I saw the comments and questions of fellow Filipinos in Thailand in the post of the Philippine Embassy Thailand about the Immigration policies on tourists, OFWs, and the off-loading of passengers. I went through the comments and I wanted to reply on some of the queries but the thread was too long and addressing the reply specifically to the person who wrote the comment is not possible. Most of the questions I saw was about the OEC (Overseas Employment Certificate), referred to also as "exit clearance" or "exit pass".
Five years ago, when I was offered a teaching job by a government technical university in Bangkok, I was only concerned of the cost of living and my life-to-be in Bangkok. I searched on the internet on places to stay in Bangkok, since the university will not provide accommodation. I also searched on some information about living in Bangkok, to have an idea of what kind of life I would have with the salary I would get from being a lecturer. During that time I was not focused on my preparing for my overseas job as I was still fully employed as a lecturer in one of the prominent colleges in my hometown in the Philippines.
Since I have international travel history for which my last travel was in China for 20 days international training, I thought it would be as easy as my previous travels to go out of the Philippines again. It did not occur to me that my going out would be different, that I would be an overseas contract worker. It never occurred to me those POEA issues since my work permit would be processed in Thailand. I bought a one way ticket without realizing that I would be going out of the country as a tourist and one of the immigration policies for Filipino nationals going out as a tourist is to have a return flight ticket.
On my day of departure, when I was to pay at the airport for the travel tax, the guy personnel who seemed to be a supervisor told me that I might have a problem in the immigration since I did not have a return ticket. I had told him that I have a contract to teach in the university in Bangkok but he said the more would it be a problem passing through the immigration. He even said to his companions that there were some Filipino passengers who has been off-loaded earlier. "What should I do?" I asked him. "Shall I buy a return ticket?" His reply was not encouraging and did not give a definite advice. Instead, he caused me worries, enough to make me nervous. He referred to me a woman on another counter, but the woman passively just said I must show my old passports showing I have traveled outside the country before. Then I saw the name card "POEA" placed in front of the woman. What I did was to buy a return ticket instead (thanks for my credit card!) and I made sure I am not seen by the guy who had said something about the possibility of me being intercepted in the immigration.
If I probably had researched more or had asked someone knowledgeable on this matter, I could have saved myself from the worries and the cost of the return ticket.
For those Filipinos departing from the Philippines to Thailand for a job contract, here are the procedures I suggest you do:
1. Apply for a Non-Immigrant Visa B at the Royal Thai Embassy in Manila. It takes only 3 working days to get the visa, provided all the required documents are complete. No long queue and a representative can be sent to claim the passport with visa. Signed employment contract, letter of request from the company, photocopy of the Thai ID of the company owner or manager and other company documents are required aside from the passport of the applicant.
2. Update your membership with Pag-Ibig and PhilHealth. At present, for OFWs the required membership fee for PhilHealth is 2,400 pesos, a 100% increase of the rate the past years.
3. Register for membership at POEA and OWWA. The membership is 25 USD. It shall be converted to the current rate of USD to pesos, then payment shall be in pesos. A certificate of membership shall be given after.
Perhaps, as I have heard about it, first timers are required to attend an orientation seminar. I did not have this as I registered when I came back home after one year of working in Thailand.
4. With the POEA certificate, pay 100 pesos for the OEC, known as "exit clearance". OEC is a simple receipt form that indicates the name of the OFW, nature of work, passport number and the country of destination. The validity is 2 months after the issuance.
For those Filipinos who went to Thailand with a tourist visa and came back to the Philippines with a Non-Immigrant Visa B, do steps number 2 to 4 as discussed above. OWWA memberships comes with benefits and services not only for the OFW but to the dependents as well.
What about the OEC?
The Overseas Employment Certificate (OEC) is a requirement under the rules and regulations of the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) to help ensure that overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) are properly documented and protected.
The OEC, sometimes also called the “exit pass,” is required to be presented to international ports of exit in the Philippines as proof that the holder is a bona fide OFW. It is thus necessary when a Household Service Worker (HSW), or any OFW, goes back to the Philippines for home leave, if he/she intends to return back to the country of employment.
OEC holders are exempted from paying the travel tax and the airport terminal fee.
Before proceeding to the check-in counter for the departure flight, the OFW must have the OEC authenticated at the POEA counter in the airport. Then the remaining process will go smoothly. No questions asked from the immigration and no off-loading chances.
