Philippine embassy advises OFWs to carry documents

The Philippine embassy in Doha yesterday advised Filipino expatriates to carry all required documents when returning to the host country or travelling elsewhere.In a circular sent to the Filipino community, ambassador Alan L Timbayan cited the “Revised Guidelines on Departure Formalities for International-Bound Passengers” issued by the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking of the Department of Justice, which aims to combat human trafficking.“The revised guidelines are in keeping with the Philippines’ ongoing efforts to stamp out human trafficking by establishing primary and secondary tiers of inspection procedures in the ports,” said in an embassy circular sent to the Filipino community yesterday.He noted that passengers who have “doubtful purpose of travel, fraudulent, falsified or tampered travel documents or identified as trafficked person shall not be cleared for departure”.Immigration officers can also defer a passenger’s departure until “further documents are submitted and/or clarifications are made”.The new guidelines also directs Philippine immigration officers to establish each passenger’s travel purpose, including Filipino tourist passengers, “on a case-to-case basis” before giving any clearance, according to the embassy circular.According to the guidelines, departing overseas Filipino workers (newly-hired) must present a valid passport; original/valid visa, in accordance with country-specific advisory from the Philippine Employment Administration (POEA); airline/sea craft travel tickets; and e-receipt or Overseas Employment Certificate (OEC) duly issued by the Pre-Employment Services Office of POEA as appearing in the database.For returning Filipino expatriates (Balik-Manggagawa), a valid passport, valid visa, airline/sea craft travel ticket, and OEC issued on-site by the Philippine Overseas Labour Office (POLO) or POEA must be presented before an immigration officer for clearance. A worker-on-leave, rehire, or a POLO-registered worker falls under the Balik-Manggagawa OFW category, the guidelines noted. In case of incomplete or questionable documents, the OFW shall be referred to the POEA-Labour Assistance Centre for further validation and clearance, the guidelines said.It added that a Balik-Manggagawa OFW with a valid visa and an existing work contract with his/her current employer, who intends to go to other countries while on vacation, is considered a tourist.“Hence, he/she need not secure an OEC for such travel but shall be allowed to travel in accordance with the guidelines for tourist passengers,” the guidelines said.A tourist passenger is required to present a valid passport, visa whenever applicable or required, and roundtrip or return ticket, as part of a primary inspection.The guideline noted that a tourist passenger will be referred for secondary inspection if: he or she has no capacity to travel and escorted or accompanied by a foreign national who is not a relative by consanguinity or affinity; a minor travelling alone or unaccompanied by either parent or legal guardian without the required travel clearance from authorities; and travelling to countries with existing deployment bans, among others.Timbayan urged Filipino expatriates in Qatar to share the guidelines with their relatives, friends and acquaintances for information guidance.