Are you an OFW (overseas Filipino worker) whose OEC (Overseas Employment Certificate) expired during the pandemic? Here’s good news!
The POEA (Philippine Overseas Employment Administration) recently announced that the revalidation of expired OECs has been extended for OFWs.
How to Apply for Revalidation of Expired OECs
Under POEA Advisory No. 06 Series of 2021, all OECs for the purpose of deployment that expired due to the following can still be revalidated until all the community quarantine/travel restrictions have been lifted:
- unforeseen flight cancellations due to force majeure
- community quarantine in the Philippines
- lockdowns or travel restrictions in the destination countries
According to the aforementioned advisory, the affected OFWs with expired OECs should proceed to the following POEA issuing offices before the intended departure for renewal of their travel/work documents:
- Land-base center for OECs issued by the licensed recruitment agency
- Sea-base center for OECs issued by the licensed manning agency
- Balik-Manggagawa Processing division for OECs issued by Balik-Manggagawa (BM)
- Regional centers and satellite offices for OECs issued by the above-mentioned offices
- Labor Assistance Center (LAC) at the airports on the date of departure
Make sure to prepare these applicable documents which should be presented for evaluation:
- Original copy of the expired OEC
- Approved and signed employment contract
- Valid and appropriate visa/work permits
- Passport (valid at least 6 months from the date of intended departure)
Present these documents to the relevant office/s mentioned above.
The POEA center/office will evaluate the OFW’s employment documents in compliance with POEA rules and regulations.
The documents will also be validated based on available records in the POEA system.
After evaluation and verification, the qualified expired OECs will be stamped “CLEARED” and deemed revalidated.
What’s an OEC?
An OEC (Overseas Employment Certificate) is an exit clearance document needed by OFWs (Overseas Filipino Workers) before they can leave the Philippines to work abroad. This is a document necessary for new hires and balik-manggawa (returning OFWs).
