This is a straightforward no fuss article regarding the steps necessary to downgrade a 47(a)(2) work visa issued by the Philippine Bureau of Immigration. Bear in mind that you don’t always have to do this. The best example of why you will have to do this individually without a representative (e.g. an HR personnel) is when you’re contract from work has been terminated without your knowledge and the HR has not been able to reach you. It may also be that the company refuses to assist you in the visa downgrading, for whatever specific reason.
It seems like a very daunting situation. I know it is, but fear not. You can do it! I will walk you though the steps.
Note that this article is focused on foreign employees of BPO or IT companies that are registered with PEZA. Your case may still fall within this, as long as you have the same type of visa, was employed by a PEZA-registered company, and was issued the visa by the Bureau of Immigration PEZA in Taguig (you can find this stamped on your passport).
Let’s first define an important term:
47(a)(2) visa – this is a special non-immigrant visa that requires an employer’s sponsorship and is only valid for a duration corresponding to the employee’s contract or for 1 year, whichever of the two is shorter. In simple terms if your contract is less than one year, then the visa is only valid for that amount of time. If your contract is good for more than 1 year, the visa is only until 1 year and must be renewed at least 1 month prior to expiration. click this LINK to learn more.
Now let’s go to the steps.
- Know the documents you need to submit to the Bureau of Immigration (BI) in PEZA at Taguig. These include, the following:
- BI FORM NO. IRD- C-DG-2016 (The checklist of documents, which you can download here)
- Letter request addressed to the BI Commissioner stating the reason(s) for downgrading i.e., resignation, termination, late filing of extension of visa or dissolution of the company, etc. (Since you are the one writing the letter, the address used should be yours. You can ask your previous company’s HR for a sample or a format of this letter)
- Certificate of Employment from the previous company
- Copy of the DOJ 1st Indorsement. (You will get this from the HR of the previous company)
- Notice to the DOJ of visa downgrading. Make 2 identical copies. (Since you are the one writing the letter, the address used should be yours. You can ask your previous company’s HR for a sample or a format of this letter)
- Notice to PEZA of visa downgrading. Make 2 copies also. (Since you are the one writing the letter, the address used should be yours. You can ask your previous company’s HR for a sample or a format of this letter)
- Photocopy of the ACR I-card (front and back), if available
- Photocopies of your passport (bio-data page, visa stamp page, and latest arrival)
- Go to the Department of Justice in Padre Faura St., Manila and submit your 2 copies of the notice to the DOJ. One copy is left to them and another will be stamped with received and given to you. Also submit one copy of the DOJ 1st Indorsement to them.
- The DOJ will put an implementation stamp on the 1st Indorsement and will be the one to forward it to the PEZA. You don’t need to get this
- Go to BI PEZA in Taguig and submit the rest of the documents.
- Pay the fees. The fees may vary depending on whether your visa is expired or not.
- If your visa is already expired, which most likely is what happened if you’re processing this by yourself, you pay around 4,520php if the visa expired within 59 days and 5,030php if it is expired for more than 59 days.
- If it is not expired, you only pay 3,530php
- You will then be given a claim stab and will be told to follow-up regularly by phone to know when you can come back to finish the process.
- After the downgrading is successful, you will be issued an Order to Leave (OTL). This means you need to leave the country within a certain number of days after the issuance of the OTL.
- Process your Emigration Clearance Certificate. This is a step that has sub-steps of it’s own, which includes:
- Book a round-trip ticket abroad and print a copy of it
- If you’re visa is expired, pay a fee of P10,000php. This is part of a memorandum issued due to events that involved Chinese workers and was signed by then Sec. de Lima.
- Pay other fees, computed based on the number of months you will have stayed in the country with an expired visa. If it’s for one month, then the estimated fee will be 8000php. For more than 1 month, it is 8500-9000php, estimate. Remember you can’t stay more than 2 months because you already have an Order to Leave.
- Keep all your receipts and get your OTL and clearances.
- Fly out. Enjoy!
- Fly back in and get another tourist visa.
That’s it mi amigos y amigas! Don’t hesitate to comment here for questions. Adios!
The Traveling Doctor 
Hi,
Thank you for sharing this topic.
I have one question that if the HR is not resisting me, it’s pretty hard for me to get those papers too. Is there anyway we could do?
Thank you,
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Hi Tish, thank you for your comment. Let me see. Do you mean to say that the HR refuses to give you a sample letter and the other 3 documents (notice to BI comm, notice to PEZA and the 1st indorsement)?
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I have same situation. I didn’t know when 47a2 visa expired i can’t downgrade to tourism visa. My 47a2 Visa has been expired for 6 months. But once i get downgrade i will probably get OTL. During Pandemic it is really hard and expensive to fly back to my own country. And i asked my fomer HR, she said once the downgrade is approved, my passport will be confiscated and i can only get it at airport. If I do not so, I probally will be in blacklist of BI.
So i am thinking possibly i will not proceed the downgrade and get it done when the commericial flights and board are getting back normal. is that problem that my visa will be expired more than 1 year before i proceed downgrading.
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the main problem I can see there is you will have a bigger fine. The amount is computed per month, so the longer the expiration the higher the amount of money you need to pay for the fine/penalty.
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Hello
Thank you for your information
I have concern about it at the moment.
Do you know how can I downgrade this visa at the covid pandemic?
As you know there are no commercial flights at the moment.
Thank you.
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Hi Richard, there is a way to appeal that the travel out order would no longer be done. you need to write a letter. but i can’t remember the details anymore as to who it should be addressed. you need to ask BI PEZA asap immediately about this before processing the steps because you might want to consider the delays before you receive a decision regarding the appeal.
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Hello! Very helpful post.
As a foreigner with 47a2 Visa, is there any option to change my job during the pandemic?
Because if i downgrade the visa an OTL will be send it to me and if i leave the country I can not get in again due the borders are closed.
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Yeah I agree that is really a problem. I wrote this article before the Pandemic. As i suggested in the question before this, I think you can consult with the HR to help you appeal with the Bureau of Immigration PEZA to waive the OTL. Because I know that for certain exceptional cases they allow the person not to leave anymore, but before the pandemic, this was a case to case basis. So you can try that.
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Well what the company told me is they have tried writing a letter to the Boreau of Inmigration PEZA asking to waive the OTL because borders are closed and employees have another job offer but BI rejected all of them. I have contacted inmigration lawyer and they said the only way is applying to a permanent resident visa…
So my question is… what happened if I resigned my job and I don’t downgrade the 47a2 visa. Can I stay I’m the country till the visa expires? What happened after that?
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well technically once you resign from the job, your47a2 visa is also terminated. that’s technically the law, but you can stay illegally… looking for you won’t be the priority of the BI right now, tbh. once you get a job though, you’ll have to go through the same maze again… it’s wise that you consulted an immigration lawyer, they probably know more but it might not come for free
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I think its an A**H***E move not to allow waiving of the OTL, i totally sympathize with you. When I helped my friend with his, it was Feb 2020. We were worried aouut borders closing but we were lucky to do it before everything closed on March.
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Yes… this is a really not sense case. But I don’t understand in your post why it says if the visa is expired you pay a fee…. Does it mean I can stay in the country even the visa is expired if I don’t downgraded it?
What happens if I resign my job before the visa expires but I do not downgraded it?? Can i just wait till the visa expires?
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your visa is valid for 1 yr renewable or until your contract is terminated. after your contract expires, your company must downgrade it or you do it yourself. if you resign your job now, automatic your 47a2 visa stops, it is no longer valid. but you also don’t have a tourist visa or any other legal visa if you don’t downgrade it, which makes you an illegal alien. that’s what i think, im not a lawyer hehe I’m a doctor
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Ok, I will start the downgrading process by myself next week and requesting to waive the OTL. I have all the documentation already.
Would you mind share to my email the Letter to the commissioner so I can use as template? I have one already but I would like to compare.
Thanks!
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I will upload it with a link a bit later after I finish with work. I’ll attach the link here. If you don’t hear from me, comment again here to remind me
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Hi there. My boyfriend is Japanese and is in the same situation as you. Do you have any updates on this? Were you able to successfully waive the OTL?
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if you resign your job now, automatic your 47a2 visa stops. but you also don’t have a tourist visa or any legal visa if you don’t downgrade it, which makes you an illegal alien. that’s what i think, im not a lawyer hehe I’m a doctor
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Ok, I will start the downgrading process by myself next week and requesting to waive the OTL. I have all the documentation already.
Would you mind share to my email the Letter to the commissioner so I can use as template? I have one already but I would like to compare.
Thanks!
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https://www.sendspace.com/file/a4scx2
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Hi Marie,
First of all, your post is very useful.
But I was searching for samples of letters to the DOJ and PEZA or BI. Unfortunately I can’t open or download your example (https://www.sendspace.com/file/a4scx2). Is it possible to sent it otherwise?
Thanks.
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Hi Marie,
Thank you for the helpful post. I am searching for sample letters to DOJ/PEZ etc and unfortunately I am not able to open or download from your link. Any other way to receive your sample(s).
Thanks.
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let me know your email address?
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https://www.mediafire.com/file/04yfysz3u64zz85/Downgrading+Letters.docx/file
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Hi, I just wanted to ask, what if the foreigner is no longer staying in the Philippines with his expired 47a2 visa. Do we need to process the downgrade of his 47a2 visa, as he has no plan when to go back in the Philippines.
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What i understand is that the foreign national already left the country and his visa expired? I would guess that in that situation there is no need to downgrade since the visa wont be valid anyway. I dont know what will happen if he tries to come back
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Hi, how can I do to avoid the order to leave the country? I resigned from my company and my new employer will process the downgrading of my 47a2 then apply for a 9G visa.
What would be the easier step?
Many thanks!
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Im not sure what a 9G visa is.
as for the order to leave, please coordinate with BI PEZA since they might have changed their regulations because of the pandemic
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Hello! I will downgrade the visa of my employers. Can I ask for the sample of the letters? Thank you so much!
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https://www.mediafire.com/file/04yfysz3u64zz85/Downgrading+Letters.docx/file
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Hi.. Can i request copy of notification letter to be submitted to DOJ , BI and PEZA.
I’ve been searching sample of letter but unfortunately i cannot get one.
thank you so much..
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https://www.mediafire.com/file/04yfysz3u64zz85/Downgrading+Letters.docx/file
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Hi there, thank you for helpful post may I ask about my situation, my 42a2 visa expired since June 2020 but our company admin didnt renew it and im still working in that company, now no admin in our company any more and no one will help, i will do it myself, im intend to leave around March 2021, what should i need to po? really desperate
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You can follow the steps I just enumerated in the blog. But be sure to double check with the authorities every time because there might have been changes due to the pandemic.
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hi venus maybe u can give me an advice. i work in manila since 3 months and got a 6 months contract with the company but i stay now in philippines 2 years. my problem is that its not sure if the company will let me finish the contract because of low performance on my site they told me that after this month it could be that they fire me already. on the other site i got already the workpermit from the company for 3 years and now the hr contacts me that my visa proces for 47a2 is approved they need now my passport and 9avisa wich i hold at the moment. but i am worried if they quit with me do i have to leave the country? do I not have enough time to find another job? would it be better not to process the 47a2 visa as long as i am not sure if my contract get reniewed? would appreciate if someone could help me abit tnx
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No BI branch here in Cebu for filing visa downgrading?
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What if the foreign national his visa was expired since Sept. 21, 2021 and no downgrading of visa was made. What happen to the foreign national? Maybe, within this month lang mag-process for many reasons to considered.
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makakag downgrade paren naman, kasu may penalty lang…
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What if the foreign national his visa was expired since Sept. 21, 2020 and no downgrading of visa was made. What happen to the foreign national? Maybe, within this month lang mag-process for many reasons to considered.
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Has anyone had any luck with not having to fulfill the order to leave? My situation is I am with one employer here in the Philippines and another Employer is seeking to have me move to them. What is the process for the order to leave if you are simply moving from one to the other? Also we are still in the pandemic and still many travel restrictions.
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Alguien te respondio sobre ese asunto
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