Exit clearance for returning OFWs now accessible online
Returning Filipino workers can now bypass the long lines in their local embassies or consulates by using the new online program by the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA).
Officially launched on October 16, the online portal Balik-Manggagawa Online Processing enables workers to apply for their Overseas Employment Certificate (OEC) or exit clearance online and have the approved version printed anywhere at any time.
POEA administrator Hans Leo Cacdac on Thursday said only POEA-registered workers on vacation, rehired, or returning to the same employee may use the system.
Filipinos who do not meet the above criteria will be redirected to a page where they can choose a date, time, and place for the processing of their OEC.
Workers will have to pay P100 for processing fees and P19.50 for e-payment service.
"With the existing database sharing with the Bureau of Immigration, the updated information of OFWs who have successfully secured their OEC using the system will be automatically shared with the Bureau,” Cacdac said in a statement Thursday.
He added that the new system “facilitates the validation by the immigration officers at the airport of the OEC being presented by the bearer.”
The program was first announced in January 2014 as a solution to long queues of OFWs waiting for their OEC.
Cacdac predicted that 70 percent or 500,000 returning OFWs may benefit from the BM online program.—Rie Takumi/KBK, GMA News
Officially launched on October 16, the online portal Balik-Manggagawa Online Processing enables workers to apply for their Overseas Employment Certificate (OEC) or exit clearance online and have the approved version printed anywhere at any time.
POEA administrator Hans Leo Cacdac on Thursday said only POEA-registered workers on vacation, rehired, or returning to the same employee may use the system.
Filipinos who do not meet the above criteria will be redirected to a page where they can choose a date, time, and place for the processing of their OEC.
Workers will have to pay P100 for processing fees and P19.50 for e-payment service.
"With the existing database sharing with the Bureau of Immigration, the updated information of OFWs who have successfully secured their OEC using the system will be automatically shared with the Bureau,” Cacdac said in a statement Thursday.
He added that the new system “facilitates the validation by the immigration officers at the airport of the OEC being presented by the bearer.”
The program was first announced in January 2014 as a solution to long queues of OFWs waiting for their OEC.
Cacdac predicted that 70 percent or 500,000 returning OFWs may benefit from the BM online program.—Rie Takumi/KBK, GMA News
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