Country guide · Philippines

Getting a job in the Philippines, 2026

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The practice of regulated professions in the Philippines is reserved to Filipino citizens by the Constitution, and even where a law opens a profession, Republic Act 5181 requires reciprocity plus three years of permanent residence before a foreign national may sit the licensure examination, which no work permit can deliver. This guide is written for two readers at once: the foreign professional coming in, who needs a DOLE permit and a separate immigration visa, and the Filipino going out, for whom the POEA was abolished in 2021 and replaced by a cabinet department. Every figure carries its source and the date we checked it.

Country guidePublished 20 September 2026·Every figure checked 20 September 2026·19 min read

₱755

Daily minimum wage in Metro Manila, non-agriculture, since 7 September 2026

NWPC, Wage Order NCR-28

3 years

Residence a foreign national needs before sitting a PRC exam, plus reciprocity

Republic Act 5181, sec 1

US$15,000

Minimum accidental death cover the agency must buy for an agency-hired OFW

RA 10022, compulsory insurance

6 months

Longest probation the Labour Code allows before you become a regular employee

Labour Code, art 281, now art 296

Read this before the visa section

Step one is not the visa. Step one is the interview call.

Everything in this guide about permits, thresholds and documents only comes into play after an employer in Philippines has chosen you. Nobody applies for a work permit without an offer letter, and nobody gets an offer letter without an interview. The order is fixed:

Step 1 · what EDZER does
A strong résumé, a strong LinkedIn, and a job search strategy
Step 2
Interview calls from employers in Philippines
Step 3
An offer, and the eligibility checks that come with it
Step 4
Only now: the visa, the permit and the documents below

Regulated professions are reserved to citizens by the Constitution, so foreign hiring concentrates in multinationals, BPO leadership and specialist roles where the field is international. Step one is the whole game, and it is the part almost everyone under-invests in.

How a résumé is expected to look in Philippines

Philippine convention: photograph common, personal details common, two pages.

Where people actually apply

PhilJobNet (DOLE) · LinkedIn · JobStreet Philippines · Kalibrr

What EDZER does for step one

Your résumé, rewritten for the country. In the format its recruiters expect, by a human writer, with a 90 to 100 ATS score guaranteed
Your LinkedIn profile, rebuilt. Every section written so recruiters searching there find you and read on
Profiles on that country's job portals. Set up and optimised to match, so every application reads the same
A job search strategy document. Which roles, which employers, which portals, in what order, for your profile
An interview prep kit. For the roles you are targeting, so the calls turn into offers
Guidance on where and how to apply for jobs. From our team, so you are not guessing which door to knock on

What EDZER does not do

Visa or work permit applications, or immigration advice of any kind
Document attestation or credential evaluation
Placing you in a job or promising an offer: the recruiter decides selection, on your profile

Our job is to make sure you are presented in the strongest way possible, so that the interview calls come. What happens in the interview is yours.

59,000+ clients across 24+ countries 90 to 100 ATS score guaranteed Delivered in 4 to 6 working days 48-hour review window for changes

Start step one for PhilippinesRésumé, LinkedIn and the interview kit is the Premium plan. With the job portals, Premium Plus. Pick a plan and pay on the next page; the writer starts the same day.

Have a question first? Ask on WhatsApp. For starting the work, the button above is faster.

Section 01

Coming in: the DOLE permit, the visa, and the gate you must clear first

Free

This guide has two readers, and the Philippines is one of the few countries where that is not a stylistic choice but a fact about the labour market.

Who this is for

Reader one is a foreign professional coming into the Philippines. You need a permit from the Department of Labor and Employment and a visa from the Bureau of Immigration, and they are two separate things from two separate agencies.

Reader two is a Filipino working abroad or preparing to. Overseas employment is not a side story here, it is a core institution of the economy, and since 2021 it has had its own cabinet department. Section 02 is written for you.

Section 03 belongs to both of you, because the Labour Code, the regional minimum wage, the 13th month pay and the professional licensing rules apply whether you are arriving or leaving.

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The fact that decides whether an inbound professional qualifies at all

An Alien Employment Permit lets you hold a job. A 9(g) visa lets you stay. Neither lets you practise a profession. The practice of regulated professions in the Philippines is reserved to Filipino citizens by the Constitution, and is opened only where a specific statute says so. Even where a statute opens the door, Republic Act 5181 adds two conditions before a foreign national may so much as sit the licensure examination: your own country must let Filipinos practise that profession there, and you must have been a permanent resident of the Philippines for at least three years.

So a foreign civil engineer, nurse, accountant, architect or lawyer cannot simply be hired into that role on an AEP. What foreign nationals are routinely hired into are management, technical, advisory and supervisory roles that are not themselves a regulated practice. If your job title is a licensed profession, resolve that question before you resolve anything else. Section 03 sets out the detail.

Republic Act 5181, approved 8 September 1967, section 1, read in full on 20 September 2026. Constitutional basis discussed in section 03.

Two permits, not one, and they do not substitute for each other

Almost every problem a foreign hire has in the Philippines comes from assuming the visa and the permit are the same transaction. They are not. They have different owners, different timetables and different failure modes.

What it is	Who issues it	What it does	What it does not do
Alien Employment Permit (AEP)	DOLE, through its regional office	Authorises you to be employed by one named employer in one named position	Does not give you the right to enter or remain in the country
9(g) pre-arranged employment visa	Bureau of Immigration	Non-immigrant status tied to that employment	Does not by itself authorise the employment, the AEP does
ACR I-Card	Bureau of Immigration	Your alien registration identity card	Not a work authorisation, it is registration

Section 02

Going out: the Department of Migrant Workers and the contract that protects you

Free

This section is free as well. It opens the moment you are signed in.Open it, free

Section 03

What both of you live under: pay, benefits, licences and the CV

Free

This section is free as well. It opens the moment you are signed in.Open it, free

Free ATS check for Philippines

Not ready to start yet? Get your résumé scored free, and we will tell you exactly what Philippines recruiters would change.

Takes a minute. Your score comes back on this page. A writer from EDZER reviews the file and follows up on WhatsApp about the résumé and LinkedIn work, nothing else.

Your name

WhatsApp number

Where you live now

Where you want to work (up to 5)

Target role or roles

Experience

Highest qualification

Current designation and employer (if working)

When do you plan to apply?

Your current résumé

Used to score your résumé and for our writers to contact you about the résumé and LinkedIn work for Philippines. We do not handle visas or immigration. Never sold or shared. Privacy.

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