A foreign student applying for a 9(f) visa should have the sufficient means to support his or her education in the Philippines, must be at least eighteen (18) years old, and intends to enter the Philippines temporarily and solely for the purpose of taking up a course of higher education at a university, seminary, academy, college, or school duly accredited and authorized by the Bureau of Immigration to accept foreign students.

The foreign student must apply for admission directly to the school of interest (not through the Consular Section) and comply with the relevant admission requirements as prescribed by the school, which shall include the submission of the following documents:

1. Five (5) copies of the Personal History Statement (PHS) duly signed by the student, both in English and in the national alphabet, with the student's left and right thumbprints affixed and a passport photo on plain white background taken not more than six (6) months prior to the submission;
2. Notarized affidavit of support including bank statements or notarized notice of grant for institutional scholars to prove financial capacity to cover all related expenses of the student (e.g. accommodation, subsistence, tuition, and other fees);
3. Transcript of Records or scholastic records duly authenticated, first by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and then by the Embassy's Consular Section;
4. Photocopy of the passport details page of the student; and
5. Birth certificate or its equivalent, again duly authenticated by the MFA and the Embassy's Consular Section

The prospective school, if it decides to admit the foreign student, shall issue a Notice of Acceptance (NOA) to the student and provide a copy of this to the Department of Foreign Affairs in Manila, along with the documentary requirements cited above.

Upon receiving the Notice of Acceptance, the DFA then forwards the documents to the Embassy's Consular Section for the issuance of the 9(f) visa.

When the Embassy's Consular section has received the NOA and other documentary requirements, the foreign student is then required to personally appear before a Consular Officer for interview and to submit the following additional requirements for the issuance of the 9(f) visa:

1. Original of the school's Notice of Admission with a clear impression of the school's dry seal;
2. Original of the Certificate of Eligibility of Admission (CEA) issued by the Commission on Higher Education(CHED), if the foreign student is being admitted to a course or degree program where restrictions may exist due to shortage of facilities, e.g. Medicine or Dentistry;
3. Police clearance issued by the national police authority in the foreign student's country, authenticated by the MFA and by the Consular Section; and
4. Medical health certificate issued by an authorized physician, including but not limited to standard-size chest x-ray and hepatitis B clearance.

Note: The Embassy's Consular Section is not responsible for determining the scholastic aptitude of the foreign student and shall issue the student visa only upon ascertaining that he or she has been accepted to an accredited Philippine school authorized to accept foreign students and that all requirements outlined above have been complied with by the foreign student. The issuance of the 9(f) visa will be promptly reported by the Embassy's Consular Section to the DFA so that it can in turn inform the school, the CHED, the BI, the NBI, and the NICA.