ADVISORY: FILIPINO NURSES & HEALTHCARE WORKERS SHOULD BE WARY OF ADVERTISEMENTS & CONSULTANCY FIRMS THAT PEDDLE MISLEADING INFORMATION ABOUT NURSING JOBS IN NORWAY


Published on 31 January, 2013 - 10:57
Philippine Embassy, Oslo, Norway
The Philippine Embassy in Oslo wishes to warn Filipino nurses and healthcare workers about misleading information currently circulating online and peddled by a growing number of “consultancy” firms about the supposed abundance and ease of finding nursing and other healthcare jobs in Norway.
Said consultancy firms make these unsuspecting Filipinos believe that getting a nursing or healthcare job in Norway is easy, advertising misleading information such as “NO IELTS and/or PRC License needed” among other gimmicks, when in truth, it is not easy to find work as a foreign nurse or healthcare worker in Norway.
While it is true that IELTS is not required by most health care employers in Norway, this is only because English is not the primary language used by the country and its healthcare sector. Instead, foreign nurses and healthcare practitioners wishing to work in Norway have to pass a different and much harder Norwegian language exam and take other exams in order to be deemed employable as a nurse or healthcare worker in Norway and to do so requires that the Filipino be ready to spend a large amount for his or her tuition for further studies, board and lodging, etc. while in Norway.
And while a PRC license may not be needed for the processing of one’s visa application, said license is still required by relevant authorities in Norway in order for a foreign healthcare worker to be properly recognized as such in Norway.
Moreover, these Filipino nurses and healthcare practitioners should be advised that authorization from SAK (Statens Autorisasjons-Kontor) or the relevant Norwegian government authority does not equal work or employment nor is it equal to a nursing license. It merely recognizes that the Filipino has the qualifications of a healthcare worker, nothing more. Authorization/Autorisasjon does not equal work. Authorization/Autorisasjon is not equal to a nursing license in Norway.
Another alarming aspect about the proliferation of these consultancy firms is that they charge these unsuspecting Filipinos with, often, large sums of money for information and services that the Filipino can actually obtain for free and do by himself or herself if the latter only consulted the appropriate websites (i.e. Norwegian Embassy, SAK, etc.).
The Embassy has reported this alarming situation to the DFA and DOLE and it has handled several cases involving victimized Filipino nurses and healthcare workers who have been duped by these unscrupulous consultancy firms. Said Filipinos usually arrive in Norway without an employer and sometimes without even a place to stay. Most are deeply in debt and have no means to fund their stay in Norway, which is one of the most expensive countries in the world. Their situation makes them vulnerable to further abuse and victimization.
It is not easy to find work as a foreign nurse or healthcare worker in Norway.
While the Philippine government is working hard to address this matter, the Philippine Embassy is enjoining the Filipino Community in Norway to help spread this advisory and warn Filipinos about these unscrupulous consultancy firms and the false information currently being spread by the latter.
Moreover, related to this matter, the Embassy also wishes to reiterate its previous warning about various unlicensed, unaccredited and informal Norwegian Language Schools/Courses proliferating in the Philippines, enticing many Filipino professionals, especially nurses, to pay unreasonable fees for language classes that are staffed by unlicensed and/or untrained teachers for the chance to land well-paying jobs that are supposedly awaiting the student in Norway upon completion of the language course.
The Embassy wishes to warn the public of the pitfalls of falling prey to these unaccredited schools and agents. The Norwegian Government has not accredited, licensed or recognized any Norwegian Language School/Course operating in the Philippines for profit nor does it deal or cooperate with any agent or agency. The Norwegian Embassy has released several warnings about said schools and agents such as the link below and encourages visa applicants to go to the Norwegian Embassy directly.
Filipinos who have fallen victim to these Philippine Norwegian Language schools arrive in Norway expecting to immediately find work only to discover that further Norwegian language courses are needed at additional expense and that the visa issued to them by the Norwegian Embassy is not enough time for them to finish the needed language courses and find a job. This makes them vulnerable to abuse and human trafficking.
For more information, please visit:
Filipino professionals wishing to practice their profession in Norway should equip themselves with the proper information by visiting trusted information sources such as Norwegian government websites (Norwegian Embassy in Manila, Norwegian Labor & Welfare Organization or NAV, Norwegian Registration Authority for Health Personnel or SAK, etc.) to avoid falling victims to human trafficking and so as to be in full control of their professional future.
For more information about Norwegian visas and permits, please visit:
For more information about accreditation as a healthcare worker, please visit:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

PCG: China’s bullying in West Philippine Sea undermines international law --- Ghio Ong - The Philippine Star

MANILA, Philippines — Letting China sustain its aggression in the West Philippine Sea would make other countries doubt the strength of international law currently being asserted by the Philippines, Commodore Jay Tarriela of the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) said. “Allowing China to blatantly disregard the established rules-based order threatens the very foundation that we all depend on,” he wrote in a post on X last Tuesday. He added, “If we permit this, countries worldwide may forget why this order was created in the first place. Nations could begin to doubt the significance of adhering to international law if powerful bullies can easily violate it.” Tarriela also said defiance of other countries to a rules-based order would result in the prevalence of cruelty. He wrote, “This could lead us back to a time when might makes right, undermining the global structures that keep human greed, savagery and barbarism in check. Such a scenario would not only invite challenges from aggressive ...
Read more

China ships maintain presence in key West Philippine Sea areas --- Michael Punongbayan - The Philippine Star

STAR / Michael Varcas MANILA, Philippines — While Chinese vessels in the West Philippine Sea (WPS) have decreased in number, they have maintained a presence in three key land features where naval and coast guard ships have intensified operations in the past seven days, according to the Philippine Navy. Latest monitoring by the Philippine Navy showed armed ships of the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) maintaining a menacing presence around the grounded BRP Sierra Madre in Ayungin Shoal, Panatag Shoal and Escoda Shoal. According to the Philippine Navy, there are 17 Chinese military vessels and 28 China Coast Guard (CCG) boats spotted inside the country’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ) between Sept. 23 and 30, or one vessel more than in the previous week Sept.17-23. Five of the warships were seen roaming around the vicinity of Escoda Shoal, along with 10 CCG vessels and 12 maritime militia vessels (MMVs). There are also two PLAN ships in Ayungin Shoal as well as 10 CCG boats and 12...
Read more

Social media seen as cause of rising intermarriages --- Helen Flores - The Philippine Star

MANILA, Philippines — The Commission on Filipinos Overseas (CFO) sees social media as the main reason for the rising number of Filipinos marrying or becoming partners of foreign nationals. In 2022, the CFO recorded 6,854 marriages or partnerships with foreign nationals, a 40.1 percent increase from the 4,891 “intermarriages” recorded in 2021. “First of all, what we see in the increase in the marriage rate of Filipinos or Filipinos with foreign partners is because of social media, (that) is number one; matchings; letters, introduction of their friends,” CFO chairperson Romulo Arugay said at the Bagong Pilipinas Ngayon public briefing yesterday. Arugay said the agency has been registering a high number of intermarriages since 2007, but the figures went down during the COVID-19 pandemic. From over 6,500 Filipinos who married foreign nationals, only 600 are men, he said. Most of them are married to Americans, Japanese, Germans, Canadians and Australians, Arugay said. Arugay warned Fi...
Read more