Filipino workers who returned to the Philippines after working abroad for a time need to obtain an overseas employment certificate (OEC) to ensure that they would be registered as a documented overseas Filipino worker (OFW). Read on for guides and information about the processing of returning OFWs or Balik Manggagawa:
There are several types of Balik-Manggagawa OFWs (BM-OFWs):
Workers-on-Leave - OFWs who are in the Philippines for a short vacation but would return to the same employer overseas and is still under a valid and existing job contract.
Re-hires - OFWs who returned to the Philippines after finishing an employment contract overseas but would return to the same foreign employer because they are re-hired.
POLO registered workers - These are returning workers whose employment contracts were not processed by POEA, but were verified by the Philippine Overseas Labor Office (POLO) in the jobsite. They would return to the same employer either as a worker-on-leave or rehire, regardless of any change in the jobsite.
- Proof of existing employment (such as valid employment contract, employment certificate, valid company ID, pay slips)
- Passport valid for at least 6 months from the time of departure
- Valid visa / re-entry permit / work permit or equivalent document
- POEA processing fee - Php 100.00
- OWWA membership fee - US$25 or its peso equivalent (per contract basis)
- PhilHealth - Php 900.00 (good for 1 year coverage)
- Pag-Ibig membership - Php 100 (minimum)
Validity Period: Once issued, an OEC is valid for sixty (60) days, one (1) day for OECs issued by the Labor Assistance Centers (LACs) at the airports.
In case of lost Balik Manggagawa E-receipt/OEC: One cannot apply for a new E-Receipt/OEC as replacement for lost e-receipt/OEC. They should submit an Affidavit of Loss and request for a certificate indicating the particulars of previously issued e-receipt/OEC based on available POEA/POLO records, upon submission of an Affidavit of Loss.
Where can a BM-OFW apply for OEC?
- Balik-Manggagawa Processing Division (BMPD) POEA main office
- POEA Regional Centers all over Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao
- POEA Regional Extension Units / Satellite Offices
- Labor Assistance Centers (LAC) at international airports in Manila, Cebu and Mindanao. (OEC issuance at LACs is limited to those classified as regular balik manggagawa, vacationing workers, rehires, POLO-registered workers - with confirmed airline bookings on the date of request of BM OEC issuance, and whose home leave does not exceed five (5) days. (BM-Name Hires cannot be issued BM OEC at the LACs.)
- Philippine Overseas Labor Offices (POLO)
How to apply BM-OFW thru POLO in Geneva?
One can also set an appointment for Balik Manggagawa processing online: http://bmappointment.poea.gov.ph/
For Filipinos who are not OFWs but are residents in Poland and wish to go back to the Philippines for holidays, what documents are required when returning to Poland?
- Filipinos who are temporary residents in Poland will be required to pay the travel tax and present their valid Polish residence card to immigration authorities when they leave the Philippines to return the Poland.
- Filipinos who are permanent residents can get an exemption from paying the travel tax by securing a certification from the Embassy. Please visit the Embassy and present your passport and valid permanent residence card. The certificate is issued free of charge. The travel tax certificate issued should be given to the airline counter upon check-in.
Related Links:
Philippine Travel Tax
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