Ofw’s Frequently Asked Questions
• My wife’s recruitment agency wants us to pay 50 thousand pesos as placement fee. Is this legal?
– The legal placement fee to be collected by licensed recruitment agencies from applicants for overseas jobs must be equivalent to one month salary of the worker as stipulated in the employment contract. The amount, however, does not include documentation and processing costs.
– Documentation costs include fees for passport, NBI/Police clearance, medical examinations, medicare premium, trade tests, authentication, birth certificate. Processing costs include visa, POEA processing fee, and OWWA membership fee to be paid by the employer.
• Our company wants to hire Filipino workers for our overseas projects. What are the requirements before we can recruit the workers?
– Only entities licensed by the Department of Labor and Employment through the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration may recruit Filipino workers for employment overseas. A foreign company may therefore hire Filipino workers by engaging the services of a licensed recruitment agency in the Philippines.
• My husband is an OFW My children and I want to go to the place where he is working. Do we have to pay for the travel tax?
– The family of an overseas Filipino worker may avail of a reduced travel tax when they go abroad while the OFW has an existing employment contract. The reduced travel tax certificate is issued by the Department of Tourism. Call (02) 524-7141 loc. 109 or visit them at the Ground Floor, Room 117, Revenue Department, Department of Tourism Building, T.M. Kalaw, Malate, Manila.
• My son wants to withdraw his application from an agency because it has failed to deploy him after so many months now. Can we claim for reimbursement of my expenses?
– Yes, you can claim for reimbursement of placement fee, documentation and processing expenses from the agency if deployment did not happen without your fault. You may file an administrative case against the recruitment agency through POEA’s Legal Assistance Division.
• My wife’s contract was for 2 years but my employer dismissed her after 3 months of work. Can we sue for breach of contract and claim for unpaid wages. Where shall I file the case?
– You may sue your employer and its agent if you were dismissed without valid reasons. Money arising from employer-employee relationship such as unpaid wages, breach of contract or illegal dismissal may be filed with the Migrant Worker’s Desk of the National Labor Relations Commission in Quezon City or in NLRC’s Regional Arbitration Branch in the region you reside.
• My husband is spending his vacation in the Philippines and will go back employer after one month. Does he have to go through POEA processing again?
– No, he need not go through the whole process again. The employer and employment contra already verified. As a returning overseas Filipino worker or “balik-manggagawa” all that needs to I Is secure an overseas employment certificate (OEC) at the POEA Balik-Manggagawa Processing I regional centers and satellite offices and some Philippine Overseas Labor Offices to enable OFWs to the country again and avail of the same privileges such as exemption from travel tax and airport fee.
• I was hired as a consultant in facilitating the documentation of immigrant being recruited for employment in US hospitals. Do we have to secure a license for the with immigrant workers?
– Yes, you need to secure a license from POEA if your immigration consultancy and other similar en- not limit your assistance to processing and facilitation in the issuance of immigrant visa but will engage in the recruitment and placement of workers, whether on worker’s visa or employment-based immigration visa, without a license or authority issued by POEA, you shall be subjected to prosecution for illegal recruitment and such other appropriate action as may be necessary pursuant to the pertinent provision RA 8042 and its implementing rules and regulation (MC #10).
Source: www.poea.gov.ph
Very helpful website here, i have one question from a friend, her husband is working abroad and she found out that he is now living with his mistress and has two kids. They even come home to the Philippines without her knowing. What is her right as the legal wife against her husband and his mistress? Thanks a lot!
sir,
Im now one year in my contract here in qatar. my father was sick his in hospital right now, my sister speaking his last breath to go. only the machine making his heart pump. can i go home? is my compony provide me ticket for this? my plan is come to work here again this compony. im afraid maybe my compony dont want me to go home. what should i do if this thing happend???
You have to ask your company is they can shoulder the ticket for you to go home.
You have to decide what is important to you. You can always look for a new
company just in case this one does not work out.