In preparation for the upcoming OFW World Conference in December, the Philippine Migrants Right Watch (PMRW) has successfully hosted the first of the four Round Table Discussions (RTDs), Tuesday, July 13, 2004 , at the Nash Function Room in Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Makati . Titled: The OFW's Migration Process: Detecting Problems and Identifying Solutions,” the first RTD was participated by representatives of the European Missions and representatives of the various organizations of the PMRW. The participants were:

•  Dr Martin Brooke of the Embassy of the Republic of Italy ;

•  Mr. Lars Loberg of the Royal Norwegian Embassy;

•  Mr. Hans Peter Wyss of the Embassy of the Swiss Confederation;

•  Ms. Ellene Sana of the Center for Migrant Advocay Philippines (CMA-Phils);

•  Fr. Savino Bernardi of the Apostleship of the Sea (AOS) and Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines Episcopal Commission for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant People (CBCP-ECMI);

•  Sr. Teresita Montañado of CBCP-ECMI;

•  Mr. Edmund Ruga of CBCP-ECMI;

•  Ms. Carmelita Nuqui of PMRW and the Development Action for Women Network (DAWN);

•  Ms. Ma Celeste Marasigan of PMRW;

•  Fr. Edwin Corros of the Scalabrini Center for People on the Move (SCPM); and

•  Fr. Fabio Baggio of the Scalabrini Migration Center (SMC).

The discussion started at 10 o'clock am .

Ms Nuqui welcomed all the participants and opened the discussion by presenting a background of the Philippine Migrants Rights Watch and an overview of the topics to be discussed for the days Round Table. Fr. Baggio then facilitated the discussion through some key-questions.

1. In your experience, how rampant are cases of falsified documents in the visa application process? What are your suggestions to curtail this practice?

Italy
About ten percent of the applications the Italian Embassy receives are accompanied by false documents. If discovered that the applicants have presented such documents, they are blacklisted from applying again and their names are sent to other embassies such as the British Embassy and the American Embassy to alert them.

The Embassy usually receives dubious birth and marriage certificates. Difficulty in understanding those birth certificates which are handwritten was expressed. Such cases make consular officers' job difficult and require longer time for processing, even with the help of the National Statistics Office (NSO). It was pointed out that it is often hard to verify the authenticity of age and family composition as reported in the documents. It was stressed that frequent abuses are the change of children's age and the addition of new members to the family certificate, in order to qualify for the Family Reconjunction Visas.

In the 1980s 90% of Filipinos applied for working visas. Now, majority are applicants for Family Reconjunction Visas, which have been introduced recently because of the recognition of the importance of family togetherness. However the perception is that such visas are used by many as an easy way to go to Italy and work. Actually, since the marker for domestic work is currently full, Italy is not issuing any working visas for that sector. It was suggested to invite Filipino Overseas Workers to apply for deployment in different labor areas, like information technology.

Norway
The Norwegian Embassy hardly ever receives false documents and uses to be very strict with regards to this matter. Only work permits for migrants with special skills, being proven that a particular job cannot be performed by a Norwegian, are released. Permits granted last for 6 months [for clarification]. At their arrival in Norway , work permit holders should appear before the local police in order to be granted resident permits.

Switzerland
The severe lack of quality of personal credentials such as the passport was emphasized as a consequence . Consular officers often tend to question even genuine documents. There are times when the Embassy receives valid passports, but the supporting documents, such as birth and marriage certificates, are clearly falsified.

The Swiss job market is not open for Philippine applicants. The case of domestic workers for diplomats in Geneva and Bern is to be considered special and the Embassy is aware of some deplorable cases of abuse and harassment.

The embassy often receives falsified or at least unconciliable birth and family certificates. An improvement of the national documentation system seems to be much needed.

Remarkable is the frequency of bigamy cases : several Filipino nationals (generally women) are getting married with Swiss partners, hiding a previous marriage in the Philippines . The controls have been tightened in this sense.

2. What are the pre-departure requirements (e.g., language courses, training, pre-departure orientation seminars) for Filipino citizens migrating to your country as contract workers?

Italy
No language course is required for working permits. The only requirements are: the police, NBI and government clearances, employment contract and birth certificate. A personal interview with the officer in charge is also compulsory. Student visas, however, require some basic knowledge of the Italian language. The embassy does not offer such courses and normally refers the candidates to the Philippine-Italian Association.

Norway
There is no special requirement for visa applicants. The language course for nurses has been abolished. A personal interview is requested as part of the application process.

Switzerland
In the case of domestic workers for diplomatic posts, there is no unified pre-departure set up. The embassy however, has a very stringent interview requirement. All working visa recipients must also comply with Filipino national regulations. Once in Switzerland , they are required to get a health insurance. A document issued in Switzerland stating the need for domestic workers is required before starting the application process.

3. How do prospective employers from your country hire or obtain information about Filipino workers? What has been your experience, if any, in dealing with the migration industry (e.g., recruitment agencies) in the Philippines ?

Italy
No recruitment agency is ever involved in the application process. The embassy deals directly with the authorities back home and the applicants themselves. The impression is that the recruitment system is normally laying on “migration chains”, based on family links.

Norway
In the case of seafarers, the ship-owners have special schools in the Philippines to train and take care of the seafarers' application. It is notable that the Filipino nurses applying for deployment in Norway are mostly coming from one particular school.

Switzerland
The embassy uses to deal with travel agencies for tourist visa applicants only. In the case of working visa, the applicants should always appear personally.

4. What are your main concerns about unauthorized (or irregular) migration from the Philippines to your country? What do you think should be done in the Philippines to curb unauthorized migration?

Italy
Even if the data provided by POEA cannot be confirmed, there is a high percentage of unauthorized Filipino migrants in Italy . The “normal” way is to going to Italy with tourist visas and then remaining in the country beyond the visa expiration date. The Italian government will be signing a repatriation agreement this coming February with the Philippine counterpart.

Norway
In Norway the case of unauthorized migrants, not frequent indeed, seems to be bound mostly to the asylum seekers, who are not able to present any personal credential. Filipino nationals are not counted among them.

Switzerland
There are serious doubts about the figures provided by POEA regarding the unauthorized Filipino migrants in Switzerland . Anyway, Switzerland and the Philippines have a repatriation treaty which regulate the case of unauthorized migration.

5. What is the feedback from your Home Ministry about the situation of the Filipino communities in your country?

Italy
It seems there is no problem with regards to the Filipino communities in Italy . On the opposite, they are well integrated and highly organized. There have been changes in their social level. The second generation tents to nationalize Italian. The new Filipino law on dual citizenship would favor the process.

Norway
There are three thousand (3,000) Filipinos spread-out in the country but they are not very visible or organized. They have permanent and regular residence. There seems to have no problem.

Switzerland
Filipinos in Switzerland used to keep a low profile and a convenient behavior.

6. What kind of dialogue or arrangements do you have with the Philippine government, if any, to address the concerns of Filipino migrants in your country?

Although some treaties between the foreign and the local government were mentioned, the topic was not discussed fully.

Additional information :

1. The length of visa application and number of applicants per day

Italy
The Italian embassy has a call center that divides people into those who have visas and those who do not have. That really helps in the visa application process. Normally renewal of visas takes 2-3 weeks and 1 month for new applicants. They receive about 120 applicants and approve 2 visas per day.

Norway
The Norwich embassy has also call centers. The Visa office receives at least 20,000 new applicants per year and 9,000 applicants for renewal per year. There are also 12,500 applicants for seafarers. They have 7,000-8,000 regular visas per year for Denmark (the Norwich diplomatic post in the Philippines is also working as Danish post). Daily, they receive less than 100 applicants and approve only 6 per day [statistics for clarification]. Working visas with verification from Norway would usually be released in one day. For cases of family reunification, this lasts more than seven (7) months. It was stressed that the embassy does not grant visas to parents whose children work in Norway . They have no such visa policy. It was also mentioned that they do not give tourist visas to siblings over 18 years old.

Switzerland
Visa applications usually takes three weeks however if there are no problems it can be released in two to three (2-3) days. For domestic workers, the background checks last from six to eight weeks or even longer, due to civil status investigations.

* Visa requirements are available in the Embassy web pages:

•  www.ambitaliamanila.org/english/requirements_for_visa.htm

•  www.norway.ph/visa/geninfo/

•  www.eta.admin.ch/manila

2. What are your concerns regarding your nationals here?

It is not easy for foreigners to run a business or buy land in the Philippines . Many partnership with local entrepreneurs had resulted in total failure. There is no dual citizenship offered to foreigners who decide to reside permanently in the Philippines .