Foreign nationals (FN), who intend to engage in local micro and small domestic market enterprises will now be required to obtain certification from the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE).
Under his Labor Advisory (LA) No. 20 series of 2022, Labor and Employment Secretary Bienvenido E. Laguesma disclosed the said requirement will apply to FNs with enterprises with paid-in equity capital of at least US$100,000, but not equal to or more than US$200,000.
He said the certification will be issued by the concerned DOLE Regional Office (RO), which have jurisdiction over their enterprise.
The applicants must also pay P500 fee as well as submit a notarized Affidavit of Undertaking indicating that the majority of their direct employees shall be Filipinos and that in no case shall the number of their Filipino direct employees be less than 15.
“Upon payment of the required fee and submission of the Affidavit of Undertaking, the DOLE RO shall process the application and issue the Certification in accordance with Republic Act No. 11032 or Ease of Doing Business and Efficient Government Service Delivery Act,” Laguesma said.
The certification will be used by FNs for the purposes of registration with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) or the Department and Trade and Industry (DTI).
Last week, Laguesma issued LA 20 to serve as the guidelines for implementation of Republic Act (RA) No. 11647 or the amended Foreign Investments Act.
The said legislation aims to attract more foreign investments in the country by easing stringent business requirements.