Dubai: Filipinos applying for a job in the UAE who need to secure a Good Conduct Certificate may obtain one from the Philippine Consulate, an official said.

The UAE’s new rule for all expatriates to obtain a certificate of good conduct from their home country first in order to be issued a work permit when applying for a job in the UAE took effect on Sunday.

On Sunday, the Philippine Consulate-General issued an advisory on the steps to secure a good conduct certificate. Consul-General Paul Raymund Cortes told Gulf News that UAE Authorities have confirmed that the good conduct certificate counterpart in the Philippines is the ‘No Criminal Record’ issued by the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), popularly known as NBI Clearance.

It is unclear, however, if NBI Clearances recently obtained which are still valid in the Philippines may be used in the UAE.

The inclusion of the good conduct certificate as a requirement for work permit processing will make concerned jobseekers’s wait longer than usual.

Cortes said those who have plans to work in the UAE are advised to secure an NBI clearance authenticated by the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) and the UAE Embassy in Manila before they arrive in the UAE.

BOX: STEPS TO SECURE A GOOD CONDUCT CERTIFICATE (NBI CLEARANCE) from the Philippines

1) Get an NBI Clearance Application Form (NBI Form No. 5) from the Philippine Consulate. The form is free. (The form is not downloadable from the consulate’s website unlike other forms as of February 4).

2) Fill out the form and visit the nearest police station near you to secure your fingerprints. These should be rolled impressions — refers to the 10 individually-taken fingerprint images rolled from nail to nail sideways. Have the person who did the fingerprint impression sign your form.

3) Once this is complete, go back to the consulate to have the NBI Form 5 notarised and apply for a Special Power of Attorney (SPA) authorising your representative in the Philippines to submit the form to NBI. According to the consulate’s website, this should take four working days. The fee is Dh100.

4) Once your NBI clearance is released, your representative may request for the clearance to be authenticated by the Department of Foreign Affairs and then attested at the UAE Embassy in Manila.

5) Your representative may send the attested NBI Clearance to you here in the UAE.

Documents needed:

— Accomplished Special Power of Attorney (SPA) — may be downloaded from the consulate’s website

— Original and photocopy of NBI Application form with fingerprint specimen and signature of police officer

— One (1) 2x2 ID photo with white background to be attached in the NBI Form 5

— Four (4) copies of applicant’s passport identification page