An employer preparing to hire or retain a foreign national must verify the current Alien Employment Permit filing channel. The Department of Labor and Employment announced that new and renewal AEP applications would be processed, evaluated, and issued at the Central Office effective 9 June 2026 under Administrative Order No. 199, series of 2026. Regional offices were directed to cease handling those applications. A file assembled for an older regional process may therefore be misdirected.

The permit and visa must tell the same story

Centralization changes where the AEP application is handled, but it does not dispense with the substantive employment rules. The proposed employer, position, duties, work location, and contract should be consistent across DOLE papers and the Bureau of Immigration’s 9G visa application. AEP approval is not itself an immigration visa, and an existing visa tied to another employer should not be treated as authority to start a new job.

Employers should consult DOLE’s official centralization announcement and its foreign employment rules, then confirm the current portal, documentary checklist, and payment instructions before filing. An assignment to a new position or employer requires particular care because it can affect both permits.

Plan the transition before work begins

The employer should record the intended start date, permit expiry, immigration status, and any pending change of job or location. Keep contemporaneous copies of the offer, contract, board or company authorization, submitted forms, and agency receipts. If a renewal is due, build time for DOLE and BI processing rather than assuming a pending application allows continued work without conditions.

Our labor and immigration practice can review a proposed foreign hire or employment transition. This article is general information; an employer should obtain advice on the actual role and verify current agency instructions before the employee begins work.