Is it just me or does it seem like the dreams of most Filipinos these days are hitched on finding a well-paying job overseas?
Don’t get me wrong. I’m sure there are still many who choose to stay in good old Pinas. But there seems just as many, if not more, who are hell bent on finding a job abroad so much so that unscrupulous employment agencies are able to live off a regular fare of trusting would-be OFW’s. Even those in government seem to be hitching their hopes of a better Philippines on the success of the Filipino migrant worker abroad…but I digress.
On many occasions, whenever my stint as an OFW comes to light, I get asked about my experience. Often, complete strangers who are preparing to leave are referred to me by common friends and relatives in the hope that I could somehow share something useful. I would be the first to admit that by no means am I an expert on the subject. But here’s my two cents on the things that a would-be OFW should know:
1. An employment agency helps but make sure that you take the effort to find out if the employment agency is legitimate and trust worthy.
The old advice of checking with the POEA (either by calling their hotline or checking their website: http://www.poea.gov.ph/cgi-bin/agList.asp?mode=all ) still stands but stories of extortionist, POEA-accredited agencies still abound. In my experience, the safest way to do this is to get referrals from friends who have gone and succeeded in taking the OFW-route before you.
The POEA website also offers advice on how to avoid illegal recruiters: http://www.poea.gov.ph/html/how%20to_ir.html .
2. Get an official receipt for ALL expenses related to your application.
This includes the fees you paid the employment agency, registration fees with the POEA (http://www.poea.gov.ph/ofw/ofw_services.html), medical examination fees and your ticket and travel expenses. In doing so, you will have solid documentation of all the money that you have spent-this would be very handy should things go wrong and a legal suit becomes unavoidable. On a more positive light, the same documentation of expenses would facilitate reimbursement of your expenses from your employer.
3. Before you leave the Philippines, make sure that you have your work papers in order (working visa/ work pass, work contract) and that the POEA is aware of your departure.
When I was applying to work abroad, my work visa took a long time to be processed. The local employment agency was insisting that I leave the Philippines using a tourist pass and just wait for my work visa in my host country as I was falling behind schedule. I thank my lucky stars that my dad was adamant that I NOT do so. The employer in the host country was equally adamant that I wait for my work visa before I leave.
Your rights as a foreign worker cannot be adequately protected if you leave the country without a work visa and without the knowledge of the POEA that you are leaving. A few-days delay is not worth the heartache of the complications that may arise if you do not have the right documents when you leave Philippine soil.
4. Actually attend the OWWA pre-departure seminar.
I learned a lot from the OWWA seminar-both practical and technical. It was worth the hour that I spent sitting there and listening to the speaker’s advice. Take the effort to actually attend it and pay attention.
5. Bring extra copies of your travel documents.
This includes your passport, tickets and other POEA documents. Nothing is as confusing as the first time you travel out of the country as an OFW. The mix of emotions, the alien experience of filling up pre-departure documents as an OFW is truly overwhelming (No, your previous experiences traveling out of the country as a tourist cannot prepare you for what you are about to go through). Amidst all the confusion, documents are liable to get lost. Have a back-up copy just in case (Not that these copies could serve as a replacement of the original documents, but at least you have something to help move things along).
Better yet, e-mail yourself a scanned copy of your documents.
6. Make sure that the cellular phone that you take with you is NOT SIM-locked and activate your roaming features ahead of time.
SIM-locked phones seem to be the norm in the Philippines. Make sure that your phone is NOT SIM-locked, or if it is, have your line opened while you are still in the Philippines so that you can easily pop in a local SIM card once you get to your destination. It can be very expensive to have your line opened when you are abroad.
If you want to have your Philippine SIM’s roaming features activated, make sure that you have adequate lead time as it can take anywhere from a few hours to a few days before the roaming feature is activated. There are prepaid plans that only enable text messaging in roaming mode. Some telecoms will even require a deposit to activate the feature. Try to look into OFW SIM cards marketed by the different telecoms, they may offer cheap and convenient alternatives to roaming your current local cellphone plan.
7. If you plan on sending money home (who doesn’t) at one point or another, open a local bank account to which you can send your remittances.
It is cheaper to remit money to a local bank account than to send money door to door. A local account will therefore save you money in the long run. Opening an account with a bank that offers online banking is even better so that you can view your account even when you’re outside the country.
8. Bring a reasonable amount of foreign currency with you.
Imagine yourself landing in a foreign country, in the middle of the night with no welcoming party in sight at the airport. Pocket money in the country’s currency or in the “universal” U.S. dollar will be very useful to make phone calls and, buy food and, if need be, hire transportation to get you to where you should be (But, if someone is meant to be picking you up, it would still be safer to wait in the airport).
There are regulations as to the amount of money you can bring into and out of the country: http://www.philembassy.se/consulr/info/customs.htm .
9. DON’T bring all your earthly possessions with you.
It goes without saying that you are going abroad to work. One or two sentimental items to keep sadness at bay would be reasonable. But be very practical in choosing what to bring and what to leave behind…excess baggage will cost you dearly (Check with your airline as to exactly how much they charge per kilogram of excess baggage). As far as clothes are concerned, it would be better to bring just a few pieces of separates that can be mixed and matched (around two-week’s worth should be enough). It is inevitable that the culture of dressing in a foreign country would be different from what we are used to; you will find out just how different things are once you get there. You would probably need to buy new clothes to fit into your new work environment. It would be futile to bring your entire wardrobe with you.
Do you have any practical advice for the “bagong bayani’s” of our country?
