Plan and execute your exit well. Prepare for the unexpected. Trust the process.
Photo by engin akyurt on Unsplash
I made a mistake.
That mistake would cost me seven-months-worth of peace of mind and emergency savings.
In December 2019, when I finally got my work permit for living and working abroad as an accountant, I was ecstatic. But just when I thought I was ready to go, a hurdle in the form of a green-slip of paper prevented an easy exit.
I’m a first-time overseas worker (not counting my seven-month mobility assignment back in 2018). I’m a direct-hire in a country that’s not a frequent destination for overseas workers.
In addition to my work visa, I need that green slip of paper to exit the country. But, compiling all the requirements will take time and patience.
My planned start for working abroad got delayed. While waiting for the rest of my documents to arrive, COVID-19 happened.
I got stuck for seven months. Unemployed in 2020 with someone from the family getting ill and a pandemic ravaging the world, it was the darkest seven months of my life.
If there’s something I learned from the experience, it would be these. When living and working abroad, plan and execute your exit well. Prepare for the unexpected. Trust the process.
Plan and execute your exit well.
At this point, you must have already accepted a job offer for living and working as an accountant in another country. The next steps would always involve processing your work permit and work visa.
A work permit and a work visa can be two separate things. In most cases, the work permit is a pre-requisite for the work visa.
Your employer usually handles the requisites for the former. You finalize the requirements for the latter.
Unless you’re the extreme risk-taker who would be willing to leave on a tourist visa, you need a work visa to exit the country with peace of mind and the protection of being recognized as an official overseas worker.
In normal times, getting the work permit along with the visa would take between 2-3 months, depending on the country.
Your employer’s immigration team would send you the list of requirements. Although the list may vary, these documents are almost always present:
- No-criminal-offense-record/National Bureau of Investigation clearance – might need to be translated and authenticated depending on the country
- Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) Authenticated Diploma and/or transcript of records from your university
- Proof for obtaining your Certified Public Accountant license (if you have one)
- Previous certificate/s of employment
- Passport with a validity of at least 1 year from the expected date of your travel
- Driver’s license (if you’re driving abroad)
In some circumstances, if you lived in another country in the previous year before your application, they might also ask you to obtain a clearance from that country. It’s best to ask about these things in advance and prepare them even before you have a formal job offer.
Your employer’s list of requirements may not contain something as specific as locating the embassy or getting familiar with their schedule or finding where to translate and legalize documents. You’ll need to do research, lots of asking around, and some legwork.
Typically, you can become aware of the practical stuff by word-of-mouth or by reading articles like this.
For example, before pandemic days, you can go to the VFS Global Visa Application Center in Makati without an appointment just by coming early and lining up near the door entrance. They would accept the first ten people in line for each country that they’re applying to.
A lot of people in a rush would often come without an appointment. If you want to be part of that first ten, come super early (between 6 AM-7 AM is ideal). (Note: This process may have already changed as of date.)
I got wind of this information when I tried setting up an appointment for my visa processing and found out that the open slots are already for next year. I can’t wait for next year.
I visited the office, hoping to get processed on-site. I arrived in the afternoon and the officer told me about that lining-up-first-ten-in-the-morning set-up.
Good thing, I still have a day left before my planned trip back to my hometown. If I missed the chance, I would have to make the trip back again to Manila just for submitting the requirements.
Early next day, I was the first in line.
For processing your work permit and visa requirements, expect to dish out money so be ready with your finances. Normally, your employer will reimburse your work permit and visa-related expenses. Be diligent in keeping receipts and tracking your spending.
It’s the smartest option to continue working while processing your work permit and visa. But ensure that your processing activities will not significantly disrupt your responsibilities at work.
You’re still employed after all. It’s best to leave your current employer in good graces. Here are some general tips to ensure that your exit and clearance process at your current work would be painless and smooth.
- Notify only people on a need-to-know basis. That would include your bosses, the teams you’re working with, and the clients you’re directly interacting with. When telling people that you’re leaving, it’s a good practice to tell them in person before officially handing in your resignation letter.
- Don’t give yourself the chance to dilly-dally. Even though you’re leaving, it’s considered in poor taste to be lax about your duties. People give you worry looks if you do that and they have the right to be worried. If you’re the one who’s getting left behind, you wouldn’t want to take on the mess that another person is leaving behind, would you?
- Organize knowledge transfers. Make sure you pass on important documents and technical know-how especially if it’s something that would help your teams in the future. These are all common sense but in a rush, people tend to forget this. That’s why it’s important to be organized with your stuff even before you’re leaving so that when the time comes, you don’t have to scramble for things to convey.
Photo by Pexels on Pixabay
Prepare for the unexpected.
In that small room of more or less ten other direct hires, I listened as a representative from Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) explained the rationale for putting direct hires through a more rigorous process of obtaining an Overseas Employment Certificate (OEC).
(Internally, I felt that the process can be improved in many ways but I’m not about to voice out my objections and get kicked out of that session. Not after going through so much.)
The seminar was the last step in a two-week process of obtaining the OEC. But before I came to be sitting in that room, let’s backtrack a bit to that fateful day in the second week of December 2019 when I was getting ready to leave Manila and spend the rest of my waiting period and holiday break outside the capital.
On that day, I finished submitting all the visa requirements. With a two-week processing time (excluding the holiday break), I expect to get the visa just in time for my employment start date in January 2020.
During a break from emptying my apartment and packing all the stuff that will return home with me, I started checking for flights and airport requirements.
That’s when I read about the OEC.
That innocent-looking, green-colored slip of paper was about to sink my ship and plunge me into the worst seven-months of my life.
This was my costly mistake. I did not research the exit requirements of my country well and in advance. I’m writing about it now so that you’ll not do the same.
If you’re a Filipino leaving the country to live and work abroad, you are required to secure the OEC before boarding and to avoid deportation.
The OEC is a document officially recognizing you as an Overseas Filipino Worker (OFW). The Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) issues that document after you comply with a list of requirements. Here’s what it looks like:
At the airport, you’ll need to present the OEC. In exchange, you don’t have to pay the airport tax and terminal fee.
If you’re a first-time OFW, obtaining the OEC can be a daunting process depending on whether you are a direct hire or agency-hire.
The distinction between the two is simple.
If a POEA-accredited recruitment agency hired you and processed your application, you’re an agency-hired employee. If you applied directly, either through a company’s website or by other means without involving an agency and you got accepted, you’re a direct hire.
Bear with me as it will get technical for a bit.
Under Philippine laws (Article 18 of the Labor Code), supposedly, no overseas employers are allowed to directly hire a Filipino.
But—you can get exempted from that rule.
In Memorandum Circular 8, Series of 2018, you’ll find the following exemptions to the direct-hire ban:
- Members of the diplomatic corps
- International organizations
- Heads of state and government officials with the rank of at least deputy minister or
- Other employers as may be allowed by the administration, such as:
- those provided in 1, 2, or 3 above provided they are endorsed by Philippine Overseas Labor Office (POLO) or Head of Mission (in the absence of POLO)
- Professionals and skilled workers with duly verified authenticated contracts containing terms and conditions above and beyond the standards set by POEA; however, provided the number of first time workers hired by the employer shall not exceed 5
- Workers hired by a relative/family member who is a permanent resident of the host country, except domestic workers.
That memorandum also contains the list of requirements and procedures to apply for OEC if you’re a direct hire.
Note that the requirements may vary depending on your category. It is best to go to the POEA office and have them assess your category and the number of requirements you need to comply with.
If you’re a direct-hire accountant, you’ll probably fall under the second bullet for item 4, as long as you’re part of your employer’s first-five hires.
If not, you’ll have to obtain the services of an agency or your employer will need to hire an agency.
During that same afternoon, I went to the POEA office in Manila so that they can assess my documents. My assessment went like this:
As I scrolled through the requirements, my heart sank. As you can see, it was a long list.
My checklist contained documents that I still have to secure separately, the main ones being the “POLO-verified employment contract” and a “POLO-endorsement letter granting the exemption”.
And that’s only for Phase 1.
If I pass the Phase 1 assessment, that’s when I can go to Phase 2.
When you have a similar checklist, email it to your employer at once. Your employer will have to secure the POLO-verified contract and the POLO endorsement (if applicable) from the country you are moving to.
If you’re outside the capital, check if your region has a POEA office that can handle both Phase 1 and Phase 2. In most cases, they will.
But some regions don’t have a Department of Health-accredited medical clinic that will issue a medical clearance to you (one of the requirements for Phase 2). Some regions don’t also conduct the OWWA seminar for direct hires.
That was the case for my region.
For that seminar alone and the medical test, I had to take a twelve-hour trip back to Manila in the middle of July 2020 and stayed there for two weeks to complete the entire process before I finally left the country.
If you’re staying in Manila for two weeks without a job and while a pandemic rages around you, it’s no vacation. Every day, I was anxious not to get exposed to the virus while I struggle to budget the remaining portion of my savings. I knew that if I get sick during that time, I’m done for.
Still, I took the risks. I managed to complete Phase 1 without getting hit by a random sneeze or cough despite going back and forth to populated and high-risk places.
If you’re as lucky as me and you’ve successfully submitted Phase 1 requirements, be patient for 5-7 days more. Then, after that period, locate your name in the list of Direct Hire OFWs with Approved POEA Clearance.
Even if you haven’t seen your name yet, you can follow-up via email and confirm after one week that your name has been exempted.
While waiting for the clearance, you can take care of the other Phase 2 requirements such as the E-registration and Pre-Employment Orientation seminar, all of which you can do online.
Once you are cleared, schedule a slot for the OWWA Pre-Departure Orientation Seminar (PDOS) because the schedule depends on the country. If you missed the schedule for your country, you’ll have to wait for another week.
After you passed Phase 1, Phase 2 processing is a lot easier. It takes only half a day. On that very same day, you can take your flight outside the country if you want to.
Phase 2 consists mostly of that PDOS which is already moot at that point. A few slides discussing “why you want to work abroad” is not about to stop you. You’ve already made up your mind that’s why you went through all that trouble right?
So just relax, chill and hold your tongue while you finish that one-hour-long seminar. Once you’re done, go and pay for your social security contribution, PAG-IBIG, and finally for that green slip. In total, it will cost you around P6,563.75.
But aside from that, you also have to incur some other costs in advance.
Make a provision for:
- Medical expenses for a test from DOH-accredited clinic (P2,800-P3,000);
- Covid-19 swab test (P7,000-P12,000 depending on the hospital) if you’re leaving in the middle of the pandemic;
- Minimum 1-year repatriation insurance ($40);
- Notary costs – for your notarized statements;
- Transportation costs (will vary depending on your location and on the number of days that you’ll be coming back and forth to POEA);
- At least 2-weeks worth of rental costs, food and living allowance (if you don’t have a residence in NCR).
While you’re waiting in the POEA lounge for the assessor to call your name and hand your slip, think of solutions on how to prevent the same situation from occurring to other hopeful overseas workers like you.
A few things come to mind:
- Deal away with the POLO verification process if the employee can provide through other means that he/she is being hired by a valid employer. For example, a direct confirmation from the employer (especially if it’s an international company) via email would have been sufficient in addition to the signed employment contract. No person in a proper state of mind would attempt faking a signed contract and email from an international company (just saying).
- Establish a separate and complete regional workforce that can completely process the OEC of all types of OFWs, not just agency hires.
- Convert the in-person PDOS to a webinar. It’s safer and more efficient.
- Leave the medical testing to employers and don’t ask the employee to go through another round of medical tests just for the OEC. If the employer is valid, that employer will require medical tests anyway before awarding their hires with a work permit. Don’t make the person go through the same process again and incur additional costs knowing that he/she is fully fit and healthy to do an office job.
Photo by Guilherme Stecanella on Unsplash
In summary, research well and in advance your exit requirements.
At that time, I don’t have much information at my disposal but a Medium article by Nicole Kalagayan gave an over-all picture. Another professional, Chiara Cokieng answered my questions in addition to writing an informative article about her experience.
(Just be aware of the dates because, at some point, they may no longer be updated.)
You can also find some practical information in this FB group (OEC Processing for Direct Hires OFW Support Group). You can further join their Whatsapp group and ask around for practicalities.
Inside both, you’ll find varying information from different experiences. For verifiable information, your best bet is still POEA. Don’t bother contacting the office via phone though (I tried many times). Just secure an appointment and go to the office nearest to you.
If you’re inside NCR, it’s easy but if you’re outside NCR, you have to deal with the logistical nightmare of safely and legally getting past regional checkpoints given the COVID-19 situation.
With COVID-19, there is an added requirement to securing OEC. You also have to sign a waiver document stating that you recognize the risks of moving abroad despite the pandemic.
Below, I summarized all of the tips that you’ll need for processing your exit requirements.
Tips for processing your work permit and work visa
- Prepare important documents in advance. Always keep multiple copies with you.
- Research the practicalities of getting your work permit and visa requirements by asking around or doing some legwork.
- Prepare your finances to cover both the work permit & visa costs and at least 6-month worth of emergency savings in case of an unexpected delay.
Tips for processing your Overseas Employment Certificate (OEC)
- As soon as you got your job offer, be aware of whether you were directly-hired or agency-hired. If you’re agency-hired, your agency will also take care of the OEC for you. If you want to be informed about the OEC process for agency hires, you can check the separate requirements here.
- If you’re directly-hired, get your best research-skills and people-skills in gear because you’ll need it with you. The good thing about it? You don’t have to pay the agency fees. The bad thing? You’re on your own.
- Ask POEA to assess your documents as soon as you accept the offer and before you have your work permit. It will give you the time to process the requirements for OEC alongside your work permit waiting-period. Be aware of both the Phase 1 and Phase 2 requirements.
- When reviewing your employment contract during the job offer phase, make sure that it already includes at a minimum, POEA’s required clauses (Part V Employment Standards). Some companies draft a standard employment contract for their hires but they are open to an addendum as long as the additional clauses are valid and reasonable.
- Inform your employer as soon as possible about the OEC and what documents you will need from them. The POLO verification can take at least two weeks (depending on location) as long as your employer has taken care of all the requirements.
- Once you have compiled your Phase 1 requirements, get an appointment via email (dhad_lbc@yahoo.com). Don’t bother appointing with the Balik-Manggagawa Online System. It will not apply to you if you’re a first-time OFW.
- For submitting Phase 2 requirements, you need to schedule an appointment too, using this email address: directhirephase2oec@poea.gov.ph.
Trust the process even if the process doesn't trust you.
From all that OEC-processing experience, I learned my lessons.
I am surrounded by a system that does not trust my qualifications well enough to earn me an immediate exit from my country. It is still a system that doubts any person’s capability to directly apply for a position in an international firm and get hired as a professional.
But I trusted that process even if the process didn’t trust me. In doing so, that same process also saved me.
If I took the easy route and just went out as a tourist in January without the OEC, I wouldn’t have been with my family when one of them got ill in February. I would have been 6,660 miles away plunging myself in the middle of a busy season under the throes of a spreading pandemic while I worry over my family’s well-being.
It was a grit test. I could have given up. I’m close to doing so. But I knew what would happen if I do.
As it is, life moves in mysterious ways. The chances that you didn’t get will return to you in the end.
Whatever hardship you’ll face in preparation for your journey to living and working abroad as an accountant, trust yourself to survive.
You can complain or you can thrive. You can let the situation get the best out of you or you can make the best out of any situation. Whatever happens, don’t let your circumstances stop you.
You will arrive at your destination when you are meant to arrive.
“The pleasure we derive from journeys is perhaps dependent more on the mindset with which we travel than on the destination we travel to.”
― Alain de Botton, The Art of Travel
This is Part 2 of a 3-part Audit Adventure (Audventure) series on living and working abroad as an accountant. Read Part 1, too. If you want to share your adventures while living and working abroad as accountant, feel free to reach out and let’s get your story featured.
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P.S. Are you still looking for an opportunity to live and work abroad? Subscribe to my email list and get a copy of my e-book How to Win Jobs and Influence Recruiters: The CPA’s Guide to Winning Resumes and Getting Hired.
