POEA warns Filipinos no visa category in Russia for household service workers

By Samuel Medenilla, Manila Bulletin, Jan 2, 2017

Russia remains a closed market for Filipino household service workers (HSW) for now, according to the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA).

“There is no visa category in Russia for household service workers,” POEA said in its Advisory 17, series of 2017.

POEA issued the warning after getting reports of the growing number of Filipino HSWs, who are being illegally recruited to work in Russia.

Citing a report from the Philippine Embassy in Athens, Greece, POEA said many Filipino HSWs in Greece, Cyprus, Hong Kong, Singapore and the Middle East have already become victims of the scam.

“There has been increasing cases of illegal recruitment of Filipinos already overseas for deployment to Russia…household workers are often charged huge fees by illegal recruiters,” POEA said.

Without a valid work visa, affected Filipinos HSWs were deployed to Russia using tourists and commercial visas.

POEA said the practice is illegal under Russian laws and could lead to the arrest of Filipinos HSWs once they arrived in Russia.

“Improperly documented workers are subject to detention, fines and deportation,” POEA said.

POEA advised Filipinos HSWs abroad not to accept such job offers to avoid facing sanctions from the Russian government.

In 2016, the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) announced it is conducting exploratory talks with the Russian government for the possibilityof expanding the categories of deployed overseas Filipino workers (OFW) in Russia to include HSWs.

However, DOLE has yet to sign any formal agreement with the Russian government on the said matter.

There are currently an estimated 4,000 OFWs working in the construction and hotel industry in Russia.