Need an OEC? Go online, Filipinos told

Dubai: Filipino expatriates going home for their holiday break this Christmas have been advised to get their exit clearance in the Philippines in order to use the online system to pay and self-print their own clearances for their future needs.

Vacationing Filipinos need to secure an exit clearance or Overseas Employment Certificate (OEC) to prove that they have been hired legally and intend to go back to the same employer abroad.

It is a Philippine government requirement and those without it won’t be allowed to fly from any of the Philippine international airports.

Labour Attache Delmer Cruz said that there are now many options for Filipinos to get their OECs and the Manila office has made it more convenient for them. He gave the advisory in lieu of the peak month of December when tens of thousands of Filipinos prefer to go home for the Christmas season.

“We would like to advise our fellow Filipinos to get an appointment online in order to get their OECs at any processing centre in the Philippines. By doing so, they can use the new OEC numbers to register in the new online portal system and get their OECs online in the future,” Cruz told Gulf News.

A new online portal (http://www.bmonline.ph/) was launched in October so that Filipinos can avoid the serpentine queues at the labour offices and pay for and print their own OECs at the click of the mouse.

Gulf News tested the portal in its initial stage in October and found out that an applicant must have at least one OEC issued by the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration — Manila office or its processing centres such as Trinoma Mall, SM Manila, Duty Free Paranaque, among others. UAE-issued OECs are not in the POEA database, hence they cannot be used.

Those who prefer to get their OECs in Dubai may still do so, Cruz said, but only through an appointment via the same portal. Those without appointments will be treated as “chance applicants” and will be accommodated only if those with appointments are a “no-show”.

The online appointment system for Dubai and the northern emirates has 360 slots daily.