Early Day at the POEA
At 6pm through FedEx yesterday, the employment contracts finally arrived-- the long, missing requirement that we have been waiting for since we got our visa back in May. And look where we have just been today-- to the POEA office. The most dreaded time has passed.
Anyway, I think we survived the day. Thank heavens.
My colleague and I were able to secure ourselves of inclusion to this morning's limited 40 slots for processing the documents, in obtaining the oversease employment certificate/e-card that every aspiring, legal OFW needs to have--- having fallen in line outside the premises as early as 5.30 a.m. (POEA processes only 40 applications in the morning and another 40 in the afternoon for name-hire or directly-employed individuals). Gates finally opened at 6am, and when all of us who stood in line outside got in, we sat in those chairs at the lobby that resembled the ones found in bus stations on provincial trips. Fifteen minutes before 8am, we were then sent to the second floor of the building where we took the same order in the seating arrangement the 'elite' forty of us had back at the lobby. The guard in charge then asked us to each write our names in a short folder that was passed around. By 8am, names were already called one by one for the submission of requirements.
LESSON 1: Be early. It’s not ‘OA’ to arrive even as early as 5 am.
(for the processing of the OFW e-card that is. You see, when I arrived at 5.30 am, it was such a long line already.)
Our names were then called and so we submitted our employment contracts and showed our passport and visa (while submitting photocopies of each) to the evaluating officer on Window 6, who was by the way a very lively woman. After checking on our papers, she tried to get amusingly nosey on us with comments on Koreans being ill-natured and unhygienic. She of course caught on our employers being Korean. She even made fun of the TONG-YANG name (name of employer) by saying it in a kiddie tune that would’ve pissed me had she not been someone with authority. She also joked about the idea that we seem a bit young to go abroad (which is honestly very flattering for me). We just gave it to her anyway, understanding the kind of everyday, mundane work of receiving, compiling, quick-checking, and stamping on papers that she does. People like her need some spicing up with that kind of work, since the difference is only found in the kind of papers that they evaluate everyday.
LESSON 2: Photocopy all documents to be submitted (at least 2 copies). Be friendly and know how to ride with the window personnel’s instant comments on the documents that you hand to them.
Having arranged and stapled the papers (original and xeroxed copies of employment contract plus photocopies of visa and passport) in a folder, the evaluating officer handed a medical examination referral form (with my picture on), which she inserted in that same folder that she gave back to us, and told us to select a clinic of our choice from their accredited establishments for the Phase 1 medical examination. It is one of the two main requirements in getting an overseas employment certificate/e-card. Workers in countries like Canada, Australia, and New Zealand are exempt from this (and I don’t know why), but almost everybody should undergo the medical examination. We were also instructed to proceed to the PDOS (pre-departure orientation seminar) desk to set our own schedule for the pre-departure seminar, because all OFW’s should also secure themselves with a PDOS certificate by attending that 2-hour lecture. This is the second main requirement. Schedules for the seminar are set per continent of destination. For Asia and the Pacific countries, seminars are done at 1pm everyday, so in this same day after lunch time, we were already able to comply with that requirement and got our certificates by 3pm today.
So in recap, direct-hired employees would need the following to obtain an exit clearance from the POEA:
1.) Employment contract duly authenticated by the Philippine embassy of country of destination and verified by the Philippine Overseas Labor Office of that same country.
2.) Valid passport
3.) Valid VISA
4.) 2x2 or passport size picture for the medical examination referral form
We will perform the medical examination tomorrow. The visit to the POEA still does not end here, for we shall come back. Boooh.
Anyway, I think we survived the day. Thank heavens.
My colleague and I were able to secure ourselves of inclusion to this morning's limited 40 slots for processing the documents, in obtaining the oversease employment certificate/e-card that every aspiring, legal OFW needs to have--- having fallen in line outside the premises as early as 5.30 a.m. (POEA processes only 40 applications in the morning and another 40 in the afternoon for name-hire or directly-employed individuals). Gates finally opened at 6am, and when all of us who stood in line outside got in, we sat in those chairs at the lobby that resembled the ones found in bus stations on provincial trips. Fifteen minutes before 8am, we were then sent to the second floor of the building where we took the same order in the seating arrangement the 'elite' forty of us had back at the lobby. The guard in charge then asked us to each write our names in a short folder that was passed around. By 8am, names were already called one by one for the submission of requirements.
LESSON 1: Be early. It’s not ‘OA’ to arrive even as early as 5 am.
(for the processing of the OFW e-card that is. You see, when I arrived at 5.30 am, it was such a long line already.)
Our names were then called and so we submitted our employment contracts and showed our passport and visa (while submitting photocopies of each) to the evaluating officer on Window 6, who was by the way a very lively woman. After checking on our papers, she tried to get amusingly nosey on us with comments on Koreans being ill-natured and unhygienic. She of course caught on our employers being Korean. She even made fun of the TONG-YANG name (name of employer) by saying it in a kiddie tune that would’ve pissed me had she not been someone with authority. She also joked about the idea that we seem a bit young to go abroad (which is honestly very flattering for me). We just gave it to her anyway, understanding the kind of everyday, mundane work of receiving, compiling, quick-checking, and stamping on papers that she does. People like her need some spicing up with that kind of work, since the difference is only found in the kind of papers that they evaluate everyday.
LESSON 2: Photocopy all documents to be submitted (at least 2 copies). Be friendly and know how to ride with the window personnel’s instant comments on the documents that you hand to them.
Having arranged and stapled the papers (original and xeroxed copies of employment contract plus photocopies of visa and passport) in a folder, the evaluating officer handed a medical examination referral form (with my picture on), which she inserted in that same folder that she gave back to us, and told us to select a clinic of our choice from their accredited establishments for the Phase 1 medical examination. It is one of the two main requirements in getting an overseas employment certificate/e-card. Workers in countries like Canada, Australia, and New Zealand are exempt from this (and I don’t know why), but almost everybody should undergo the medical examination. We were also instructed to proceed to the PDOS (pre-departure orientation seminar) desk to set our own schedule for the pre-departure seminar, because all OFW’s should also secure themselves with a PDOS certificate by attending that 2-hour lecture. This is the second main requirement. Schedules for the seminar are set per continent of destination. For Asia and the Pacific countries, seminars are done at 1pm everyday, so in this same day after lunch time, we were already able to comply with that requirement and got our certificates by 3pm today.
So in recap, direct-hired employees would need the following to obtain an exit clearance from the POEA:
1.) Employment contract duly authenticated by the Philippine embassy of country of destination and verified by the Philippine Overseas Labor Office of that same country.
2.) Valid passport
3.) Valid VISA
4.) 2x2 or passport size picture for the medical examination referral form
We will perform the medical examination tomorrow. The visit to the POEA still does not end here, for we shall come back. Boooh.
Header Photo is a personal shot of the Gyeongbok Palace in Seoul, South Korea. Site Powered by
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