Jobseekers warned vs illegal student visa scheme Mayen Jaymalin - The Philippine Star

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) has warned overseas jobseekers against the illegal student visa scheme by recruitment agencies. “I think dumadami ngayon ang ganyan klase ng modus operandi. When I say modus, that’s the illegitimate form because there are also honest-to-goodness student visa arrangements,” DMW Undersecretary Hans Leo Cacdac said. The DMW has included immigration consultancy firms offering student visas in the crackdown on illegal recruitment. Cacdac said there are recruitment companies that are offering overseas jobs and require exorbitant processing fees, but only provide student visa instead of a working visa. “Deployment of workers abroad in the guise of student visa processing is considered an illegal recruitment,” he said. The government was able to shut down a number of immigration consultancy firms found engaging in such scheme, according to Cacdac. “The number one indicator is if you are applying for work and don’t have plans to study. If you are offered student visa arrangement, there is something wrong there,” he pointed out. “So if you are a victim of this scheme, please come forward,” Cacdac added. Cacdac said the Department of Foreign Affairs would extend assistance to victims who are already abroad. Last week, victims of a large-scale illegal student visa scheme trooped to the DMW to seek assistance. The victims said they were required to pay at least P100,000 for the processing of student visas to Canada. The victims said they learned of the recruitment through social media posts of their local public employment service office.

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