[ Memorandum Circular No. 612, December 12, 1972 ]
PRESCRIBING THE PROCEDURE FOR APPLICATIONS FOR ENTRY INTO THE PHILIPPINES OF FOREIGN TECHNICIANS AS PRE-ARRANGED EMPLOYEES IN NATIONALIZED TRADE, BUSINESS OR INDUSTRY.
The following are hereby adopted for applications for entry into the Philippines of foreign technicians as pre-arranged employees in a nationalized trade, business or industry:
A. The steps in the filing of applications are as follows:
1. applications for entry into the country of foreign technicians for employments in wholly or partly nationalized industries shall be made under oath and shall be filled by the prospective employer on behalf of the applicant employee with the Commission of Immigration and Deportation in Manila.
2. The application shall state the nature of the employment, the wages and other compensation the employee is to receive, the reasons why a person in the Philippines cannot be engaged to perform the services desired, and why the non-immigrant’s admission would be beneficial to the public interest. It shall be accompanied by a certified true copy of the written contract of employment, identification papers of the applicant, his curriculum vitae and/or certification by his previous employer regarding his expertise, papers relating to the business of the prospective employer (such as articles of Incorporation and certificate of registration), and a certification previously obtained from the Department Head concerned containing a statement, together with his recommendation, that the provision of Paragraph D hereof has been observed and that there is no local talent available for the position.
3. The application together with his comments and recommendation shall be forwarded by the Commissioner of Immigration and Deportation to the President of the Philippines for his decision.
4. The records together with the approval of the President shall be returned to the Commissioner of Immigration and Deportation who shall, in turn, advice the Department of Foreign Affairs of the President’s approval of the application, with the request that at the employer’s expense the consular office concerned be authorized to issue the corresponding visa, under Section 9(g) of the Philippine Immigration Act, as amended, to the prospective alien employee, subject to the rules and regulation governing the issuance of visas.
5. The spouse and/or unmarried children under twenty-one years of age of the applicant alien employee who are not otherwise excluded by Section 29 of Commonwealth Act. No. 613, as amended, may be permitted to enter as nonimmigrants under Section 9(g) of the same Act, and to reside in the Philippines during the period of employment of the alien employee.
B. The same procedure shall be followed by the Commission of Immigration and Deportation on applications filed by foreign technicians who are already in the Philippines either as permanent residents or as nonimmigrants and whose services as such technicians in wholly or partly nationalized industries should be beneficial to public interest. Upon approval of their applications by the President, the status of said aliens be changed accordingly without the necessity of first complying with the requirement of prior removal provided under the last paragraph of Section 9 of Commonwealth Act No. 613, as amended.
C. Foreign technicians who have been admitted into the country and working in a wholly or partly nationalized industry pursuant to authority granted by the Board of Commissioners of the Bureau of Immigration (now Commission on Immigration and Deportation) without previous authority of the President, shall secure the approval of the President within thirty (30) days from the date hereof for continuance in their employment.
D. The Department concerned shall observe the following guidelines in recommending approval of the application:
1. The Department shall, at the expense of the employer, advertise once a week for at least three (3) consecutive weeks in a newspaper of general circulation also ask information and advice from the Department of Labor regarding the availability of local technicians for the position to be filled up.
2. The prospective alien employee shall posses special skills and technique not locally available, with the position to the filled calling of such skills.
3. The employment must be vital in the operation of the industry.
4. The alien employees shall train at least two (2) Filipino understudies who shall take over the termination of the contract.1âшphi1
5. In no case shall the contract of employment exceed two (2) years, extendable for another year as the circumstance may warrant.
E. The admission of foreign technician for employment in a wholly or partly nationalized trade or business in the Philippine shall be subject in all cases to the provisions of Section 29 of the Philippine Immigration Act of 1940, as amended.
These procedures shall be effective immediately.
