I recently came across a series of articles about the allegedly unsuitable conditions and dangers for Philippine household service workers applying for jobs in Russia.
One of them was “POEA: No jobs for domestics in Russia” published by the Inquirer on Jan. 3, 2018.
I was most surprised to find out that Russia does not have the necessary visa category for workers — household or otherwise. I realize that the material in question was based on Advisory No. 17 issued by Philippine Overseas Employment Administration officer in charge Bernard Olalia.
But I find it most regrettable that the author of the article, Tina G. Santos, neglected to approach the Embassy of Russia in the Philippines for a comment or at least find out the other side of the story. It is for this reason that I am compelled to share the following information with your readers.
The Embassy of the Russian Federation in the Republic of the Philippines, as well as other Russian diplomatic missions around the world have been issuing work visas for Filipino workers for many years.
Philippine citizens have been working in Russia for over a decade. A work visa is the only visa category allowing foreign nationals to work in Russia legally.
To apply for such a visa, a Filipino worker has to provide an invitation issued by the Russian migration authorities, Philippine police clearance, National Bureau of Investigation clearance, HIV certificate, copy and original of their employment contract.
Requirements might vary slightly depending on the country of application. Therefore it is highly recommended to consult an embassy or consulate instead of blindly trusting private recruitment companies.
Now I am confident that there are mala fide recruitment agencies in every country. However, if I understand the situation correctly, one of the key functions of the POEA is to draw a list of reliable agencies and blacklist the ones that turn out to be a scam.
Filipino workers should not miss perfectly good job opportunities in Russia simply because of inaccurate, intimidating information.
DENIS M. KARENIN,
Consular Officer,
Embassy of the Russian Federation in the Republic of the Philippines
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My article was based on an advisory (Advisory No. 17, series of 2017) issued by POEA officer in charge Bernard Olalia, which cited data from the Philippine Embassy.
TINA G. SANTOS,
Reporter