If any provision of this Executive Order is declared invalid or unconstitutional, the provisions not affected thereby shall continue in force and effect.
SECTION 9. Repealing Clause. – The provisions of other executive issuances, departmental/administrative orders, circulars, instructions, directives and memoranda incostinent herewith are hereby repeal or modified accordingly.
SECTION 10. Effectivity. – This Executive Order shall take effect fifteen (15) days after completion of its publication in at least two (2) newspapers of general circulation.
DONE in the City of Manila, this 17th day of November in the year of Our Lord, Two Thousand and Eight.
(Sgd.) GLORIA MACAPAGAL-ARROYO
By the President:
(Sgd.) EDUARDO R. ERMITA
Executive Secretary
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