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MANILA, Nov. 17 (Xinhua) -- Foreign businessmen who hire more than 10 Filipinos are now allowed to stay in the Philippines indefinitely, according to a new government order aimed to boost domestic employment in global economic slowdown.

Philippine President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo on Monday signed into law Executive Order (EO) 758, which will provide legal ground and mechanism for the Special Visa on Employment Generation (SVEG).

The special visa will be granted to a "qualified, non-immigrant foreigner who shall actually employ at least 10 Filipinos in a lawful, sustainable enterprise, trade, or industry," according to the new rule.

Foreigners who acquire the visa are considered special non-immigrants with multiple entry privileges and conditional extended stay, without need of prior departure from the Philippines.

Immigration Commissioner Marcelino Libanan welcomed the passage of the new rule, saying that the launching of the job-generation visa would mitigate the negative impact of the current economic meltdown on the Philippine economy.

At least 100,000 jobs are expected to be generated in the wake of enactment of EO 758, immigration officials said.

Amid the global financial turmoil, at least 50,000 Filipino workers in the United States and other countries are feared to lose their jobs and return home, where the economy is seriously affected but still under control, the analysts say.

According to the government data, about 4.3 million Filipino laborers were unemployed by July 2008 and another 12 million were underemployed, which means their job is constantly on shaky ground.

Also, the same visa may be extended to the visa applicant's spouse and dependents under 18 years of age, whether legitimate, illegitimate, or adopted.

The guidelines provide that aside from investing in a particular business, the visa applicant must also have a "genuine intention" to remain in the Philippines and he or she must not be a risk to national security.