25 foreigners get permanent residency

CEBU, Philippines – Twenty-five foreign nationals who presently employ more than 1,000 people were awarded permanent residency in the Philippines under the Special Visa for Employment Generation (SVEG) of the Bureau of Immigration and Deportation.

BID Commissioner Marcelino Libanan spearheaded the awarding of the special visas to the 25 recipients at Marco Polo Plaza yesterday.

Alien Control Officer Casimiro Madarang III said that the visa applicants are Korean, German, Japanese and British nationals who took opportunity of the government’s offer for them to become permanent residents by providing jobs to at least 10 Filipinos per applicant.

He disclosed the SVEG is the second phase of the BI services improvement program. The first phase is the Visa Issuance Made Simple (VIMS), the computerized processing and transactions of visa applications.

The VIMS, Madarang said has increased BI-Cebu’s revenue collections. For January 2009, he said they have collected P36,323,183.42; P27,721,346.20 for February; P27,504,166 for March; P25,875,963.60 for April; P22,631,239.70 for May and P23,812,930.20 for June.

During yesterday’s SVEG launching in Cebu, Libanan said that since March 17 when the new program started, it has already provided 24,000 jobs to Filipinos and he expected that by the end of the year through the program, a total of 100,000 jobs will be generated.

SVEG is a special visa issued to qualified non-immigrant foreigner who shall actually employ at least ten Filipinos in a lawful and sustainable enterprise, trade or industry.

The SVEG holder shall have multiple entry privileges and is exempted from payment of exit clearance certificate and special return certificate. The holder shall be issued a one year probationary SVEG which could be amended to indefinite stay.

SVEG may be extended to spouse and dependent, unmarried child/children of the SVEG holder below 18 years of age whether legitimate, illegitimate or adopted. — Mitchelle L. Palaubsanon/WAB (THE FREEMAN)