POEA Advisory: How To Avoid Illegal Recruitment

Majority of Filipino workforce dreamed of working abroad. That is why many are giving up a lot of their resources or assets just to work abroad. But despite of this there many people are taking advantages.


This article will explain how aspiring Overseas Filipino Workers can avoid illegal recruitment.

1. Apply only to recruitment agencies that are licensed or accredited by the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA). Not all recruitment agencies in the Philippines are allowed to deploy Filipinos abroad, a recruitment agency need to comply with the different requirements by the POEA such as the escrow account, business licenses, etc.

2. Deal only with licensed agencies with job orders.

3. Deal only with persons who is authorized representative of a licensed agency. One of the policy of POEA for the licensed recruitment agency is for them to register their employees with the POEA. Even if an employee is working with a licensed agency, he is needs to be reported with the POEA.

4. Transact business inside the registered address of the agency. If recruitment is conducted in the province, check if the agency has a provincial recruitment authority

5. Pay not more than the allowed placement fee. It should be equivalent to one month salary, exclusive of documentation and processing costs.

6. Do not pay any placement fee unless you have a valid employment contract and an official receipt.

7. Do not be enticed by ads or brochures requiring you to reply to a Post Office (P.O.) Box, and to enclose payment for processing of papers.

8. Do not deal with training centers and travel agencies, which promise overseas employment.

9. Do not accept a tourist visa.

10. Do not deal with fixers.
With the ten tips above your chances of being recruited illegally becomes slim.  Just keep the list always in your mind if somebody is trying to recruit you.