Hire a Japanese Chef in Cebu: SWP, AEP and Local Offices

Hiring a Japanese chef for Cebu or Mactan runs on the same national permits as elsewhere in the Philippines, filed locally: the Alien Employment Permit at DOLE Regional Office VII in Cebu City, and the 9(g) visa or a Special Work Permit at BI's Cebu District Office, which handles both. For a resort opening or short launch, the Special Work Permit (PHP 6,440, 3 to 6 months) is usually the right tool, not a permanent hire. Filipino staff pay in Mactan and Cebu City starts at PHP 540 a day; the Japanese chef's pay follows the regional market, not this floor.

1. Pick the permit: opening or permanent hire

Cebu's resort and restaurant employers usually want one of two different things, and the paperwork is different for each.

If the SWP holder stays on past 6 months, file the AEP at least 21 working days before the SWP expires. Decide which hire you actually have before advertising: a consultant chef for a three-week opening needs no AEP, and a permanent head chef should not run on a permit meant for short work.

2. The Special Work Permit for a resort opening

The Bureau of Immigration's commercial SWP covers a foreign national in gainful employment for three to six months, which fits a resort launch, a pop-up, or a chef training a kitchen before a permanent hire arrives. Per BI's published schedule:

• Fee: PHP 6,440, plus US$50 per year if the chef also needs an ACR I-Card for a longer stay.
• Documents: the completed checklist and Clearance Generalized Application Form (CGAF), plus an employer certification stating whether this is a first SWP or an extension.
• Where: BI's Main Office or another authorised office; Cebu's own office is one (section 3).

A chef coming only to interview can enter visa free for up to 30 days for business or tourism. That does not cover paid work, including a trial shift.

3. Which office in Cebu actually handles this

Checked directly against both agencies' own published material, not "confirm with DOLE" or "ask the BI":

• AEP: DOLE Regional Office VII. DOLE-7, based in Cebu City with field offices across Tri-City, Cebu Province, Bohol, Negros Oriental and Siquijor, files and renews AEPs for the region. If your company is registered outside Region VII but the kitchen is in Cebu, confirm that workplace location, not registered address, controls the filing office.
• 9(g) and SWP: the BI Cebu District Office. Its 2023 Citizen's Charter lists both directly: conversion to a pre-arranged employment (commercial) 9(g) visa, about 64 working days, and the Special Working Permit as a listed transaction. Neither needs a Manila filing.

Budget the roughly 64 day 9(g) conversion into your timeline; it runs longer than the AEP step most employers focus on.

4. Cebu's minimum wage, and what it does not tell you

Cebu sits in Region VII (Central Visayas). Under Wage Order ROVII-26, effective 4 October 2025, the daily minimum for Class A areas, which includes Lapu-Lapu City and Cordova on Mactan and Cebu City itself, is PHP 540; Class B areas are PHP 500. Region VII's wage board has been holding hearings on the next order, so check for a newer one before fixing 2027 pay.

This floor sets pay for your Filipino team, including the two understudies in the AEP skills transfer programme. It says nothing about the Japanese chef, whose market is regional, not local. No official figure exists for Cebu or the Philippines generally, so use two reference points instead:

1. Resort-employed vs independent. A head chef employed directly by a hotel or resort is usually priced against the hotel's F&B management band, not a standalone kitchen budget. Ask what the resort pays its other expatriate department heads.
2. Compare against Manila and the region. Metro Manila's larger, counted Japanese community (6,513 residents, MOFA) supports more competing offers than Cebu's uncounted one. Match Manila rather than undercutting it for a smaller city. See sushi chef salary by country for official floors elsewhere, and Bali for another resort market.

5. The skills transfer programme, made real

DOLE's AEP framework requires a programme to transfer the foreign hire's skills to two Filipino understudies, particularly for technical, non-managerial roles. For a resort kitchen this is not paperwork to file and forget:

• Name two cooks already on your roster, not two to be hired later; DOLE's template asks for names, not placeholders.
• Write what they will learn and by when: knife work for raw fish, rice and vinegar ratios, dashi and sauces, the core menu, food safety for raw product. Three to six months is realistic for a launch team.
• Keep dated records from day one: who was trained, in what, signed off by whom. This is what a renewal or audit asks for.
• Treat it as succession planning, not only a permit condition; a resort with two trained understudies is not dependent on one imported chef next season. See training local staff in Japanese cuisine.

6. A 12 week schedule for an opening

7. Copy-paste: the DOLE and BI cover letter

Both offices want a clear employer statement of the role and the basis for hiring a foreign national. Adapt this for your filing:

8. What to do this week

1. Decide SWP or AEP/9(g) before advertising; they are different hires with different documents.
2. Call DOLE-7 to confirm which field office takes your AEP filing, and whether registration address or workplace location controls.
3. Budget 64 working days for a 9(g) conversion at BI Cebu, not the shorter AEP timeline alone.
4. Set Filipino pay at or above PHP 540 (Class A) or PHP 500 (Class B), and check for a new wage order.
5. Name your two understudies now, even before the chef arrives, so the training record starts day one.

General information checked in September 2026 against NWPC wage orders, Bureau of Immigration published fee schedules and Citizen's Charter, DOLE Regional Office VII's published material, JETRO information and Japanese government statistics, not legal or immigration advice. Confirm current rates, office jurisdiction and requirements with DOLE-7, the Bureau of Immigration or a Philippine lawyer before hiring.