Under DOLE Department Order No. 248-25, which took effect in February 2025, the standard Alien Employment Permit (AEP) application fee is ₱6,000 for a permit with one-year validity — down from the previous fee schedule, which had pushed the cost above ₱10,000. Additional charges apply for multi-year validity, renewal, and replacement of a lost or damaged permit.
Hiring a foreign national to work in the Philippines almost always requires an Alien Employment Permit (AEP) from the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), and the fee schedule changed in 2025. Here is what the permit costs today, who pays it, and what other expenses typically come with the process.
The Current AEP Fee
Under DOLE Department Order No. 248-25, which reorganized the rules on employing foreign nationals and took effect in February 2025, the standard application fee for a new AEP with one-year validity is ₱6,000. This is a reduction from the fee schedule under the previous rules, which had pushed the cost of a one-year AEP above ₱10,000 once add-on charges were included.
Where the employer wants the AEP to run longer than one year — matching, for instance, the term of the foreign national’s employment contract — an additional fee is charged for every extra year or fraction of a year of validity, on top of the base one-year fee. Renewal of an existing AEP is likewise assessed on a per-year-of-validity basis. Because DOLE periodically issues supplemental guidance adjusting these figures, employers should confirm the exact additional-year and renewal amounts with the DOLE Regional Office at the time of filing, since department orders can be amended after this article is published.
Beyond the core application fee, applicants should budget for:
- A replacement fee if the AEP is lost, damaged, or needs correction of entries
- Notarization and, for documents executed abroad, apostille or consularization costs for the foreign national’s supporting documents
- Courier charges where DOLE’s online application system routes the physical permit by courier
- Professional fees if the employer engages counsel or a processing agent to handle the application
Who Is Responsible for the Fee
The AEP is applied for by the employer on behalf of the foreign national, and DOLE requires the application to be filed by the employer or its authorized representative, not the foreign worker personally, except in limited cases such as self-employed foreign nationals or foreign investors employing themselves. In practice, most employers treat the AEP fee as a cost of hiring, similar to other statutory registration costs, though nothing prevents the parties from allocating the expense differently by agreement.
Who Needs an AEP
As a general rule, any foreign national who intends to engage in gainful employment in the Philippines — whether as a regular employee, a consultant, or in a similar capacity — needs an AEP before starting work, regardless of the length of the engagement. Certain categories are exempt or subject to a simplified process instead, such as foreign nationals covered by reciprocity agreements or treaties, officers or staff of certain international organizations, and other categories DOLE specifically recognizes, who instead secure a Certificate of Exemption. Because exemption categories are narrowly defined and fact-specific, an employer should not assume an exemption applies without confirming it against the current DOLE guidelines.
Before You File: The Labor Market Test
Under the current rules, most new AEP applications require the position to first be published — typically for thirty (30) days on the local Public Employment Service Office (PESO) job board and the DOLE Regional Office’s own listings — to test whether a qualified Filipino is available for the role. This labor market test confirms that hiring a foreign national is genuinely necessary rather than skipping over qualified local applicants, and it sits on top of, rather than replaces, the application fee.
Documents Employers Typically Prepare
Beyond the fee itself, a complete AEP application generally includes the foreign national’s passport, a signed employment contract or contract of service, proof of the employer’s business registration, and a justification for why the position requires a foreign national rather than a Filipino employee, such as specialized technical qualifications or a shortage of qualified local candidates in that field. For certain positions, DOLE may also ask for the foreign national’s professional credentials or board certifications, particularly where the role involves a regulated profession. Assembling these supporting documents alongside the application itself, rather than after DOLE flags something missing, is usually what determines whether an application clears the fifteen-working-day review on the first pass.
Employers with multiple foreign employees, or with foreign employees whose permits expire at different times throughout the year, often find it useful to keep a simple internal calendar tracking each AEP’s expiration date and the recommended renewal window, precisely because a lapsed permit can force an otherwise straightforward renewal to be treated, and priced, as a brand-new application.
Processing Timeline
Once a complete application and the required fee are submitted, the DOLE Regional Office must act — approving or denying the application — within fifteen (15) working days. Applications found incomplete or deficient are typically returned for correction, which restarts the clock once the corrected application is resubmitted, so it pays to have every document in order before filing.
For renewals, DOLE encourages employers to file at least sixty (60) days before the current AEP expires. Filing late risks a gap where the foreign national is technically working without a valid permit, and a lapsed application may be treated as a new application rather than a renewal, which can mean a different fee.
Why the Fee Structure Was Revised
DOLE periodically updates the rules governing foreign employment to reflect current policy priorities, streamline processing, and respond to feedback from employers and foreign workers about the cost and complexity of compliance. A revision of this kind typically also updates procedural matters alongside the fee schedule, such as the documentary requirements, the labor market test, and the grounds for exemption, so employers renewing an existing AEP under the old rules should not assume the process is otherwise unchanged simply because the permit itself looks familiar.
What to Do If an Application Is Denied
An AEP application can be denied for reasons ranging from an incomplete labor market test to a determination that a qualified Filipino applicant was available for the position. Employers who receive a denial generally have the option to file a motion for reconsideration with the DOLE Regional Office that issued the denial, supplementing the record with any additional justification or documents that were not part of the original submission, before deciding whether to pursue the position with a different foreign candidate or restructure the role entirely.
Because the AEP process intersects with immigration, tax, and social security registration requirements all at once, employers hiring their first foreign national often find it worthwhile to map out the full compliance timeline in advance, rather than treating the DOLE permit as an isolated task to complete and forget about.
Penalties for Skipping the AEP
Employing a foreign national without a valid AEP, where one is required, exposes the employer to administrative fines and other sanctions under DOLE’s rules, separate from any immigration consequences the foreign national may face with the Bureau of Immigration. Under the current guidelines, DOLE has set fines of up to ₱10,000 for certain violations, and repeated or serious violations can lead to a multi-year ban on future AEP applications for the individual involved. Given that the fine and the disruption of having to stop a foreign employee from working can easily exceed the cost of the permit itself, there is little practical benefit to skipping the process.
AEP Is Not the Same as a Work Visa
The AEP is a DOLE labor permit confirming the foreign national is authorized to work in a specific position with a specific employer; it is separate from the immigration status the Bureau of Immigration grants, such as a working visa, provisional work permit, or special work permit. Most foreign employees need both an AEP from DOLE and the appropriate visa or work authorization from the Bureau of Immigration, and the two processes typically run in parallel rather than one after the other, so employers should budget time and cost for both tracks rather than assuming the AEP alone authorizes someone to work.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does the foreign employee or the employer pay the AEP fee? DOLE requires the employer to file the AEP application, and in practice the employer typically shoulders the fee as part of the cost of hiring, though the parties may agree otherwise between themselves.
Is the AEP fee refundable if the application is denied? AEP fees are generally non-refundable once paid, except in specific cases of outright denial through no fault of the applicant, so it is important to submit a complete and accurate application the first time.
How long is an AEP valid? An AEP is issued for the term requested, up to the duration of the foreign national’s employment contract, and can run for one year or multiple years, with additional fees charged for validity beyond the first year.
Is an AEP the same as a work visa? No. The AEP is a labor permit from DOLE confirming authorization to work in a specific position, while the visa or work authorization needed to legally stay and work in the Philippines is a separate matter handled by the Bureau of Immigration.
This commentary is for general informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. For guidance specific to your situation, please consult a licensed attorney.
Because the AEP fee is only one line item in the total cost of hiring a foreign national — alongside labor market test publication, notarization, and the separate visa process at the Bureau of Immigration — it helps to plan the whole hiring timeline together rather than budgeting for the permit in isolation.