24 November 2004 – The Philippine Embassy in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates today issued a warning to Filipinos seeking employment in the Gulf State to beware of unscrupulous individuals and agencies posing as legitimate employment brokers, agents or recruiters, who offer jobs in UAE through a visit or tourist visa.  This warning comes in the light of a marked increase in the incidence of Filipinos arriving in the UAE who have been duped by dishonest recruiters, as the Philippine Embassy in Abu Dhabi renewed its pledge to assist in every way possible, Filipinos in distress due to such deceptive schemes.

With this warning, the Philippine Embassy in Abu Dhabi strongly advises prospective OFWs to deal only with licensed recruitment agencies accredited by the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration or POEA.  Promises of good employment that sounds almost too good to be true should be counterchecked with the POEA for verification if such employment openings do exist.  The POEA also has a list of duly licensed recruiters based in the Philippines, as well as their accredited agents, which could be used as reference to avoid becoming victims of illegal recruitment.

According to the report of Philippine Ambassador to the UAE Libran N. Cabactulan, the Embassy has recorded numerous cases involving Filipinos who have been promised employment or interviews for high-paying jobs with reputable companies by people posing as recruiters or employment brokers but enter the UAE with only visit or tourist visas.  These illegal recruiters reportedly charge exorbitant fees, amounting to as much as Php100,000 in some cases.

Unfortunately, in many cases, these promises of good employment never materialize.  The Filipino national, whose passport and return ticket have been confiscated by the UAE-based contact, is left with the option of either returning to the Philippines at his/her own expense, or seeking out job opportunities him/herself before the visit visa expires, usually after one or two months.  Filipinos who remain in the UAE after their visit visas expire are faced with payment of sizeable overstaying fines and even imprisonment, Ambassador Cabactulan said.

The Philippine Embassy also reports that many Filipinos who do get employed, find themselves in menial and low-paying jobs, far from what was promised them.  Moreover, the Embassy cautions Filipinos abandoned by their UAE-based contacts from trying to find employment during the validity of their visit visa.  Filipinos who enter UAE as tourists and, therefore, as undocumented workers face many challenges that offset the benefits of getting employed in the first place.

Ambassador Cabactulan informs that in a number of cases, Filipinos who try to get employed with only a visit visa are prone to exploitation.  Some are forced to enter into employment contracts with salaries lower than what they used to earn in the Philippines.  Some work under difficult and unfair conditions while some find out that their employer never changed their visa status from visit to employment/residence status, resulting in large fines for overstaying.

The Philippine Embassy reminds Filipinos that visit visas are only meant for transients and thus, suitable only for travel and other such temporary visits.  Those who go to the UAE as workers should enter with a working visa as sponsored by a legitimate UAE-based employer.  Filipinos seeking employment using only a visit visa may be spending an exorbitant amount only to be exposed to substandard wages, poor working conditions and harassment, exploitation, abuse detention, deportation and even imprisonment. END