POEA Advisory to returning OFWs from Canada

Every year during Christmas season, many Overseas Filipino Workers return to the Philippines to celebrate Christmas with their families. If you are a Filipino Worker working in Canada with a Temporary Work Permit and is returning to the Philippines for a vacation, you will need an Overseas Employment Certificate again to return to Canada.

To avoid delay in processing of your OEC, POEA came up with an advisory to returning OFWS. For more information, read: POEA Advisory to Returning OFWs: Apply for OECs early!

Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) and Immigration Consultancy Agencies

Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) is mandated by law to promote and develop the overseas employment program as well as to protect the rights of migrant workers. Migrant Workers and Overseas Filipinos Act of 1995 provides that POEA shall regulate private sector participation in the recruitment and placement of workers through a licensing and registration system.

One of the common questions I receive from clients is if Canadian Immigration Consultancy is accredited by POEA. Thus, I though of writing about POEA and Immigration Consultancy Agencies.

First off, Canadian Immigration Consultancy is not a recruitment agency and does not engage in recruitment and placement activities. That being said, I wish to refer you to POEA Memorandum Circular No. 10 Series of 2003.

http://www.poea.gov.ph/docs/MCs/mc%202003/mc10.pdf

So there. Only those immigration consultancy agencies which do not limit themselves to document facilitation and visa assistance for immigrants, but engage in recruitment and placement activities are required to obtain a license.

Canadian Immigration Consultancy (CIC) is not accredited by Philippine Overseas Employment Agency (POEA) because it is not a recruitment agency. CIC has been doing immigration business for 20 years now!

Online campagin to prevent scams

In an effort to prevent fraud and other wrongdoings by immigration representatives, the Government of Canada launched an on-line survey as part of its campaign to inform immigrants about how to protect themselves against false claims from dishonest immigration consultants or unethical representatives.

“I’ve heard a lot of unsettling stories of how people have been taken in by dishonest immigration consultants or unethical representatives, such as labour, student or live-in care-giver recruiters,” said Jason Kenney, Minister of Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism.

“Make no mistake – the Government enforces Canadian law when immigration fraud is proven. But we’d prefer to prevent the wrongdoing in the first place to protect the integrity of Canada’s immigration system and protect people from harm,” said Minister Kenney, who recently hosted a town hall meeting with ethnic community members in Toronto. A similar town hall meeting will also be held in Vancouver. [Source]

Just yesterday, a friend contacted me asking me what is T4 for? According to her, she is being required by her consultant to pay P30,000 to get a T4 as part of her work permit application as a food server. T4 is a tax return slip and it definitely not required in applying for work permit. Of course, I told my friend not to pay the P30,000 and asked advised her to report it to POEA.

It actually reminds me of a story about a student asking her mom for money allegedly to buy some pronouns as part of their school project. And the mom replied back quite suspecting, "You have just bought some adjectives last week and now you have another project?" :-)

Anyway, to participate in the on-line survey , please visit www.cic.gc.ca. The online survey will be available for the next two weeks. You can help prevent scam by participating in this online campaign.

Things to do before going to Canada: Guide for Filipino Workers

An approval of Temporary Resident Visa application to work in Canada isn't the end of the process for Filipino Workers to legally work in Canada. They still need to accomplish a couple of things.

If you are Filipino worker and have just received your visa to work in Canada, here's what you should do next.

1. Get an Overseas Employment Certificate (OEC) from Philippine Overseas Employment Office (POEA). This process is to document the Filipino's working abroad. It is the Philippine government's way to monitor and safeguard the welfare of Filipino workers abroad.

An Overseas Employment Certificate shall be issued only if your employer is registered at Philippine Overseas Labor Office (POLO), and have meet and complied with the requirements. In most cases, your employer needs to be accredited by POEA through a local recruitment agencies like International Jobs Recruitment Agency (I-Jobs). If your employer does not know this process, here's an employers' guide on hiring Filipino Workers, which you may send to your employer for their reference.

2. Work Permit is issued in Canada. When you arrived in Canada, an immigration officer will interview you must be prepared to show supporting documents, such as your letter of offer of employment and the letter from Citizenship and Immigration Canada saying that you are authorized to come to Canada to work. If the information you have provided matched the information that they have about you, the officer will print the actual permit for you.

How to apply for work in Alberta

Yesterday night, there was a news aired on local television channel featuring an opportunity for Filipino Workers to work in Alberta. It was also reported by Philippline star that some 10,000 to 30,000 Filipino workers are needed in Alberta. As a result, my email inbox was filled with emails inquiring about the news. And I will not be surprised if some others would even visit the Philippine Overseas Employment Office to apply. However, POEA is not recruiting workers for Canada.

This post is to answer the question - How to apply for work in Alberta, Canada?

If you will read the Aternative Application Process that I have posted here earlier, you will have an idea how to apply for work in Canada. If you want to look for job in Alberta, you just have to target employers from Alberta.

From Alberta's Official Immigration Website, there's a job seeker registration page where you may create an account and post your profile.

Here is a list of Canada Jobs Portal where you may look for job vacancies in Alberta. Prepare a good cover letter and send as many application to different employers as you can. This should be a continuous process if you are really serious in finding jobs in Canada.

You may also submit your resume to POEA Accredited recruitment agencies like I-JObs.

Now, if an employer offered you a job and processed your Labor Market Opinion, the next step is to apply for a Temporary Resident Visa and Work Permit at the Canadian Visa Office here in Manila. You dont need a consultant or representative to get your work permit. Remember, however, that an LMO is not a guarantee that you will be given a work permit. There are those whose work permit applications are being refused.

So there. I hope it will help you in applying for work in Alberta.

Should you need an assistance to process your work permit application, you may email me at aapuntar@go2canada.com.

Overseas Employment Certificate (OEC)

Overseas Employment Certificate (OEC) serves as the Overseas Filipino Worker's travel exit clearance at the airport and immigration counters. The OEC is also an exemption for Overseas Filipino Workers from payment of travel tax and airport terminal fees.

Name-hired or Direct-hired workwers are also required to get an OEC. It isn't enough that you have the Labor Market Opinion, Temporary Resident Visa and Work Permit. A name hire refers to a worker who is able to secure an overseas employment opportunity without the assistance or participation of recruitment agency.

Requirements to get OEC

OFW Information Sheet

passport

work visa or work permit

employment contract verified or authenticated by the Philippine embassy or Philippine Overseas Labor Office (POLO) or Philippine consulate in the country of your destination.

medical examination by a DOH-accredited clinic or hospital

certificate of attendance to POEA in-house pre-departure orientation seminar

Costs/Fees to get OEC

POEA Processing Fee - US$100 or its peso equivalent

OWWA membership fee - US$25 or its peso equivalent

OWWA Medicare - P900.00

A worker may register as a name hire at the One Stop Landbased Accreditation and Processing Center located at the 2nd Floor, POEA Bldg., Ortigas, corner EDSA Mandaluyong City.

Be sure to get Overseas Employment Certificate (OEC) before leaving the country to avoid unnecessary problems.

Elmvale 11: Victims of Illegal Recruitment

Elmvale 11 refers to the group of Filipino skilled workers who came to Canada last summer on promises of good jobs in Canada, but ended up working as modern-day slaves. They were victims of illegal recruitment.

The culprit here is a certain Imtazur Nasser Rahman who, according to report from TheStar.Com, charges as much as $18,000 for obtaining a work permit and $30,000 for Canadian permanent residency.

Rahman's client list is a long one.

Nurses and nannies from the Philippines, crane operators from Dubai, labourers from India and China – all desperate to come to Canada – sought out his services. All were willing to pay big bucks.

Rahman recently closed down his office at Yonge St. and Davisville Ave. His abandoned business records show the menu of prices; Rahman demanded as much as $18,000 for obtaining a work permit and $30,000 for Canadian permanent residency.[Source]

For Filipino Workers who are planning to work in Canada, please be reminded that there is no placement fee for Canada-bound Workers. Early this year, POEA has suspended the license of a local recruitment agency and initiated charges against its counterpart in Canada for collecting placement fees from applicants for jobs in Canada.

The case of Elmvale 11 is similar to that of Maple Leaf workers who have paid $10,000.00 just to get their jobs.

Employers' Guide: Hiring Filipino Workers

Last month, Apples Jalandoni of ABS-CBN's Bandila visited our office to gather information about application process to live and work in Canada. And few weeks ago, I was contacted by a couple of employers from British Columbia who want to hire Filipino Workers. Why is there a huge demand for Filipino Workers is probably best explained by this: Imagine a world without Filipinos.

If you are an employer from Canada planning to hire temporary foreign workers from the Philippines, the following information may help you.

First, you must apply for a Labor Market Opinion (LMO) from Human Resource Social Development Canada. (We can help you with this if you are not familiar with the process.)

A prospective employer interested to hire Filipino workers must be pre-qualified or verified by the Philippine Overseas Labor Office (POLO) in Canada and the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA), the Philippine government’s arm that manages the deployment of Filipino workers overseas.

Philippine Overseas Labor Office (POLO) verification process is to ascertain the existence of the company or project and that there is indeed a need for Filipino Manpower.

The following documents must be provided by the employer:

Special power of attorney issued by the principal or employer to the licensed Philippine agency or recruitment agreement or service agreement;

Master employment contract which stipulates among others the minimum provisions of employment contracts of landbased workers;

Manpower request indicating the position and salary of the workers to be hired;

Valid business license, registration certificate or equivalent document.

Upon POLO Validation, employer must be registered by a local recruitment agency to POEA in order for them to conduct recruitment activities. The following document are required for registration

Special Power of Attorney or recruitment agreement or service agreement with the Philippine licensed agency;

Master employment contract of the direct employer or foreign placement agency containing the minimum requirements for contracts of employment of land based workers;

Manpower request indicating the position and salary of the workers to be hired.

Valid business license, registration certificate or equivalent document or proof of existence of project validated or certified by the issuing authority in the host country;

Visa assurance or any equivalent document validated by the issuing authority. (LMO will do)

With the complicated process of hiring Filipino Workers, you need an experienced partner like Internationl Jobs Recruitment Agency.

Our partner, International Jobs Recruitment Agency (I-Jobs), is in the best position to assist you if you are planning to hire Filipino Workers They will not only provide you qualified workers with skills, training and education that you need. They will also help you plan for your manpower requirements.

Visit http://www.intl-jobs.com now!

Overseas Filipino Worker's (OFW) Information Sheet

IF you are planning to apply to work in Canada and that you have experience working overseas, you may be required to submit a certified copy of worker information sheet from Philippine Overseas Employment Agency (POEA).

You may get a certified worker information sheet from POEA Central Records Division, 6th floor POEA Building located at EDSA Cor Ortigas Avenue, Mandaluyong City. You may contact the Central Records Division at 721-94-89.

I contacted the Central Records Division and I was surprised, but glad, to know that there is no fee required to get a certified copy of worker information sheet. If all your record is available at their main database, you'll get the certificate the same day that you requested for it. Otherwise, allow 3-5 days allowance for them to coordinate with Regional Offices and Philippine Overseas Labour Office abroad.

Certified copy of worker's information sheet is not included on the checklist on the application kit for work permit application. My suggestion to get this document in advance is based on experience. You may submit this in advance to avoid delay on the processing.

Omni Hotel Scam

IF you are actively looking for a job offer from Canada and you suddenly receive an email like this, you'll probably jump for joy.

I am Mrs Rose Grand from canada, the manager of omni hotel canada

we need men and women who can work and live in canada,

Hotel will pay for your air ticket, accomodation and express visa processing fees with the immigration bureau in canada.

Hotel needs twenty more additional workers for immediate employment.

if you are interested contact me back immediatelly via my email below o.k?.

Email : canadians_ominicityhotelzone@yahoo.ca

Sign ,
Manager Of omni hotel Canada
Mrs Christana Rose Grand

Then you will send the information they require and then later you will be sent an employment contract with great compensation scheme. You'll be real excited and then comes the requirement for you transfer money via western union for the cost of courier and other expenses.

Some immediately pay, while some others finally realize that something is wrong.

Sometimes, you'll just receive an unexpected email. But they also post vacancies to job posting sites and since you remember sending them your resume,you will not suspect its a scam. But it is!

IF you're dealing direct with the employer who wanted to hire you, you will not be required to pay anything. If they can't even afford to pay the courier fee, how can they afford to pay you the promised salary?

Notice the email address used? It's a yahoo.ca email account! Well, just because the email sender used a yahoo account does not necessarily mean it's a scam. But it should at least make you curious.

Here's a comprehensive guideline from POEA website to avoid overseas employment scams.

POEA suspends agency collecting placement fees from recruits to Canada

There is a standing POEA Policy that there should be no placement fee for Canada-Bound Overseas Filipino Workers as early as October last year. However, there are still some recruitment agencies charging as much as US$ 8,000.00 for helping applicants get a jobs in Canada.

POEA Administrator Rosalinda Baldoz said JFG Career Agency, the counterpart of September Star Inc in Canada, was cited for default in its contractual obligations to the Filipino workers, and for gross violation of laws, rules and regulations on overseas employment.[Source]

If you are interested to live and work in Canada, you may send your resume for initial assessment. With or without a job offer, you may have the chance live and work in Canada through Permanent Resident Visa Application.

POEA Memorandum Circular No. 4

POEA Memorandum Circular No. 04, which sets the Guidelines on Direct Hiring of Filipino Workers was greeted with a protest by Migrant workers and militant Bayan Muna in Congress:

“A cursory reading of MC #04 would reveal that this is a set of ‘Guidelines on Direct Hiring of Filipino Workers’ from the office of POEA Administrator Rosalinda Baldoz. Some parts of the memo show the some of the methods of government exactions on OFWs such as the ‘performance bond’ and ‘repatriation bond,’” Casiño said.

Among the controversial points of the memo are the requisites for two OFW categories: the Skilled Category and Household Service Workers. These types of OFWs are required to get a Certificate of Worker Coverage under a ‘repatriation bond’ worth US$5,000 or its peso equivalent. The memo states that the OFW will not be made to pay this amount as these would be charged to the employers.

“Although the 4-page memo states that the OFW will not shell out anything, OFWs will still foot these amounts as their employers will pass it on to them by underpayment or salary deductions. Concrete examples are what employers do when they are made to pay the OFW’s US$100 POEA processing fee. The memo also does not state where and how these new fees will be spent by the government. This is apparently another hocus-pocus revenue generation scheme by the Arroyo administration at the expense of OFWs and their families. It must also be noted that MC 04 is a blanket policy on all OFWs in all countries,” Casiño said.[Bayan Muna]

Filipino Workers in Hong Kong even formed a coalition against the said circular

SIXTY-five OFW groups representing more than 130,000 Filipinos toiling in Hong Kong as domestics and professionals have formed a coalition calling on the government to rescind a memorandum requiring foreign employers to pay $8,000 in fees to directly hire Filipino workers.

The Philippine Overseas Employment Administration requires foreign employers seeking to hire OFWs to pay a $5,000 repatriation bond to guarantee the repatriation of the worker or of his remains in the event of death, and a $3,000 performance bond to guarantee payment of salaries.

The new coalition is called SKRAP MC-04, or Samahan Laban sa Katiwalin ng mga Recruitment Agencies at Patakarang MC-04 (Society against Abuses of Recruitment Agencies and the MC-04 Policy).[Tonyocruz.com/Malaya]

Here's an interesting update.

The Labor department will revise the guidelines on direct hiring by foreign employers following strong objections from overseas Filipino workers.

Italy, Hong Kong and Canada will be exempted from the payment of the $5,000 repatriation bond and $3,000 performance bond requirement on foreign employers, according to Labor Secretary Arturo Brion.

The decision to revise Memorandum Circular No. 4 was arrived at during a meeting of the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) governing board on Friday.[GMANews.TV]

This is one big victory for the Filipino Migrant Workers! But the struggle continues...

POEA and Jobs in Canada

Recently, I've been receiving calls from clients asking about the deal with POEA's recruitment activity for Canada after seeing the news aired few days ago. Some even went to POEA office to inquire and submit their resume only to find out that government placement facility has no job openings for Canada.

I haven't seen the news and don't have any idea how it was reported. But considering how the media exaggerates sometimes, it isn't surprising why many people reacted that way.

Anyway, POEA released an advisory to clarify the matter:

POEA’s government placement facility has no job openings for Canada. Job orders for Canada are available at DOLE-POEA licensed recruitment agencies with accredited principals/employers. Interested applicants may apply with these licensed recruitment agencies or search for job orders at our website. [For the full text of the advisory, click here.]

There are ways more than one that you may do to get a Permanent Resident Visa and or legally work in Canada. Here's how to find jobs in Canada.

No Placement Fee for Canada-bound OFWs

Here's a link to the news release from POEA regarding the policy for Canada-bound OFWs.

The Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) warns recruitment agencies against charging or collecting any recruitment and placement fee from workers to be deployed to Canada and countries, which have laws that prohibit the same.

The prohibition is specifically applicable to agencies that are deploying workers to the Canada provinces of Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta, and British Columbia.

This is good news. However, we still hear from clients about placement agencies charging as much as P250,000.00 for a job in Canada. They also promise a faster processing. Some even boast of contacts inside Canadian Embassy.

To be sure, go only to legitimate placement agencies like I-Jobs.

And if you want to apply for permanent residence in Canada, you may send your resume to aapuntar@go2canada.com for initial assessment.