The Bureau of Immigration (BI) and the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) has forged a data-sharing agreement for easier access to foreigners given alien employment permits (AEP) and qualified for working visas in the Philippines.
The agreement was signed last Wednesday, Feb. 28, between BI Commissioner Norman Tansingco and DOLE Secretary Bienvenido Laguesma.
“The primary objective of this collaborative effort is to ensure that only legitimate foreign workers, duly vetted by DOLE, are granted work visas and permits in the Philippines,” said Tansingco.
With this agreement, Tansingco said “both the BI and the DOLE will be able to better enforce our mandates.”
Under the agreement, the BI explained that “DOLE will provide BI with comprehensive data on foreign nationals issued alien employment permits (AEP), certificates of exemption and exclusion, as well as information on cancelled and revoked AEPs and certificates of exemption.”
“This data will serve as a resource for BI in verifying the information submitted by applicants seeking conversion to or extension of their 9(g) working visas,” it said.
It pointed out that the AEP is a primary requirement for foreign nationals applying for work visas.
It also said that the agreement was forged following BI's discovery in 2023 of hundreds of foreigners who were issued working visas applied for by fake companies.
With the discovery, the BI cancelled the working visas of 459 foreigners after Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin C. Remulla approved its recommendations, it added.